Owl City Pretty Much Admit Ripping Off Postal Service
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.
Posted at 2:01 PM by brandon
Tags: Ben Gibbard | Death Cab For Cutie | Dntel | Owl City | The Postal Service
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.
Score = 4
WHY!!!!!!???!? WHY did you make me play the song?
Score = 1
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
Score = -2
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
Score = 12
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.
Score = 4
jesus he even sounds like ben gibbard, let alone the structure of it all. Did he really think no one would notice?
Score = 5
Owl City = Fowl Shitty
Score = 8
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.
Score = 3
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.
Score = 4
Sorry about the double post, thought i stopped it before it went through.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 2
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.
Score = 2
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
Score = -9
you're shit is weak like an hj from someone with carpal tunnel
Score = -1
u r deff right. whoever disagrees is kidding themselves. they'll grow up eventually
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
I hate you nick rock
Score = 1
I hate you nick rock
Score = 0
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.
Score = 2
I don't know anyone who hasn't heard the postal service
Score = -1
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.
Score = 0
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?
Score = 1
Your opinion that Give Up is better than Kid A is pretty much unjustifiable. Still, I really did like Give Up.
Score = 3
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.
Score = 1
HA! I'm totally calling this band "The OC" from now on.
Score = 0
They are played quite often on Radio Disney (give me a break, I've got three kids) which its own karmic reward.
Score = 1
Wait....are you saying this new Postal Service song isn't the Postal Service?
Score = 0
I have been telling my teenage brothers that Owl City = shit version of Postal Service since day one.
Score = 0
100,000 Fireflies. Nice.
Score = 2
Came here to say this. Better song than anything Gibbard/Tamborello/Owl City have done/will ever do.
Score = 0
What the fuck is going on here?!?!?
Score = 1
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.
Score = -3
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.
Score = 0
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?
Score = 0
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
Score = 0
And they say that old people are judgemental. You need a hug. Maybe 10,000?
Score = 1
randomoldlady, you are wonderful. I love you. Hugs are the best.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = -3
Nah, I don't consider Owl City to be hipster cannon, I assume it to be Girlpantscore.
Score = 8
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.
Score = -1
Nick Rock is right. The Decemberists and Death Cab are very annoying
Score = 0
"He's a nice guy, he's a nice guy." God, shut the fuck up.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 2
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.
Score = 0
Hey Brando,
What is this Get Up album that you speak of?
Score = 2
This Boy Can Sing
Score = -4
hey "give up" not "get up"
and lets stop the fucking ben gibbard hatred around here
Score = 4
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.
Score = 1
"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.
Score = 1
Is no one going to comment on that awful owl city pajama suit? I think that's the real crime here.
Score = 4
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.
Score = -4
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,
Score = 4
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.
Score = 3
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.
Score = -1
I've never heard of Postal Service either.
I love Owl City!I
Score = -8
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.
Score = -4
"Imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery." When done well, Funoka. When done well.
Score = 4
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.
Score = 1
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.
Score = 0
Comparing owl city to The Postal Service is like comparing puddle of muddddd to Nirvana!
Score = 6
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.
Score = 1
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").
Score = 1
because everyone knows postal service is our nations most innovative band... i'm sure everyone on the morr music label agree.
Score = 1
If you're going to rip something off, at least make it a good rip off. This is just terrible.
Score = 4
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'.
Score = 4
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.
Score = 4
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.
Score = 0
This really just makes me appreciate Jimmy Tamborello more.
Anyone could have sung in The Postal Service, but Jimmy made the record.
Score = 5
dude totally ripped off my name.... lol THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE ADAM YOUNG!
Score = 2
The Pragmatic - Rendevous
Score = 0
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?
Score = 2
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = -2
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.
Score = -3
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.
Score = 2
Wait, let's correct that: The Imogen Heap riff rip is now number 1 and Owl City is now number 2.
Score = 1
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!
Score = -1
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...
Score = 2
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.
Score = 0
i wouldn't even wipe my ass with this guy's lyric booklet because it would be an insult to my poo.
