Ladies and Gentlemen: OKGo!

This band is something I dabbled with a little bit a few years ago, but I recently rediscovered their tunes, and my ears have grown to love it. Perfect combinations of equal parts pop and edgy rock make this a fun band to listen to.
An added bonus: the band is perfectly self-aware, not taking themselves too seriously in any of their going-ons, but determinedly never mainstream. The end result: a hidden treasure of tuneful melodies ideally suited to the paisely-adorned hipster who didn't ever give up on his candy-coated listening habits.

What forced me to rediscover OKGo was seeing the music video for their song "Here it Goes Again" and realizing how brilliant the idea was. Decidedly lo-tech, you must see how this band treats eight treadmills used simultaneously to craft their video. The most amazing part: its all done in one take. Take that, Michael Gondry.

Check out the band's website to bask in the group's on-the-head funky image. You can watch music videos from their own site at okgo.net, but you'll have to head to youtube.com to catch the treadmill action.

OkGo has certainly garnered its legions of followers all over the world, and perhaps one day they will really get the attention that is deserving of them, but until then, we get to enjoy the self-amusing music videos from a band that apparently doesn't have enough to do.

The icing on the cake: The band's drummer, (the bald one who is both lip-syncher and ring leader in the music video,) Dan Konopka, is brother to Stanley Konopka, associate principal viola of the Cleveland Orchestra. Funny we don't hear him talk about him a whole lot. Of course, this is the same violist who had a family member married to Jason Newsted (of Metallica) and never mentioned that either. Weird family. At least they kept the same haircut.

T.