In an interview with EW, Adam Young (aka laptop sensation Owl City) admits his no. 1 single “Fireflies” and the Postal Service in general “are pretty similar,” but at the same time claims he’s “a lot more of a Death Cab fan.” For example, he’d only heard Give Up “a little bit” before people started pointing out the pilfering:
I’ve become more of a fan having started Owl City, actually. I had some friends in high school that would have it playing in their cars and stuff. It was cool, but it never really caught my ear. It’s kind of ironic, looking back at it, because a lot of people do relate the two projects. I can totally see it now, but I didn’t really then, for what it’s worth.
It’s worth a lot, now that you’ve sold over 100,000 fireflies. There’s more. In the form of an unintentional punchline. (Speaking of which, yes, that’s real merch pictured above. Real sad merch.)
Via EW:
EW: A lot of people wish they would put out another album. Is that something you would look forward to hearing?
ADAM YOUNG: I think [Give Up] left everyone asking, “What are they going to do next?” Since no one has done anything quite like it, it’s almost like everyone is naturally saying this is the next step — maybe that’s me, maybe that’s this record.
Maybe.
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MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!!!
Also, “Since no one has done anything quite like it, it’s almost like everyone is naturally saying this is the next step — maybe that’s me, maybe that’s this record.” Has this dude been living under a rock for the past 6 years? Being a Postal Service rip-off is nothing new. He’s just the lucky bastard with a rampant Jesus freak MySpace following that helped him noticed.
WHY!!!!!!???!? WHY did you make me play the song?
i love how every one is ripping on him. and saying that he sounds like postal service is an insult. his music and 50 times better than that shotty shit postal service tried to pass as music
what on earth are you talking about? Its ok having to have no taste (with age that may change) but to be down on the band that were unfortunate enough to have inspired owl city is unforgivable. Viva la postal service !
douche. Listen to such great heights and then firelflies practically the same song with different meaningless words. Postal service is original, owl city is just a sad imitation
IMO I hear very little similarities, all the people that are bein sour about OC “Rippin’ Off” PS are the people that are clearly already fans of PS which is obviously biased comments. It’s the same with any New and Old band that play the same genre of music. Take Oasis and The Beatles for example.. Everybody that grew up listenin 2 The Beatles is likely to say Oasis ripped them off, anybody that grew up listenin 2 Oasis will argue against that. Everybodys too quick to judge and compare shit.
I agree 100%…..the voices sound the same and thats about all i hear……and just cuz there voices sound the same dont mean ones rippin off the other…
Less Bright Eyes more Deicide!!!! I hate indie queer rock and I must say; being unbiased this douche sounds exactly like the douche behind a Postal Service and Death Cab. Some asshole convinced me that this guy and Death Cab were both punk and i bought both albums. Needless to say I went back to the record store, found where he lived and slapped his mom for birthing such a bitch. Why would anyone listen to this horseshit when there are people out there actually making music? A keyboard and samples doesn’t make you a musician. It makes you the fag that brings an acoustic guitar to parties trying to serenade all the girls, but guess what…they will end up in the back seat of my car by the end of the night while your stuck with the broken down lunatics. Try listening to some REAL music like A Wilhelm Scream or NoFX. Indie lames
calling this dude a Postal Service rip-off is giving him WAY WAY WAY more credit than he deserves… sure, he IS ripping them off, but rip-offs of something good are often listenable and Postal Service actually make music I love, but this doesn’t even deserve to be described as a rip-off. This song is the aural equivalent of the Octomom, Balloon Boy, or Jon and Kate Plus 8, I really genuinely don’t care and just want it to go away
Agreed, By saying that Oasis rips off the Beatles, you’re giving them credit for making something that captures at least some of the brilliance of the creator. By saying that Don’t Look Back in Anger is a rip of Let it Be, you’re saying that it’s at least worth something that Imagine was.
What you wrote right there only prooves that what Jerome Joseph Acayan wrote is true.
If we were to say that everyone that sounds similar were ripping eachother off, we would have to complain about all the new bands and artists that have taken shape over the years.
I am sure that you could find alot of other people that make music similar to The Postal Service or Owl City.
People make the music they feel like and Im pretty sure that you will be able to compare almost every song you find out there to another one.
In the end, there is no such thing as individuality you know.
jesus he even sounds like ben gibbard, let alone the structure of it all. Did he really think no one would notice?
Owl City = Fowl Shitty
This guy is lying out his ass when he says he didn’t really know who Postal Service was when he wrote this.
It’s such a watered down piece of crap by the way.