Score = 2
I know you were trying to be funny, Brendan, but OC's lyrics are actually pretty clever.
Score = -1
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.
Score = 2
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.
Score = -4
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
Score = 3
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.
Score = 3
wow this music is annoying shit. lsuch ridiculously juvenile lyrics. who listens to this garbage?
Score = 0
Bleauughghhhh......holy shit this music annoying as hell. and such ridiculously juvenile lyrics. who listens to this garbage?
Score = 1
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."
Score = 1
"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!
Score = 3
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.
Score = -1
Did I just hear "sock hop underneath my bed?"
All time quarterback. QUEL CHANCE!
I'm not even going to google these lyrics...
Score = 3
This band is the new ""indie band" that everyone loves" and it sickens me
Score = 1
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.
Score = 0
The internet is serious business, bro.
Score = 1
postal service + radio formula + appeal to the christian market = owl city
Score = 1
you forgot to subtract talent
Score = 4
Obviously wasting my breath here. Pearls before swine and all....
Score = -1
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
Score = 2
Owl City sound like Ben Gibbard getting bitch slapped by one of the Jonas Brothers.
Score = 3
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.
Score = 4
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."
Score = 0
This song is terrible, however I'm thinking of publishing the lyrics as a childrens novel.
Score = 1
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.
Score = 2
While I don't agree with the sentiment here, I LOVE the way it was expressed. Very humorous :-)
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
Holy Shit this is bad.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 2
fuck this auto-tuned jerk.
Score = 1
He uses Melodyne, a little different from AutoTune. A lot less annoying imho.
Score = 2
The scariest costume of this year's Halloween: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18222544@N00/4093184102/
Score = 0
Wonder what the dude from Wheetus has to say on this one?
PS - OC is pure crap
Score = 0
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = 2
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."
Score = 1
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.
Score = -1
You can't get 1,000 hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs.
1/10 of a hug each
Score = 0
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.
Score = 1
Oh, and Ben Gibbard SHOULD kick Young's ass.
Score = 1
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.
Score = 0
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.
Score = -1
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
Score = -2
People still like Death Cab?
Score = -1
I cant wait until Zoe and Ben break up. That is going to be a great album.
Score = 1
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.
Score = 1
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.
Score = 0
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!
Score = -2
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...
Score = 0
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.
Score = 2
i didnt even know who owl city was before this.
unfortunately, now i do.
Score = 2
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.
Score = -1
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.
Score = -1
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.)
Score = 0
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...
Score = -2
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.
Score = 1
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
Score = 1
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...
Score = 0
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?
Score = 0
The Dream of Evan and Chan was Dntel not Postal Service you fucking idiot.
Score = 0
"everything is never as it seems"
thing that distinguished postal service in my mind was that, aside from being catchy fun electro-pop, ben gibbard (whatever you may think of him) is a solid storyteller who has always written decent, if not thought provoking, lyrics. "everything is never as it seems / dreams / bursting at seams" may bear a lot of similarity to "sleeping in", except that "everything is never as it seems" is not actually a sentence. far as i can tell from one listen, the rest of the lyrics are equally rotten, little-girl baiting cat shit.
so i'd say, let them run with it. it's probably a good thing. chances are, a legion of twelve year olds are going to buy (steal) this record, and their older siblings are just going to walk into the room, tell them to turn it the fuck off, and download a copy of "give up" for them instead. by the time they're all fourteen, they'll still be listening to "give up", and will feel suicidally ashamed for having ever listened to this festering cutesy pile of dumbass.
