So why is OK Go’s Oh No on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Johnny Loftus at All Music does a nifty job describing OK Go as, “The anxious and modern children of indie rock and new wave, OK Go will always have something you can love.”
That new wave bit explains the sheer exuberance and playful energy that shimmers throughout Oh No, epitomized best via the crazy fun-meets-crazy catchy “Here It Goes Again.”
OK Go is so inventive and playful, in fact, that their audacity and cleverness in crafting wild (seemingly) low budget videos (that become equally as transfixing as the music) nearly threatens* to take away from the music. Which, it shouldn’t because, see above, it’s simply great.
* And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have a yen to dress up, hipster-like, and hit the gym for some quirky and high level of difficulty group dance routines!
The album was produced by Tore Johansson, who also worked with bands such as The Cardigans and Franz Ferdinand. It features guest appearances from members of The Rentals and Devo.
“A Million Ways” proved to me that Oh No has a lot more to offer than the band’s megahit. It’s got a nice Spoon-like funk riff that kicks off a seductive and alluring groove that never strays from the band’s mission for energy energy energy.
And “Let It Right” shows off the band’s chops in acoustic rock mode, with some lovely vocals backing up Damian Kulash’s lead.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with OK Go’s Oh No
OK Go has a bunch of fun videos that attempt to “one up” the sensation that the “Here It Goes Again” music video provoked. For my money, the most impressive of these is the percussions-via-car motif that’s central to the video for “Needing/Getting.” What that means is… well, just watch the video and you’ll see. Pretty incredible stuff.
Some stats & info about OK Go – Oh No
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Oh No released? 2005
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #555 out of 1,000
OK Go’s Oh No on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from OK Go’s Oh No that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
It starts out easy, something simple, something sleazy, something inching past the edge of reserve. Now through the lines of the cheap venetian blinds, your car is pulling off of the curb.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.