This guy is lying out his ass when he says he didn’t really know who Postal Service was when he wrote this.
It’s such a watered down piece of crap by the way.
Sorry about the double post, thought i stopped it before it went through.
Jimmy Tamborello is probably looking at his bank account right now and thinking to himself, “I wonder if this guy is looking for any new band members…” Forget Gibbard, its Jimmy’s production sound that got taken for a cheap ride here.
The second I heard this song I made the comment that he sounded like Ben Gibbard. This is probably because he is imitating the voice the best he can. He probably sat and sang along to every album Ben Gibbard has ever made……I wouldn’t be surprised.
If Ben Gibbard happens to read this: Please make another Postal Service album. Please.
Ben Gibbard: Please stop making music.
Death Cab is the most overrated “indie” band of our lifetimes. Well, either them or the Decemberists… Same dif, right?
Hahah, let the hating begin
you’re shit is weak like an hj from someone with carpal tunnel
u r deff right. whoever disagrees is kidding themselves. they’ll grow up eventually
The Decemberists are awful. That guy can’t sing for crap. Sounds more like some random annoying person talking than singing. Postal Service/Styrofoam/Death Cab are actually good. Granted, Death Cab has yet to do better than Transatlanticism or Plans.
I hate you nick rock
I hate you nick rock
Well i have been trying to explain that Owl City is a cheap rip off of the Postal Service to my music ignorant friends for a long time, but now i have proof! i also read in an interview that this gu said he never heard of the Postal Service, the shame.
BTW Nick Rock it’s not our fault nobody loves you.
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard the postal service
Well I hadn’t until I started to read the reviews.
Thank god we “all” don’t like the “same” music.
Listening to music should be a free choice and you will like or dislike what you hear.
Just because someone else doesn’t like it doesn’t make it bad.
It would seem from listening to both that Owl City are the more prolific so are therefore catering to their fan base needs.
Personally I like both.
I just looked up his album. He actually has a song called Dental Care (DNTEL) and Umbrella, which was a song on Jimmy’s “Life is Full of Possibilities” album. I kinda want Owl Shitty to die now.. =)
Give Up is easily the best album of the 00′s. Kid A was phenomenal, but GU was more cohesive and had better songs.. How’s that for incendiary?
Your opinion that Give Up is better than Kid A is pretty much unjustifiable. Still, I really did like Give Up.
whoa that’s a crazy observation! i never connected “dental care” and “umbrella” to life is full of possibilities. personally owl city sounds much more over-processed and almost auto-tuned in a way, whereas “give up” just has such a gritty, analog-feel to it. i understand the comparison between o.c. and the postal service, but like others have noted, i don’t want give o.c. much credit.
HA! I’m totally calling this band “The OC” from now on.
They are played quite often on Radio Disney (give me a break, I’ve got three kids) which its own karmic reward.
Wait….are you saying this new Postal Service song isn’t the Postal Service?
I have been telling my teenage brothers that Owl City = shit version of Postal Service since day one.
100,000 Fireflies. Nice.
Came here to say this. Better song than anything Gibbard/Tamborello/Owl City have done/will ever do.
What the fuck is going on here?!?!?
I’m mystified. Why are you angry? No one is forcing you to listen. Huge numbers of people are getting a lot of pleasure out of this guy’s music, It isn’t racist, sexist, violent or blatently immoral, so where is the harm? Maybe you could try to treat these people with dignity by first giving them credit for having a degree of intelligence — unless you think that you are some sort of superior being — then kindly suggest they listen to ‘Give Up’ and then make up their own minds.
Nice sentiment but I doubt you’d be saying that if the Postal Service had been something near and dear to you for 6 or 7 years as opposed to the 6 or 7 days you’ve been OMG IN LOVE with this song after they played it on Grey’s Anatomy or whatever.
I am a 55 yr old grandmother who likes old and new music. I heard the Postal Service the first time about 6 yrs ago and loved it. I heard Owl City the first time about 6 months ago (through Itunes recommendations) and loved it too. Profiling and generalizing can lead to some pretty inaccurate conclusions, eh?
Honesty old lady, and I hate to use such bad language around someone’s grandmother, but shut the f*** up. This band blows and if you like them, you are a BAD PERSON
And they say that old people are judgemental. You need a hug. Maybe 10,000?
randomoldlady, you are wonderful. I love you. Hugs are the best.
