# Is Owl City objectively good music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2015, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367 "2015-05-06T09:12:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/1 "2015-05-06T09:12:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/2 "2015-05-06T11:07:22Z")
Reported for forum change. Music questions should go in Cafe Society. (I have no opinion on a musician I have never heard of.) ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/3 "2015-05-06T11:09:15Z")
Nothing is objectively good. Owl City is also just a ripoff of The Postal Service. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/4 "2015-05-06T11:30:51Z")
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”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/5 "2015-05-06T11:32:09Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/6 "2015-05-06T12:08:51Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > 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. 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? Cute guy, for certain. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/7 "2015-05-06T13:01:48Z")
The Postal Service minus the edges. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/8 "2015-05-06T13:42:49Z")
“a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs” Excuse me while I vomit. ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/9 "2015-05-06T13:54:04Z")
Well, he did help create the ringtones for Apple’s iOS 7. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/10 "2015-05-06T13:54:13Z")
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 ". ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/11 "2015-05-06T14:05:47Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/aeb1de/32.png) [@Lee\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lee_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/12 "2015-05-06T15:58:50Z")
> [@bump](#): > > “a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs” > > Excuse me while I vomit. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/13 "2015-05-06T16:16:10Z")
My daughter listened to it for awhile. Then she outgrew it, a couple of years ago. She’s 18, now. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/14 "2015-05-06T16:16:31Z")
Lee Q: > [@](#): > > 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 took it to mean 1000 from each one, for a total of ten million insectoid hugs. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/15 "2015-05-06T16:18:11Z")
> [@Lee\_Q](#): > > 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? Or, given that lightning bugs are pretty small; it may take ten of them to deliver one hug. But I think what is actually meant is 1,000 hugs \*each \*from 10,000 lampyrids, for a total of 10,000,000 hugs. Busy li’l bugs. Edit: ninja’d while looking up the scientific name for lightning bugs! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/16 "2015-05-06T21:20:27Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > 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? > > Cute guy, for certain. Oh yeah, I don’t care if people say I’m gay or girly. I’ll just take it as a compliment as I love women and a lot of my friends are gay! 😃 I'm pretty sure he writes and produces all his songs too. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/17 "2015-05-06T21:21:51Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > My daughter listened to it for awhile. Then she outgrew it, a couple of years ago. > She’s 18, now. My sis is 20 and I’m 25 and we still love his music. Though, not his later stuff quite as much. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/18 "2015-05-06T21:43:18Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > 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 ". His voice sounds like it’s been run through autotune, heavily. It has a weird not quite human quality to it… which has to be intentional, right? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/19 "2015-05-06T21:49:24Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367/20 "2015-05-06T22:43:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > 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. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-owl-city-objectively-good-music/719367.md?page=2)