Score = 0
i have not read every single post, but i did read the first 3rd at least. so if i am echoing something someone already said, sorry.
when i saw the headline that says that this guy "pretty much admits" to "ripping off" the postal service, i wanted to see what he had to say........maybe i am reading it wrong, but he did not really admit to "ripping them off". sounds to me like he is obviously aware of the fact that the song sounds like something postal service WOULD make. this is not like vanilla ice trying to tell us that the "sample" from "ice ice baby" is "totally different" than the bowie/mercury song......i mean the music sounds like tamborello and obviously the guy's voice sounds just like gibbard's, but unless there is a postal service song i dont know about, (which is entirely possible) i only have heard "give up"....i have heard no b-sides or remixes or movie soundtrack type things that may or may not exist. it is not taking a song of the postal service's and slapping a new name on it. Sure, they are copying the sound which happens in all forms of art and in business too. difference is, in the business world, people dont care what you call them as long as they make money. and so the two worlds crash together. again. art and commerce. artists want us to think that they dont care what people think about them as long as they are creating what they want and are "happy" with themselves and business people dont care what you call them as long as they make money. in fact, it seems to me that both sides tend to revel in the negative stereotypes associated with being part of that group. artist example: the artists who we all know at least one of that does not shower, has no car, no money, and seems almost proud of this.....an example of the business side: i work in an office that has a "sales floor" that is very busy. the salesmen are selling a specific commodity. these are guys that call themselves "whores" PROUDLY.....sarcastically meaning that they would do anything (even have sex with people they didnt know) to make money.....both types of people derive happiness from different things. the people who love money are no less happy than those who make art, generally speaking.
perhaps, owl city guy is a mixture of both groups. maybe he is just a business man looking to cash in. i dont know.....but it looks like he saw an opportunity, grabbed it, and executed it perfectly. i dont know what label he is on, or how much money he has generated for himself here...but he has moved 100k units and is getting spins of radio disney!? jeez! somebody is making money off of this song......while the "artist minded group of people" (which would be us here on indie music blogs) see this as despicable, the "business minded group of people" (i am sure there are SOME of us here too. i mean, at least some of us who like to think that we straddle the line, anyway) from a purely business perspective, they see it as genius. think about it.....while people froth at the mouth for more postal service even though another postal service record seems unlikely at this point (as far as I have heard anyway).....this guy thinks, "hey, my voice sounds like gibbard's. i just got a new macbook (a macintosh laptop is all ya need ya know!) i can do that!......and he did do it. blatantly. and most of you are upset about that. i just dont understand why it bugs you so much......if i met him, i would say, "congrats, man! i fucking hate your song, but do not let that stop you. in fact, make more! it drives people up the wall! and that is way more funny than your song is bad." it is really not that fucking bad guys.......
also, by "ripping off" you mean he made a song that sounds a whole lot like the postal service. i guess it is just semantics at this point, but i take ripping off to mean stealing. is he stealing the sound that is rightfully the postal service's? or is he just using the sound unfailrly? (like the way the postal service "stole" they're name from the United States Postal Service?) be honest.... if the "fireflies" song was included on "give up" would you even bat an eye? i truly believe that the song would not as popular as it is (or as "such great heights" even) and that the song would barely be mentioned aside from a pitchfork reviewer either giving them a hard time for the cheesy lyrics, or praising him for making a "fun, pop song".....i mean, are you telling me that gibbard would not sing about fucking fireflies? yeah right. he sings about the fucking "freckles in our eyes" i dont have freckles in my eyes. nor does anyone. (that i know of). it is a stupid line, but who cares?
anyway, yeah. the owl city song sucks. but the fact that this post is well on its way to 150 comments just reminds of some appropriate words from jay-z:
"young-uns ice grilling me,
oh!......you not feeling me?
Fine; it cost you nothing.
Pay me no mind"
Ignore the guy. Fuck. Is it really that bad? I would imagine hardly any of you listen to the radio anyway. It will be gone soon enough, only to be replaced with something that in all likely hood will be much fucking worse.
ALL of that said, there is the issue of that adult one-sie. please tell me that someone here works for that merch company and that somebody ordered the one that is big enough for 6' and 210 lbs. PLEASE!.....the fact that there is someone out there of that size wearing that thing should give us all hope that the music industry still has a chance!
Score = 0
Heystephen, please shut up, your only convincing yourself.
Score = -1
i vote to hang heystephen in a onesie like a pinata and beat him til he realizes what a waste of time his comment was.