Actually, we do have to listen to this shit. It’s everywhere: commercials, television shows, awards programs, etc. The first thirty times I heard this song I thought it was the Postal Service, and was happy for ol’ Ben Gibbard getting some recognizable airplay. Turns out it’s this preteen douchenozzle who fucking blatantly ripped off the Postal Service. He wasn’t influenced by them – he stole their sound. That’s fucking pathetic. And as a result, Postal Service will probably never put out another album, nay, song again, to keep from being confused with this tool.
That’s why people are angry. Yes, it’s offensive that someone would eerily imitate another person’s art, pass it off as their own, and benefit from it. Fuck you, and any other 12 year old retard who defends this asshole.
GAH! Racism, sexism, violence, immorality, this song – all different types of stupidity. Encouraging people not to think and get all emotional about lyrics that mean absolutely nothing (seriously, analyze the song for me… I have no idea what the fuck this dude is talking about) is the sort of thing that causes our country to be content with emotional immaturity. And since when has DIY music been about doing your best to avoid being creative? Music has been a huge part of my life since I was in grade school, and this sort of blatant plagiarism just makes me sad. Music used to be the only thing that made me feel like there were at least a few sane people in the world. Even some of the shittiest popular bands had something to offer in the 60s and 70s (and a fair number in the eighties as well). Now all I hear when I turn on the radio is this depressing buzz of randomly generated melodies that evoke only vague, Hallmark commercial, Lifetime movie, Oprah’s Book Club emotions. I don’t care if people want to listen to shitty radio rock and awful pop music (as long as they’re not pretending to be these deep, serious musicians), but I do wish these assholes would stop stealing from bands that actually cared about writing music because they loved music. This sort of thing belongs to the people who create it and appreciate it, and those of you who have never seen their favorite band, the band that used to make them bawl like a little bitch when nobody was looking, get turned into some kind of crappy money-making endeavor probably have a pretty difficult time understanding why us old fogies get all up-in-arms about losing a little piece of times that we remember extremely fondly to the FM shitwave that assaults every antenna it comes across. A lot of the bands that get ripped off in this fashion changed the way I think about things, and honestly I don’t think I’d be anything like the person I am right now if they hadn’t existed. It isn’t just fun music. It’s important, and it’s every bit as much of an insult to our culture (whatever you might call us… nerds, I guess) to rip off our music as it is to burn an American flag on a patriot’s front lawn. It IS that important to some people, and we have every reason to voice our opinions when we see all of our dedication and support being trumped practically overnight by people who probably won’t even listen to this band anymore in a few months. Even the underground bands are shitty failboats of pop-culture now, so what the hell am I supposed to listen to these days? Where’s the T-Rex? Where’s the Beatles? Where are the Ventures of our generation? I’ll tell you where they are… Owl City stole all their songs and outsold them into obscurity. Also: I have too much time on my hands.
Fuck yeah dude. Seriously, thank you for your post. OC is just another in a long line of rip off artists and phonies the likes of milli vanilla and debbie gibson fucking manufactured bullshit tripe.
Ive been reading this blog for a long time now and am just now feeling a real bond between reader and writer. I look forward to sharing this wl city hatred for years to come.
wow, so that shitty rich kid ripped off those other shitty rich kids and produced more generic bullshit that other shitty rich kid hipsters eat up to make themselves feel more interesting??? cool.
Nah, I don’t consider Owl City to be hipster cannon, I assume it to be Girlpantscore.
Yikes. So much hate. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it.
The real shame is that he seems like a pretty nice guy in real life. His music’s certainly not awful either — much, much worse stuff makes it onto the charts.
Nick Rock is right. The Decemberists and Death Cab are very annoying
“He’s a nice guy, he’s a nice guy.” God, shut the fuck up.
I heard this on the radio this past weekend and honestly could not figure out what the heck was going on. Had Ben Gibbard lost a bet? Good to know it’s just some terrible rip off/wannabe with Ben’s voice. Not that I blame him. If I sang like Ben, I’d be using it to get as much tail as possible too.
I think ocean eyes has better production than give up. But adam young’s lyrics make him sound like a 14 year old girl. I prefer the postal service.
Hey Brando,
What is this Get Up album that you speak of?
This Boy Can Sing
hey “give up” not “get up”
and lets stop the fucking ben gibbard hatred around here
i decided to listen to the whole song. and really, i’m glad i did just for the chance to catch the last line: “bursting at the seams”
isn’t that an exact line in a DCFC song?
not too surprising, but still kinda funny. sneaky bastard.
“bursting at the seams” is an annoying cliche, so now, it’s not funny or interesting, and it shouldn’t have been used as a lyric by either songwriter.
Is no one going to comment on that awful owl city pajama suit? I think that’s the real crime here.
