Top 40 Before 40 Rock Artists - #7 - OK Go

For all the bands that I have seen live, I still have to say that OK Go is probably the cream of the crop when it comes to a concert. 

If you have never gotten to see them live, I highly recommend you remedy that problem in your life as soon as you possibly can (and as soon as they start touring again), because they know how to make a live show as interactive and “three dimensional” as possible.

I have always liked OK Go’s music, and it stands on its own as being fun and catchy and rocking enough to listen to on repeat for decades (I should know). 

But there is a LOT more to OK Go than just their music. 

They have consistently put out some of the all time best music videos, had live shows that tantalize your eyes as much as your ears, and they actually try to create a positive ripple in the world through music and science. Most bands don’t have the means or knowhow to do this in a scalable way. 

OK Go uses their fans and universal karma to spread joy and education through their platform. How cool is that?

You can check out a couple of examples here: OK Go sandbox project and Damian Kulash’s x EQ Stress Inversion Transformer (done in partnership with Mercedes Benz). 

For those of you who are just joining this list at this point, let me give a quick summary below:

• In my almost 40 years on this planet, I have had the great pleasure of listening to a lot of music that doesn't make it to the airwaves, and a lot of these bands are some of my absolute favorites.
• You WILL see some Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame bands on the list too, but for the most part, you are likely going to disagree with this list almost entirely.
• I am sharing this ranking so that you get some insight into some great bands you may have never heard before AND for a little bit of a personal challenge to myself to rank these bands.

With that said, let's get to #7 on my Top 40 List Before 40:

#7 - OK Go

When it comes to bands who are both intelligent and great at what they do, I am not sure many outperform OK Go. Well, in fact, I only have 6 bands on Earth who I consider better than them. So, yeah, they are good.

The band has been around since the late 90’s, and they got their first taste of a break after launching their video for “Get Over It” on their first album (self titled OK Go).

Of course, the music video became a bit of a viral sensation, but unlike most bands or viral stars, OK Go didn’t stop there.

They followed up with their next album Oh No creating incredibly cool videos for “A Million Ways” which was a pretty low key backyard dance and also had its own website to get free iTunes downloads by sharing with friends to help with virality, “Invincible” where they blow up a bunch of stuff, and “Here It Goes Again” which was not only their most famous video to date, but it also won them a Grammy for Best Music Video.

I don’t really know what else I have to say about OK Go other than the fact that I pretty much think they are audio visual geniuses, and to drive the point home, I am just going to pop a few videos below in case you never got to see them.

Oh, and if you are like me and you are waiting for a new album, well, let’s keep our collective fingers crossed, because it’s been about 7 years since their last one, and they typically don’t rush into making albums these days.

However, since most people only listen to singles or one off songs anyway, you CAN check out their newest song recorded last year during the pandemic which is called, “All Together Now” which was recorded as a tribute to health care workers.

Similar Artists That I Recommend That Didn't Make The Top 40:

Cheap Trick, Pixies, Phantom Planet, Boston