I was planning on leaving the Super Bowl commercial coverage to the experts (i.e. everyone else on the internet) but since OK Go’s latest video for “Needing/Getting” is the only piece of media I can think of to successfully intermingle elements of music, advertising, television, football, and YouTube virality, I can’t resist. Here’s what you need to know:
The new music video from OK Go, made in partnership with Chevrolet. OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they’d play the right note no matter where they were struck.
Stunt driving lessons! Now that’s legit.
I missed whatever portion aired as the Chevy ad during the game as I was busy making it rain with national anthem prop bet winnings, but it’s hard to deny that the below is compelling, even if the premise is completely manufactured. OK Go has put a creative emphasis on innovative videos over actual music for a long time and it’s paying off (literally) more than ever. I can’t think of any other band whose music I digest exclusively on YouTube and then go on to remember nothing about the song itself.