Score = -1
a waste of time in the existential sense? yeah. you are right. i proved nothing. nobody is going to see it, in the end it makes no difference. 20 min. i will never get back...... however, i did do it @ work, so i was being paid. most of us do something we wouldnt be doing if we were not being paid, so when put in the context where you consider what i would have been doing otherwise, those were generally 20 enjoyable minutes and not a waste by any means.....i guess it is all comes down to what context you put it in........HEY! almost like if this were a postal service song, note for note, lyric for lyric, nobody says a word about it.........
Score = 0
Get it? He didn't like the Postal Service in high school, and now he tries to sound like them. You know, IRONY.
Score = -1
is anyone reading what the fucking guy said?
he said that in high school he heard the album and thought that it was cool, but it "never caught his ear." now he makes music that sounds just like the postal service. yes, he says it is ironic, but he seems to have the same understanding of the word as you do.
it would be ironic if he said, "i heard it in high school and i fucking hated it!.....but now i make a lot of money by doing my best impersonation."
so yeah. I do know what irony means. not so sure you do though.
Score = -1
it pisses people off when the general public embraces bands like coldplay and owl city and they become wildly popular. when there direct influences (ripoffs) radiohead and postal service are far superior.
Score = 0
Alright, so I haven't ever heard this song before until just this moment. In fact, it's still playing as I write this. When I clicked the play button the only thing I knew about this band was what I had read from the comments (always taken with a grain of salt) and that this is NOT The Postal Service.
My absolute first, visceral reaction was that if someone had not told me this wasn't Postal Service, I wouldn't have known. Like if this came on the radio I would've just thought it was Postal Service. As the song progressed the fact that it was a blatant ripoff and a substance-less peace of crap set in. Honestly, it's like this dude wasn't even trying.
Also: Owl City Onesy? LAWLZ
Score = 0
I really don't get what all the fuss is about. So a guy recognized a demand for a certain style of music made popular (NOT invented) by the Postal Service, and so the guy capitalizes on the opportunity. So what? So its not as good as TPS and I'm not much of fan of the sound, but once again - who cares? The Postal Service stopped meeting that demand, so why shouldn't this guy step in and give it a shot?
I dare any of the haters on this site to name an artist that wasn't influenced by the sound of band/artist before them. Once in a great while a band will come around with a truly unique sound, but even they are merely building off the work of artists before them. Welcome to the history of music folks. Here's a quote from eMusic along these same lines:
"It used to be easier to pretend that an album was its own perfectly self-contained artifact. The great records certainly feel that way. But albums are more permeable than solid, their motivations, executions and inspirations informed by, and often stolen from, their peers and forbearers. It all sounds awfully formal, but it's not. It's the very nature of music — of art, even."
Score = 2
Electric President is the best Postal Service-type band that isn't The Postal Service, guys.
Score = 0
OH MY GOODNESS. Is this a Christian band? I'm cracking up. this song. Of course it comes on Radio Disney! It sounds like it was made FOR Radio Disney. I'm going to move on from this artist now. He got my three minutes. That's sufficient.
Score = 0
shut up? it is a message board. maybe i am mistaken. i thought the whole point of these things were to encourage discussion?
only convincing myself? yes. you are right about that. i highly doubt i did, nor was it my intention to "convince" anybody of anything. i dont care for the song, and you are right that in a way, i suppose i am convincing myself that the song doesnt bother me. but i have done a pretty good job, being that i couldnt give a shit about "fireflies." i do think it sounds like the postal service. i just think it sounds like them FOR A REA$ON.
i also think the one-sie is ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as getting upset about the existence of a song.
Score = 0
this is just like airborne toxic event's "sometime around midnight" completely ripping off LCD Soundsystem's "all my friends"
Score = 0
Listen, I get that it's inoffensive. I get that it doesn't harm me in any way. But so is most of modern, mainstream music. That doesn't mean I can't call the music shit. A terrible song to me is a terrible song, and I'll label it as such. This is one of many places where I can come to escape "bands" and "music" like this so I can revel in the snobbery and elitism that is discovering obscure bands either yet to break or have already missed their chance.
