"It changed everything": OK Go’s Damian Kulash gets candid about 20 years of “ridiculous” music videos

The music video phase has dramatically changed over the last twenty years, and for OK Go, that evolution became part of the brand. Known for creating extremely choreographed, visually high-concept, and often astounding videos, the band built a reputation well beyond the boundaries of standard music promotion.

Frontman Damian Kulash recently looked back on this path, providing an insider's perspective on what drove OK Go's unique visual aesthetic—and how those early choices would inform their path ahead. As per The Hollywood Reporter, he said,

"It turned out in that two-year period, YouTube had started and we were one of the first things on it, and it changed everything. But it wasn’t trying to be funny or even make a rock video as much as it was, ‘Awesome, we found our people."

The band's "ridiculous" videos, as he calls them, weren't merely unconventional—they redefined what a band could accomplish in video. He said,

"But we’re the dance band. So we made [a video] just to send to him ( Kanye ), and it was before YouTube and it went viral on this site called iFilm because people were laughing — because it was ridiculous."

Rather than investing in label-driven initiatives or costly film ventures, OK Go pursued DIY imagination, overlaying timing, choreography, and an innovative visual lexicon that made their videos stand out in a rapidly digitalizing world. This choice not only informed their career path but also fueled broader arguments about art, technology, and agency in the music world.

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From lo-fi origins to online fame

OK Go's initial music was based on low-concept simplicity. The 2005 "A Million Ways" video, choreographed and filmed in a backyard, was an organic experiment that became a runaway success on the web. It was among the first examples of a music video being a viral hit before YouTube took over.

Kulash credits the popularity of the video—and its unorthodox rawness—to honesty, referencing how the personality of the band was able to come through in a way that orthodox videos wouldn't allow.

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A breakthrough with "Here It Goes Again"

The band broke through once more in 2006 with their video for "Here It Goes Again," which featured a treadmill routine filmed in a single take. It became the hallmark of YouTube's early era. Although unplanned as an extensive marketing drive, it resonated with netizens.

The choreography, precision, and novelty of the video created a phenomenon that stretched the audience for the band way beyond its fan base. It also proved the growing role of the internet as a platform where artists can spread material directly to consumers.

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Managing creative control

Kulash has been frank about the band's evolving relationship with record labels, particularly when they were signed to EMI. Their approach to video as a primary creative tool sometimes conflicted with conventional label expectations. OK Go ultimately launched their label to have total creative control.

That move enabled the band to try more innovative projects, such as the intricate Rube Goldberg machine in "This Too Shall Pass" (2010), without external pressures.

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Influences and artistic intent

One of the recurrent themes in Kulash's commentary is the influence of director Michel Gondry. Gondry's visual endeavors, particularly with musicians like Björk and The White Stripes, affected OK Go's approach to movement, do-it-yourself effects, and visual rhythm.

Kulash emphasized that it wasn't about achieving perfection with technology but about creating visuals that were real, material, and often surprising through hands-on construction and experimentation.

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A lasting impact on visual music culture

Two decades on from those first videos, OK Go's legacy is still felt. Their decision to treat music videos as standalone works of art—rather than as afterthoughts of promotion—is one that others were able to follow.

From social media morsels to grand video installations, the notion of merging performance, image, and accessibility is one that is still evolving, and OK Go's early work has since become a standard in that ongoing shift.