Guest Blogger: Jared K1

Adam Young is a single electronic artist that goes by the moniker name of Owl City. Adam Young grew up in Owatonna, Minnesota and started making music out of boredom with a computer and many instruments in his parent’s basement. Owl City gained publicity after self-releasing an EP titled Of June in 2007 which gained popularity over MySpace. He then released his first full length album in 2008 titled Maybe I’m Dreaming. It wasn’t until 2009 when Owl City really “made it big” when he released his sophomore album titled Ocean Eyes which landed the album 8th on The Billboard 200 and was named the #1 electronic album of the year. Along with the success of the album, the hit single “Fireflies” place 1st on the US Billboard Hot 100. Owl City’s music is known to sound dreamy and make you feel care free, hopeful and happy. Owl City has been said to be the next chapter of the band called The Postal Service who only released one album back in 2003. They both have a similar electronic sound but Owl City seems to be more upbeat and cheerful. Swimming With Dolphins is another group that has high similarity to Owl City because Adam Young was actually a former member before stopping to focus on his own project. Owl City’s lyrics are very creative and different from anything I’ve heard. For example, in his song “Fireflies,” he sings, “I get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs as they tried to teach me how to dance.” Also in his latest album titled All Things Bright & Beautiful, in the first track on the album “The Real World,” he sings, “reality is a lovely place but I wouldn’t want to live there.” His lyrics are creative and make you think which makes his songs sound unique. AV Club stated that Owl City’s newest album, All Things Bright & Beautiful, lacks the quality tunes made from the breakthrough album titled Ocean Eyes. I disagree with their review because even though it didn’t have as much success, I think the talent and effort put into All Things Bright & Beautiful shows how much more experienced he is and that he can continue making unique sounding music. Entertainment Weekly also states that Owl City’s newest album didn’t live up to the old one but has continued to have catchy lyrics which I agree with. I think Owl City is worth the time and money because it’s unique, catchy, and have great beats to put you in a good mood.