Score = 0
I honestly do not think that Owl City and the Postal Service sound alike. Sure, they're in the same genre. But Owl City uses more guitars and keyboard, and less of the pure electronic sound. Also, their voice are entirely different.
It's just that there aren't many popular electronic bands out there, so the few that are popular are grouped together as being the same.
Score = 0
i would just like to say that owl city's music is much better than the postal service just as a personal oppion.
looking at the facts however, adam young of owl city is a one man band meaning he creates all the music himslef. unlike the postal service. therefore, owl city is much more talented.
Score = 0
This music is cheesy as hell
Postal service was written by Jimmy Tamborello, and collaberated through emails with Ben Gibbard. That is impressive, and anybody can be a one man band. Fucking every solo artist is a one man band, doesn't mean they are good.
Score = 0
you've lost your mind. I (unfortunately saw O C live for a little bit at Sasquatch and people were walking away) and he plays with other people. aaaaaanyone can raise a few hundred bones...sit on a laptop, and create teeeeeeeeen smut. in the music world...you either get it or you don't. DNTEL is the mastermind behind Postal Service, and I guarantee Adam Young would be the first to admit he wishes his talents were that par.
Score = 0
nice try kid. your logic is infallible, oh wait its not. postal service is a side project of indie greats. hopefully someday you'll grow up to have some indie cred, but baby steps. you can start your way to recovery by turning off american idol. you'll thank me later.
Score = 0
Ugh, gross. Is this what it would sound like if the Postal Service wrote a jingle for a McDonald's commercial?
Score = -1
Radiohead and Postal Service are completely different. Don't compare the two again you just sound moronic.
Score = 0
Neon Golden by The Notwist was better then both of these bands.
Score = 0
This is tiresome. If it sounds like postal service, shouldn't that be good for us? Instead we're hating Owl City for, sounding like another band's album that came out 6 years ago. All of that aside, my personal opinion: Owl City and Postal Service don't sound that much alike, I think it's just the song 'Fireflies', depicting the rest of their songs as "rip offs". I guess. I Still, would much rather get the new Postal Service album.
Score = 1
we are ripping on the song because it sucks and its a rip off. the 2 combinations rules out every articulate formula ever
Score = -1
people, let us focus on what is most important. an Animal Collective EP is nigh. let bygones be bygones. bygones are in this case, owl city and worrying about other frivolous topics as such.
Score = 0
I hear more differences than similarities. Honestly, Postal Service is understated and minimalist where Owl City is more produced, features a wider variety of sounds, and has more build and movement throughout the tracks. I'm think both albums are great, each in its own way, and to insist on comparing the two when they were made for different reasons and marketed to different audiences is foolish.
The Postal Service is not the only project that has ever put pop lyrics over a bunch of synths and blips, and Owl City is simply another in a long tradition of synthpop.
Honestly, in a world where Ben Gibbard and James Figurine REFUSE to make another record because they are too busy turning out forgettable albums like Narrow Stairs and Dumb Luck, I don't see why anyone would be opposed to someone exploring the genre-melding possibilities that Postal Service never got around to.
I mean was there this much hoopla when The Secret Handshake released his synthpop album? What about Young Love? Just because Owl City is doing what these boys tried to do better than they managed to do doesn't seem to me like a good reason to rise up against him.
I'm just happy to hear something like this going mainstream for the first time. Props to Owl City for accomplishing what other synthpoppers couldn't.
Score = 1
Can we stop thie war? Some people love Postal Service and Owl City both, ya know. If you have not listened to more than 7 Owl City songs, please don't hate because yes, Fireflies is not one of his best songs IMO. Gotta give Adam some credit, his lyrics in most of his other songs are breathtaking. I'll agree with Cameron, too. Does anyone HONESTLY think that Adam Young PURPOSELY stole/ripped off Postal Service?? Every artist is inspired from some band/singer of some sort. Didn't Adam grow up listening to Imogen Heap and blink-182?
Score = 0
What does it truly matter?
