You may remember them best for their fabulous formation dancing and shameless misuse of expensive gym equipment, but there’s more to OK Go than sharp moves. They’ve played for President Obama (who’s a fan), appeared on The Simpsons and made a thoroughly listenable new album, ‘Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky’, with producer Dave Fridmann of MGMT/Flaming Lips fame. Here, frontman Damian Kulash and bassist Tim Nordwind give us their recent recommendations.
Film
Duncan: “Babe, Pig In The City – the second one. People always think I’m joking when I say this, because no one has seen it and they all assume it was a fluffy kids movie like its predecessor. But it’s actually gorgeous, dark, and surreal. In fact, this is why no one has seen it, because it made a miserable kids film. The director of photography should be given every award there is. Every shot is spectacular.”
Album
Tim: “‘Electric Warrior’ by T. Rex. This is one of those albums that scratches those hard-to-reach itches in your brain. It excites, soothes, and generally gets you in the mood for love, lust, and blissful confusion.”
Restaurant
Duncan: “My favourite restaurant was a rib shack called William’s Smoke House outside of Houston, but it burned down recently. So, I guess I’ll go with St. John’s in London.”
TV
Tim: “Freaks And Geeks. For some reason this only survived one season. It was critically acclaimed but didn’t seem to have a mainstream appeal. Anyway, it’s rare that television captures the essence and heart of what it’s like to be an outcast teenager just trying to be comfortable in his or her own skin; Freaks And Geeks does this with class and charm. It was created by Paul Feig, produced by Judd Apatow, and gave birth to the careers of actors like James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel.”
Live Act
Duncan: “Daft Punk. Their shows are a religious experience.”
Holiday
Tim: “I went to the Joshua Tree Desert for New Year’s Eve. It’s a magical place where things like porcelain toilets have a way of just popping up in the middle of the desert. At night so many stars glow you’d think the sky was breathing. Music sounds better, air smells fresher, shadows look like they might pop up and come alive.”
Book
Duncan: “Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Perhaps you have to be on an unending tour to find the space in your life for a 1200-page book, but if you are, this is unquestionably the one. There are whole groups of pages that I read over and over again, thinking, ‘If I’d had just one of these thoughts.’What’s incredible about writers as clear and articulate as Wallace is that they can speak these incredibly complex, subtle, profound truths and make them feel like your own thoughts. He makes you think you are as smart as he is.”
Gadget
Tim: “This past month I’ve been obsessed with the latest iPhone app from T-Pain. I Am T-Pain automatically vocodes your voice, just like T-Pain’s, while you sing over beats provided by T-Pain. I have made three songs now including my next hit single called ‘Showie Time’, which is a mid-tempo sexy romp about the joys of taking a shower in my showie machine.”
