I’m a HUGE Owl City fan. In my opinion, he’s a pop genius and vastly underrated. I think he’s like my generation’s Phil Collins. An extremely good songwriter with a great ear for good melodies, but treated with scorn because he makes “girly” or “gay” sounding music that for the most part lacks guitars or any physical instruments at all.
I started listening to his music in 2009 and since then I’ve noticed his production style has become more commonplace. I wonder if the producers now have emulated his mixing style or if it’s just a coincidence.
The two songs I heard of them (when I think they first became popular enough for radio play), I thought they were good, but sounded like “lullabies for adults”.
Since there’s nothing wrong with being a girl, or being gay, one should ignore people who scorn music for those reasons. Owl City is very listenable from the little bit I know, though “pop genius” might be a bit much. Recommend me a song or two I might not know?
Since you asked, I have to say, without hesitation, no. The music itself is pleasant enough, if unremarkable, but the singer. . . Good god, I don’t know when I’ve heard anyone so totally lacking in style, finesse or soul of any kind. Oh wait, there *is *the singer from Plain White Tees. The two of them are running a close race for "Most Unhip singer ".
I only know his most popular hits (so, three songs?) and I was kind of ‘meh’ about the lightning bugs one, but I thought “When Can We Do This Again?” from Wreck-it Ralph was very fun and catchy.
I can’t say he strikes me as a pop genius but I don’t have any particular dislike either.
I’m no math whiz so maybe I’m missing something, but does this mean 9,000 of the lightning bugs are hostile, or just not that into you?
I’ve heard like 10 seconds of an Owl City song and was just sort of ‘ok, whatever’. I thought it was kids’ music. Not snark. I genuinely thought it was meant for kids, as the only person I know who ever mentioned it is a 9 y.o. girl.
The Lightning Bug thing made me stabby. Then I saw the video.
To be perfectly honest, the thing that really stood out when I first heard Owl City (other than the bland, manchild, infantilized thing) was the autotune. The autotune is horrid. Well, autotune in general is horrid.
He sings synthpop, though. It works in the context. I know this is SD and many here probably don’t consider music “real music” unless it’s some sensitive now-dead dude with long or no hair and an aqueuestic guitar passionately singing about how much his life sucks in a 13/7 time signature, but yeah.