Enjoy your life
Score = 1
Everyone here, are total fucking retards
Score = 1
wow, a lot of hate for owl city here! ok, i love postal service, but when i heard owl city, i didn't automatically think of ps. but i can see the resemblence. what, two people can't have the same style now? and those who say he sings just like ben gibbard, well they are alike, but it's not like adam young can change his voice! i personally think owl city's lyrics are very clever. and yes, i now like them more than postal service. like others have said before me, you really need to get off your high horses.
Score = 1
I heard this song and immediately filled my boxers with watery shit...could it be Postal Service? I really hated them and Deathcab but it made my bowels really move. Just then...it my turn to change my son's diaper...judging from the massive load of solid shit exceeding his diaper ridge...I realized this was neither of the two. It was some ass clown that had ripped off a really shitty band. Congrats to you.
Score = -1
Just to piggyback on what Horace just posted, this band makes me question God.
Score = 0
I love Postal Service, thus I love Owl City. Due to the fact that Postal Service has decided to leave their fans with only one album, we must find another outlet for satisfying our love of electronically-inspired music. So, thank you Owl City for bringing about the new era of "Postal Service".
Score = 0
Firstly: I liked Narrow Stairs!
Secondly: My first reaction to hearing Owl City was "Why is my boyfriend playing the postal service?" His usual musical tastes include 3 days grace and kelly clarkson. (he has other redeeming qualities.)
Is Owl City as good as the postal service? No. Am I going to get my panties in a bunch over it? no.
Yes, It's lame, and it's a shame the postal service isn't getting more credit for what they created, but they never released a follow up album (doesn't give people the right to rip them off. Just saying maybe if they did, they would have been getting the credit instead) and I don't listen to the radio anyway or watch Disney.
I'll probably end up listening to them anyway because of my boyfriend (Hey, it beats taylor swift!) but i live in the world, and the world does not appreciate my musical tastes. Besides, If he likes owl city, maybe I can get him to listen to the Postal Service instead!
Score = 0
Yea, yea, yea...you did understand the phrase watery shit right? After hearing the story about your bf listening to this tasteless garbage, I soiled my boxers 3 times over before I was able to hit the power button on my computer. Listen, these guys have 1/3rd the talent of my weiner. And trust me...that is not saying much. I would rather listen to White Snake...
Score = 0
you all are a bunch of fucking whining bitches, so what if they sound alike, it still doesnt mean that they ripped-off them, so just shut the fuck up, if anyone can say anything on the matter, it is postal service, and hmmmm i dont think they have said one word about it, so shut the fuck up
Score = 0
i dont know if this has been said but the reason this is so popular is because it sounds like The Postal Service. People have been craving something new from TPS that when owl city came around it was to tasty to pass up.
It sounds like a rip off but its not bad music. Id rather listen to give up(sounds better on vinyl) but hey if OC comes on im gonna enjoy it
Score = 0
umm the fact that people are even say this sounds like postal service is ridiculous. im pretty sure i cant stand postal service and this 20 times better
Score = 0
I was driving north from Virgina to NY on Saturday and heard this song on the radio. I knew from the lyrics that it was not the Postal Service. I thought the lyrics were horrible while obviously copying the punchline style of Gibbard. I knew from hearing it that someone was completely ripping them off on this song within a few seconds. The vocal inflections and the melodies and the instrumentation, the flow of the verses. This is not just similarity people, this is like painting in the style of Jackson Pollack and then getting your work shown in galleries as if he never existed. And people go, "Who cares? Who the hell is Jackson Pollack anyways?" And the copycat goes, "Yeah, I think I may have seen a Jackson Pollack painting once a long time ago. But he hasn't painted in a really long time, and maybe this is a continuation of his work." What?