Who cares? Everyone’s been dying for a new Postal Service album for years now but Ben says he’s too busy with his other band. Someone finally stepped up and filled the void. That’s all. We should be thanking the dude.
So if a band hasn’t got round to making a follow-up record within so many years of their debut, it automatically gives some random fuckhead the right to cash-in and make it for them? What sort of artist would be happy selling themselves as a cheap substitute for something better anyway,
Seriously, Owl City dude should be carving his own path not picking up someone else’s scraps. It doesn’t give him much cred as an artist. It’s like who are you without the obvious DCFC/Postal Service influence. Granted many recording artists have been influenced by someone but this is literally ripping their sound.
He never said that…you did.
He said with all these people comparing the two, that he guesses critics are saying the Owl City album fills that “OMG where’s the new Postal Service?” void.
I’ve never heard of Postal Service either.
I love Owl City!I
Isn’t ripping off what you can to get a hit a great rock n roll tradition? Imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery. Some of my favorites over the years — and there’s many, many, more.
Tom Petty = Byrds Ripoff
The Strokes first hit = Tom Petty “American Girl” rip off.
The Stokes second hit = Cars ripoff
Cars=David Bowie ripoff
Neil Young’s Heart of Gold = Dylan rip off (according to Dylan)
STP’s first hit = Pearl Jam ripoff
Eagles = Flying Buritto Bros. ripoff.
“Imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.” When done well, Funoka. When done well.
All the artists you mentioned brought something new to the table. Owl City only apes the signifiers of the Postal Service to give his lazy stupid writing some sort of cache.
Not to mention the Magnetic Fields have a much better version of this song that they recorded in ’91.
Also, have we all forgotten the Headphones? They even did the one album and then permanent hiatus thing.
If he would just admit the flagrant rip off it wouldn’t be so bad. Everything about the song, the synths, melodies, beats, and particularly the lyrical content is taken directly from Postal Service styilings. It is a good song, but it’s a total rip off.
Comparing owl city to The Postal Service is like comparing puddle of muddddd to Nirvana!
One of my friends on Facebook was like “Is the guy from Owl City the same guy from the Postal Service?” There you go. But then again I think Chris Walla sounds like a watered down version of Ben Gibbard.
I think they all come from the Northwest coast anyway. Maybe everybody from that area sings the same and makes electronic music.
Only good song on the album is the Pet Shop Boys sounding “Umbrella Beach”. The rest vary from ok (“The Tip of the Iceberg”) to pure shit (“Meteor Shower”).
because everyone knows postal service is our nations most innovative band… i’m sure everyone on the morr music label agree.
If you’re going to rip something off, at least make it a good rip off. This is just terrible.
Why do people care? I’m not gonna go out on a limb to defend Owl City or anything (although I think ‘Vanilla Twilight’ is a pretty legit pop song), but this hub-bub won’t make a damn bit of difference on those nifty iTunes charts.
Also, ‘Give Up’ owns ‘Ocean Eyes’.
Saying that the Strokes ripped off Tom Petty or the Cars who ripped off David Bowie who was ripped of by Prince who ripped of Beethoven is all well and good. Musical influences of the past shape new music everyday, no one can dispute that. But I think what everyone is trying to express is that this song is a cut and paste copy of Postal Service. You don’t get credit for blantantly copying, you get credit for revolutionizing it, doing something with it.
And for this guy to say that at no point during the production of the song did he realize that it sounded even a little like Postal Service, a band who the world simultaneously masturbates to, means he’s either lying through his teeth or he’s a first-class idiot living under a rock.
This new Postal Service song sounds like a watered down christian-influenced ripoff of a Postal Service song. Ben Gibbard should be ashamed of releasing this track.
I am staggered once again by how duped and lazy listners choose to be. When Coldplay steals a melody or some asshat named Owl City blatantly steals both melody and vocal styling from a fellow contemporary artist there are people out there who don’t get the problem or worse yet deny the blatant aping. There’s a difference between homage (Led Zeppelin to the blues or The Beatles to the early rock n rollers) and stealing the melody of a song or imitating another artist to such an uncanny degree that 99% of the public assume it’s a new song by the known artist. Huge difference.
This really just makes me appreciate Jimmy Tamborello more.
Anyone could have sung in The Postal Service, but Jimmy made the record.
