Here They Go Again: Tim Nordwind Says OK Go Has Grown Up

My phone rings at 12:59 p.m., but I let it ring twice to not seem too eager. Tim Nordwind, bass player of the Grammy-winning band OK Go, gives me a sleepy but pleasant “Hello?” It’s only 10 a.m. in L.A. and he was up late DJing a party for "engineers who combine art with technology." (How cool is that?) His voice is flat with sleep deprivation, but he sounds easy going and genuine.

Called “human catnip” by This American Life‘s Ira Glass, the band’s high-energy videos and crazy dance routines turned them into internet sensations. Nordwind and I chat about upcoming videos and their new album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky (which drops this week). He talks about how the band and their fans have changed. Then, shockingly, he admits his love of Twilight‘s Edward and the MTV series The Hills. (Don’t worry. He still comes across as cool.)

You guys are famous for your creative videos. You still have plans to make a video for every song off the new album?

Yeah, that’s sort of the goal, you know? We’re more concerned with making sure we produce the best ideas. I think if we get seven great ideas, we’ll make seven great videos. We’re hoping we’ll get 13 to 15 great ideas and make 13 to 15 videos . . . We could actually have videos for every single song, but what’s most important is just that we have good ideas.

Can you tell us anything about the new videos?

We just completed one. It’s a live, one-take video with the Notre Dame marching band. It’s actually an alternate version for a song called “This Too Shall Pass." The one we’re doing in February, we’re building a giant machine that’s both going to try to dance and destroy us . . . it’s going to be pretty awesome. We’ve got another video [for the song "White Knuckles"] that’s basically ready to go . . . we’re hoping to get to that in February or March, and we’ll be working with some highly skilled partners, but that’s all I can tell you . . . We have an idea for an animated video as well, so we’re going to be all over the map, I think.

The new album seems more heartbroken. The atmosphere’s a little darker. Is OK Go growing up?

Yes, OK Go has grown up. We’re five years older than when we made the last record. And we toured for 2 ½ years and sort of came home to various scenarios with family and friends and loved ones and things like that . . . touring is a great, fun thing, but it often has sort of a “lost at sea” effect, you know? You feel isolated from the rest of the world and your friends and family. And so we all sort of came home and had to do a little bit of soul searching to sort of figure out, Okay, it’s two and a half years later. Who are we now? So yes, I think the lyrics are reflective of the sort of sobering experience of having to actually deal with ourselves and the people in our lives, which is sometimes not the easiest thing in the world to do. I think the lyrics are both direct and maybe a bit more melancholic than the records before, but I think it’s good. It feels the most sort of, like, human, and sort of, like, real of our records. I feel like it’s the most relatable.

You guys do something called the Burrito Project where you get together with fans and pass out burritos to the hungry. What’s the largest number you’ve passed out?

In Chicago we organized a really, really big burrito handout day. I think we got somewhere between 35 to 40 volunteers who all made something like 15 to 20 apiece, and we handed all of them out . . . it’s easy to walk past someone who’s down and out and if you guys don’t connect, it’s almost as if both of you aren’t there, you know? So it’s nice to actually make a connection with someone and just sort of be like, ‘Hey, are you hungry? Because I have food, if you want food . . .’

Has your fan base changed? In the five years since the last album?

Well, it’s interesting. Some of the reason the audience has changed . . . it’s not only because of the success of the videos or the fact that we’re just slightly higher profile. We’ve been a band for 11 years now, and some of the fans we had on the first record, they’re now 25, 26 years old or something like that. And they were 15 or 16 when we started. Those little kids in braces are now, like, full-grown adults doing cool shit in the world. As we go on, our audiences and fans seem to be a little bit older, at least in their early to mid 20’s . . . our fans are sort of growing with us and that’s really nice to see.

You have a song on the New Moon soundtrack. Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

I have to admit, I still haven’t seen Twilight, but I did enjoy New Moon. It was an entertaining watch for sure, and I can see why it appeals to kids of all ages. I think if I were to pick, I’m probably Team Edward, if I had to really choose. I find Jacob to be a little bit whiny (and I’m not speaking of Taylor Lautner as a person, I’m just talking about his character). There’s just something about Jacob’s neediness that I just find somewhat annoying. Edward sort of seems to have his shit together a little more, or at least he plays it much cooler than Jacob. I sort of respect him for that. Plus, I think vampires are a little bit cooler than werewolves.

I’ve also heard you’re a fan of The Hills. Who’s your favorite?

It’s tough, because my favorite is Whitney and now she’s got her own show, The City. She’s kind of my fave. I’m Team Whitney for sure, but I don’t know, they all sort of annoy me equally. But that’s kind of why I like to watch. I don’t really have a favorite on The Hills per se, I just like watching the train wreck and that’s really where I find pleasure in the whole thing. It’s also, like, thirty minutes where I can shut my brain off. It’s the closest thing to meditation in any given week. [Laughing] I am clear minded for those thirty minutes. It’s like, brain off. I appreciate The Hills for that alone.

OK Go’s Of the Blue Colour of the Sky goes on sale January 12.

What do you think?