Owl City

Hey guys. I'm typing this really late, since from now on, I have to go to the IVCF executive meeting which finishes around 9:30 p.m. By the time I get home, the only thing I feel like doing is sleeping.

Anyway, with NaNoWriMO drawing ever closer, I decided to start polishing my writing skills. I've never really been one for writing music, always preferring to write in the most silent hours of the night/morning. But I found that it's particularly inspiring to listen to someone else's artistic creation while you create yours. Some of the artist I find particularly helpful are Vanessa Carlton, Enya, The Script and Taylor Swift amongst others. However, one of my absolute favorites is Owl City.

If you don't know who that is, let me take a little bit to explain. Owl City is actually the name of a musical project, started by a young man named Adam Young. He started making music in his parent's basement with a synthesizer to express his insomnia. He uploaded some of his music onto MySpace, where it caught the eye of a major record label, to which he signed up. His third album Ocean Eyes gained recognition after one its songs, Fireflies, gained mainstream popularity. Despite being a solo artist, Adam is usually accompanied by a band when doing live shows as well as a wonderful female vocalist who goes by the name of Breanne Duren, who is featured on some of the tracks. Owl City music is usually classified as being synthpop.

Now, most people don't like Owl City, for a couple of reasons. It's either the lyrics don't make sense, the music is fake, or that all their songs sound the same. I know that everyone has their own opinions on music, but think of this: One,this guy is writing from insomnia. How exactly do you express insomnia? Words, despite their inherent beauty, are large, clumsy things when it comes to expressing out feelings. So, it's not odd to find that you won't be able to understand something that is difficult to express in words. Just because something doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean it doesn't make sense at all. Two, there is nothing like fake music. Yeah, it may take a lot more skill to play a guitar or a keyboard than it takes to use a synthesizer, but that doesn't make it better or more real. You could have really good synth music and really crappy instrumental music. Music is music, no matter where it comes from. And lastly, so what if they all sound the same? Some artist jump up, down and all around with their songs. Owl City stays true and consistent to their tune. Listening to their album is like listening to one song filled with every emotion possible.

For me, it makes for extremely good writing music. With it's unreal tune and it's cryptic lyrics, Owl City music forgoes everything you've ever assumed about it before and jumps straight into the heart of creation. I feel as if I can use it to supplement my own kind of creation. Adam Young started in his parents' basement. This guy wasn't looking for self-promotion. He just wanted to do what he loved. He was never ashamed of his music or his faith. His song "Meteor Shower" deals with salvation and "Tidal Wave" deals with faith, as well as some others. And best of all, listening to Owl City when you're on the verge of sleep (which is what I'm going to be during NaNoWriMo), makes for one of the most ethereal experiences ever! You should try it.

So, don't judge a guy by his genre or his instruments. Adam Young is one of the best artists of our time, someone who inspires me, and who I could aspire to be like.

And if you've never heard of Owl City, or you're fed up of hearing "Fireflies" and "Vanilla Twilight", here's one of my personal favorites : Tidal Wave

See you tomorrow!