While I agree that listening to Owl City ought to make everyone appreciate Jimmy Tamborello more, Ben Gibbard did a lot more than sing for the Postal Service. Ben has talked about the song-making process here and there, including for KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic; he has explained that Jimmy would send him projects with ideas–beats, melodies, etc–and then he would take them and rearrange/edit them to what he thought would “make a good pop song” (as he put it). And that’s on top of his lyrics, which play a huge role in hooks, not to mention meaning/content.
dude totally ripped off my name…. lol THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE ADAM YOUNG!
The Pragmatic – Rendevous
Great disucssion — I totaly agree this guy really sounds like somebody else we all know . . . but why is this a huge hit? There’s got to be something there. It’s not my cup of tea, but it’s not the worst thing ever. The Owl City guy is from Minnesota, by the way, and supposedlly has recorded all his music in his parents basement. Full disclosure: I’m from Minnestoa. If it’s a cut and paste of Postal Service, why does everyone hate it so much — I guess on prinicpal and not on the music?
people enjoy owl city because the average radio listener wouldn’t be able to make the connection between this shit and the real thing. This guy is offering a washed out, sub par version of something else. we’re angry because he’s blatantly imitating postal service, and is trying to pass it off as if he’s the newest shit on the radio. these people could be exposed to the original work, which is much better than this garbage, but he’s cashing in on their ignorance.
You’re all seriously getting mad over music? I like music as much as the next guy but honestly why do you care? whats the benefit? Whats the point? there are no points……Okay they sound alike…big whoop…..people rip off people get over it……example: “Girls watching TV, she sees this famous girl wearing some dress….girl gets dress….” Shes trying to be like that other famous girl….and now are you gonna yell at that girl to get rid of that shirt because its not original? what about clothing in general…..its all copies of past clothing pretty much and no one complains about that….get over it…humans are not original…..ideas come from places….with as much music as there is today……everyone is going to sound like someone else because there is no “original” music anymore…..nothing new can really be made without it being called “stolen”…now again….GET OVER IT!
don’t get me wrong, the song is allright, but it’s nothing amazing. what makes it even less significant is that there’s something exactly like it, but much better. why settle when something much better is available? his credit as an artist is also trash.
Adam Young found the perfect formula to get in girls’ pants, that’s all. Ben Gibbard had it then, Adam Young nonchalantly has it now.
The number one song in America is a blatant rip off of the Postal Service while the number two song in America (“What You Say”) samples/jocks the chorus of an Imogen Heap song. The biggest injustice of all this is that most 12 year olds replaying these songs to death on their iPods won’t ever realize who made them possible.
Wait, let’s correct that: The Imogen Heap riff rip is now number 1 and Owl City is now number 2.
oh no, it’s such a TERRIBLE INJUSTICE that america’s tweens are listening to mediocre unoriginal radio pop instead boring overrated indie pop. who gives a shit. i listened to blink-182 when i was twelve. but don’t worry, i grew up to be a proper hipster with plenty of regina spektor on my ipod. thank god!
ok, 2 things. first, i don’t absolutely detest the fireflies song, but i do think there is something wrong when someone goes so out of their way to sound like somebody else, and i don’t just mean vocals. yes, there are great bands that ripped off other great bands: my favorite is nirvana ripping off boston for smells like teen spirit. but this case is different: even though the riffs and structures are basically the same, no one would *ever* mistake nirvana for boston. so if owl city had ripped off big chunks, but still had their own sound, that would be one thing. it’s another when you imitate someone/thing so totally that it’s almost like the goal is to pass for that thing you are imitating. and that’s something that i’m not really comfortable with…
I am a rocker from way back. This don’t rock. Bob Seger says “Turn the page”
Listen to BrakesBrakesBrakes or just Brakes kiddies. You will be happier.
i wouldn’t even wipe my ass with this guy’s lyric booklet because it would be an insult to my poo.
I know you were trying to be funny, Brendan, but OC’s lyrics are actually pretty clever.
No, they’re not.
In fact, OC take Deathcab and Postal’s style of noticing poetry in the mundane objects and situations around us, copy it, yet completely ignore the need for the metaphors and other devices to hold /actual/ meaning to them.
OC just spew out meaningless “cute” sounding similies and metaphors that have no bearing on each other. At all.
It’s mostly meaningless, painfully so.
1.Deathcab and PS didnt envent poetry about situations or any type of poetry…..they copied it from others..millions of years ago…..when they WERE invented
2. Their similies and metaphors most likely are not meaningless, ever think they are referring to somthing about themselves or another person? if you think about the lyrics of some of the songs Ex. Fireflies….it is obviously referring to Insomnia. if you think they are meaningless then you need to look at the obvious…..and get over it
I’ve always said that Owl City is the mutant scene-girl loving monster rip off of The Postal Service. I think this guy knew exactly what he was doing. I mean for godsake his vocals are just about the same as Ben Gibbard. I love The Postal Service and I feel like that Owl City thinks he is the new Postal Service, but really all he did was take this genre to a new low. He has packaged and published this to hot topic and made a monster. Ben Gibbard should kick his ass.
You guys are all pathetic. Yeah they sound alike, but that in no way means that Owl City is a blatant ripoff of The Postal Service. Get off your high horses and accept that. You’re all pulling that stupid “I liked this type of music before it went mainstream and therefore I have the right to be a condescending asshole” card and it’s retarded. Owl City has brilliant lyrics, and to that guy who talked about both Owl City and DCFC using the lyrics “bursting at the seams,” are you kidding me? That’s a common phrase, idiot. Hundreds of bands have used those words. Jesus Christ, you all disgust me.
Well said.
You’re the best bro, I’m serious.
i love message boards that end with someone saying “Jesus Christ, you all disgust me” :) that being said, this makes me feel like I’m in the Gap. Also, vocals kinda reminded me of recent stereogum BTW Freelance Whales, which also makes me feel like I’m in the Gap
I love how everyone is so indignant about ripping off the Postal Service album as if it was at all innovative or interesting. It was decent, sure, but nothing special. Wake me when someone rips off a good album.
wow this music is annoying shit. lsuch ridiculously juvenile lyrics. who listens to this garbage?
Bleauughghhhh……holy shit this music annoying as hell. and such ridiculously juvenile lyrics. who listens to this garbage?
Brendan has the comment of the year;
“i wouldn’t even wipe my ass with this guy’s lyric booklet because it would be an insult to my poo.”
“I think they all come from the Northwest coast anyway. Maybe everybody from that area sings the same and makes electronic music.”
ARE YOU FROM THE NORTHEAST COAST!?!?!?!
DO YOU SING THE SAME AS EVERYONE ON THE NORTHEAST COAST AND PLAY FOLK MUSIC?????
MAYBEE WE CAN MAKE A RECORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmNApZRy3wk
try head first this time!
Owl City’s early albums showcase a different sort of over-the-top bubblegum pop sound that was more different, and much better, than the new, Postal Service-emulating sound. Maybe I’m Dreaming and Of June are INFINITELY better albums than the shitty sell-out “debut” Ocean Eyes. Not to mention that Fireflies is the shittiest song on Owl City’s shittiest album. Disgusting. Owl City was already a guilty pleasure, but now has completely sold out.
Did I just hear “sock hop underneath my bed?”
All time quarterback. QUEL CHANCE!
I’m not even going to google these lyrics…
This band is the new “”indie band” that everyone loves” and it sickens me
o tired of the ubiquitous ‘rip off’ accusations that you see in connection with everything you read about Owl City. If you can jump down off of your high horse and take a quick listen to some of the people listed as ‘influences’ on OC’s MySpace page it is very easy to see how it is possible to come up with his sound without ever having given The Postal Service a second thought, Kazumi Totaka (of video game fame) is mentioned and I never heard anything more like the beginning of ‘Fireflies’ than the ‘secret song’ found in his ‘Pikmin2′ game. DJ Encore is another influence that shows up obviously in Ocean Eyes. As far as the singing goes, Youngs voice is marginal and I honestly don’t think he could sing much differently if he tried. This young man has managed to fuze so many genres together to come up with winsome, whimsical music. It’s not the musical main course. It’s the dessert.
The internet is serious business, bro.
postal service + radio formula + appeal to the christian market = owl city
you forgot to subtract talent
Obviously wasting my breath here. Pearls before swine and all….
I hate spreading negativity, but your last two sentences in your previous post on here made me throw up in my mouth a bit. “It’s not the musical main course. It’s the dessert.”? Really? I hope you’re joking… I was going to ignore it, but yeah… His music is neither “winsome” nor “whimsical”, I mean, I’m glad for the people who do enjoy his music as it does seem to be, if nothing else, harmless, although entirely unlistenable, but there is a major difference between whimsy and artificial happiness made to impress Radio Disney’s primary listening demographic.
also, “so many genres?” I only hear electronica
Owl City sound like Ben Gibbard getting bitch slapped by one of the Jonas Brothers.
this is nothing like postal service, they do not sing about their quirkiness and Ben Gibbard is not in constant need of help to make him sound like a robot and whisper about stupid crap.
The stats show the kid reached the kids — the Owl City “Fireflies” YouTube video has 54,000 comments — a five star rating by 50,000 plus viewers, and over 12 total million views. And take a look at the comments — some of them are pretty intense.
BTW — need to get a plug in for Old 97s lead singer Rhett Miller’s song “Fireflies” — not the same song! — a duet with Rachel Yamagata, from his fantastic 2006 solo record “The Believer.”
This song is terrible, however I’m thinking of publishing the lyrics as a childrens novel.
No one is as wimpy as Adam Young. You thought some indie bands are pretty twee, jangly — whatever. But Owl City is like a mountain of newborn, confused kitties.
While I don’t agree with the sentiment here, I LOVE the way it was expressed. Very humorous :-)
While Owl City takes a little from the Postal Service, they sound even more like Mae. Listen to the album Destination: Beautiful and try and tell me it’s not a complete rip-off.
I completely agree!
Holy Shit this is bad.
The new Owl City reminds me more of Trance/Techno than Postal Service. It is too clean and with huge bass beats (good ole 808s). I can see that they are both similar, but seriously everyone with a computer in the past three years has done this. Adam Young just had better samples, catchier lyrics, and a better voice then all the other kids that were doing it.
Yes, Postal Service was awesome, but really Owl City is nothing like it. It sounds more like Basshunter (Every Morning) than Ben Gibbard. Oh but I forgot, vi sitter i ventrilo och spelar dota was a Give Up B side.
fuck this auto-tuned jerk.
He uses Melodyne, a little different from AutoTune. A lot less annoying imho.
The scariest costume of this year’s Halloween: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18222544@N00/4093184102/
Wonder what the dude from Wheetus has to say on this one?
PS – OC is pure crap
aw, it’s “just desserts” for the death cab guy. you have to admit, their first albums were nothing but bad built to spill & elliot smith impersonations! things just coming back full circle to him.
This Fireflies song is the only song I’ve ever heard of where the chord progression doesn’t make any fucking sense. Seriously, listen to the chorus. None of those chords sound like they’re part of a coherent musical phrase. It’s a new low in incompetence.
A hip hop blog that I like to read (yeah, I’m that guy) had a nice review of some of the billboard hot 100 tracks.
“7. “FIREFLIES” – OWL CITY
This is what The Postal Service would sound like if Ben Gibbard was more of a pussy.”
Why do you people care so much? I think they both sound good, so I don’t care. I’m just enjoying the music. Get a life.
You can’t get 1,000 hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs.
1/10 of a hug each
I’ve been bitching to my friends about this so much……..so much to say. But i think all i’ll say is this makes me appreciate the Postal Service even more, gosh they are great.
Oh, and Ben Gibbard SHOULD kick Young’s ass.
Are you people deaf? TPS sounds like techno-Beatles compared to OC which is much more innovative. Adam is going to be a megastar. And I haven’t been wrong about anything since the OJ verdict. Forget about Fireflies and listen to Skydiver, Meteor Shower, This is the Future, Designer Skyline…hell, most of them are good. I was raised on Bach and I know good music when I hear it. You are only missing out by being a snob. The fact that Adam’s music makes you feel good is just a side benefit to the fact that it is truly is interesting and stimulating. I downloaded the whole discography off bittorrent and then bought a $25 T-shirt to assuage my guilt. That’s how much I like it. I haven’t paid for music in 20 yrs but I had to give something back for the joy this music has given me. Fuck you in advance.
With the exception of the expletive at the end of your comment I agree completly. I just hope that Adam won’t allow himself to be overly influenced by a recording company wanting him to crank out ‘hits’ and stop making songs like the ones that you mentioned, Also among my personal favorites are Dear Vienna, Rainbow Veins and I’ll Meet You There, They take me on private vacations to my happy place, Sorry if that disgusts so many people here. Let the wretching begin.
dream of evan and chan was the only good “postal service” song before gibbard’s lyrics went to complete shit. that album is mid nineties aphex twin etc. watered down to starbucks concentration. even though i could give a fuck about a new postal service record, its pretty hard to deny that this is a shameless xerox. the instrumentation, lyrical content, the delivery, the syrup garbage vox. total fucking rip. apparently a pretty easy formula to crack
People still like Death Cab?
I cant wait until Zoe and Ben break up. That is going to be a great album.
And the Jesus Freak Myspace following is actually thousands and thousands of 14 year old girls. My daughter is one of them. She played this for me about a month ago and five seconds into the song I said, “This sounds just like Postal Service!” She liked Postal Service when she was an eight year old and still loves Dntel’s Life Is Full of Possibilities”–which in my opinion is a perfect album, far better than “Give Up”. But I think the simplistic, juvenile, full-of-wonder lyrics of Owl City are more appealing to her Teen-Idol sensibilities. I’d much rather pop in Postal Service of Dntel than Owl City, but at least Owl City is slightly less annoying than some of the other Pop-Chart drivel she might have brought home.
Not an owl city fan…. but god. Stereogum draws the most opinionated pretentious assholes ever. I find that most people who truly appreciate and know good music, don’t waste their time bashing on bands they dont like. Everyone has their own taste.
It’s particularly ironic, because Stereogum is the most famous music blog out there. You bash popular music on the most popular “indie” music blog.
So ripping off Merritt/Magnetic Fields (“10 million fireflies…10,000 lightning bugs” — come on, man, it’s like this song was written by a record company’s legal department!) and Tamborello equals #1?
I blame the Postal Service. They should’ve put out that damn second record by now if they didn’t want no-talent auto-tuned hacks to steal their schtick!
Not to mention that the dude is trying as much as humanly possible to sound just like an auto-tuned Ben G.
Still, I blame The Postal Service…
Seriously, my daughter is 2 and she would take a dump on this song. Give kids some credit, the know good music when they hear it. This sounds like something from a Disney channel show.
i didnt even know who owl city was before this.
unfortunately, now i do.
Wow, a pretentious 2-yr old. You must be so proud. If kids aren’t buying this music then who the heck is buying it up? Your comment makes less sense than Owl City’s lyrics.
To be honest, I own and liked the Postal Service album. Yeah, when I heard “Fireflies” I thought, “Hmm, Ben Gibbard much?”, but as it turns out, I like the Owl City album much more than The Postal Service. The PS album is fine for aural structure, but Ocean Eyes is more of a coherent album of songs.
As for ‘ripping off’ from other people…it’s been going on for years. BTW, Nirvana didn’t rip off Boston…it was the Pixies they ripped off. Kurt admitted it and was a huge Pixies fan. Hell, Gemma Hayes used the “the roads don’t love you” line in “Happy Sad” which was from the Magnetic Fields, though she gave credit. And iI adore Gemma. She’s amazing. Big deal. Am I supposed to be pissed off at Breanne Duren for sounding like my beloved Beth Sorrentino of the criminally overlooked Suddenly, Tammy? No…because Breanne’s album is amazing. So I’m not going to hate on Adam for happening to sound like Ben.
And yes…I’ve noticed a lot of pretentious a-holes on Stereogum…but they’re everywhere. It doesn’t keep me from liking what I like, and it won’t do that for anyone else, either.
It’s good to see some of the 14yo fans you guys rip so much are smarter than you and use google before posting. If you did, you would find that it’s not even the one man behind Owl City singing…
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090915183540AAnAnGx
It’s Matt Thiessen from Relient K. He has sung that way his whole career which coincidentally has been roughly a year after Gibbard started DCFC. Why didn’t anyone accuse him of copying his voice the last decade he’s been making pop/punk and now more poppy music? Oh yeah….it’s because there wasn’t a blippy-bloopy electronic-inspired soundtrack for it to go along with.
Grow up. People sound like other people by chance and sometimes even songs made on opposite ends of the world by people who’ve never heard each other have similarities. It doesn’t mean anyone copied off of anyone, it just means they’re making music to make music and with a limited number of notes to play with, things on occasion can sound similar.
Now please proceed with discussing the actual musical content. (I personally think it’s good but probably just because I used to love Relient K, but as for electronic sounding stuff, Postal Service beats Owl City and probably always will.)
soo i think you all need to get the hell over this. so what if he sounds like postal service? how many bands and artists out there do you know that sound almost exactly like someone else? and on purpose too? it’s really not even that big of a deal. the majority of artists copy the style and sounds of other artists. IT HAPPENS. jesus christ…
Well Captain P though im sure you only listen to bands like seether and shinedown whom scream “No Origniality” theres a lot of music out there that does not blantly rip off bands music. Whom have their own sound.
Or maybe im just pissed that Owl Citys getting the airplay that the Postal service never got.
WRONG this is adam youngs WORST WORK this song was used a a fan magnet i think a pre-teen girl fan magnet if you listen to port blue or swimming with dolphins or even a different owl city song you will see something you obviously dont see
Been watching a bit of the CMAs tonight. I think we should forget our differences and band together against the common enemy. These ‘hat acts’ haven’t changed for decades.Wish I had satellite TV…
I’m glad I never gave this, as one commenter cleverly put it, Fowl Shitty, a listen.
Are the Postal Service going to come out with any new material any time soon?