Score = 0
This whole board reminds me of high school, always somebody pissing and moaning over "who ripped off who" as if it matters. Welcome to the human race?? Here you shall take ones ideas and run with them - perhaps improve? Sure, I have politely referred to Owl City as The Postal Service's younger brother, as they are similar, but they still have their own unique characteristics. I've been hooked since I first listened to Dear Vienna, West Coast Friendship and Super Honeymoon. There will always be a place on my shelf for The Postal Service's Give Up album, but Owl City is what's in now, and it's more fun to enjoy some new tunes rather than being miserable over similarities. My hat is off to Adam Young for accomplishing this in such little time, and to Ben Gibbard for not sending Christmas cards to ppl that defend his band on random online boards. :)
Score = 0
did u guys ever stop t think there's a reason O.C made it bigger than P.S...jeaz more ppl like the music, if P.S was such a great band, it wud be as popular, o.c started off on myspace, thats where it grew...bcuz more ppl liked it.
Now if PS was that popular u retards wud be complaining that they 'sold out' n became commercial like everything else...there is no original music anymore, so ppl, stop comparing. thats why it have music categories ...u dont see an "original/unique" genre on ur iTunes do u?
Score = 0
The amount of anger towards owl city on this board is so over the top and redicullous. People are making it seem like owl city using being influenced by TPS is a serious crime. People wake up!!!! If owl city were really copying TPS gibbard would have sued the group for every penny it has ever made or at the very least complained. Until that happens this is really a non-issue.
Score = 0
AMEN!!!! (and i don't mean that in a religious way)
I heard the song on the radio ('Give Up' is probably one of my all time favorite albums, and i'm a definite Death Cab fan) and was truely surprised to find out it wasn't Ben Gibbard singing...but i was mostly glad to find out it wasn't him because the song is shit.
Score = 0
You know, I would not doubt that the people who complain and crucify Adam are the ones that are too lazy to get up and do something with their own lives rather than sit on their behind and drag others down with them. Oh, not to mention that they are afraid of positive things and hate anything sunny and good (that includes atheist and Jesus Haters)
Score = 0
I'm pretty amazed by how similar Owl City sounds to the Postal Service.
On the other hand: I always though the Oasis/Beatles comparison was rather lazy. Oasis never sounded much like The Beatles - especially not on Definitely Maybe. People just made that connection because the guys in Oasis worshiped the Beatles so openly, if they hadn't done that almost no one would have made that connection. It's a pretty interesting look into the way people think (or don't think.)
Score = 0
jesus this place is crawling with hipsters.........lol
Score = 0
and you up there leave that ol lady alone you degenerate F*****bag f***er
thats my granmammy
Score = 0
The only Owl City and Postal Service songs that are somewhat similar are Such Great Heights and Fireflies. Saying that Owl City is a rip off of the Postal Service is ridiculous. They aren't even close to the same genre. Why don't you listen to all of Owl City's music before you start making assumptions and declaring it a rip off.
Score = 0
Ok. I had never heard of Postal Service before this blog and some other shitass blog. Now I just looked up Postal Service and the first song on the list was Sleeping In. I listened to the song and Postal Service sounds nothing like Owl City, and some asshole decided to criticize Owl City. Shame on you. BTW, I LOVE OWL CITY! HA! ha-ha-ha Shitass Writers and criticizers of Adam Young
Score = 0
Owl City is shite. Worst.
Score = 0
indeed, "fireflies" sounds a lot like the postal service...but that's only ONE song. after listening through ocean eyes, i've determined that its overly pop-y and bright sound holds little to no resemblance to give up's more mellow feel. thus, the real issue imo is that, imo, ocean eyes = PANSY MUSIC. it's a fruity, tween-y joke--an example of electronica in its lamest form. the worst part is that ocean eyes is deceivingly catchy; as of now, i can't stop hearing "hello seattle" in my mind. someone please rid my thoughts of this sickeningly cheeseball tune :'(
oh, and about those lyrics...yeah, they kinda-sorta-maybe don't make much sense at all (wtf is a sockhop?)
Score = 0
This song is definitely a Postal Service ripoff, but some of these folks are getting too upset over it. I'm sure that music nerds could identify lots of predecessors that influenced PS. I could argue that PS ripped off "Young Turks" by Rod Stewart (yes, Rod Stewart!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSWp6c86Edg
Just update the synths and swap in Gibbard's voice. I would love to hear PS cover this one...
Score = 0
Gay song, this sounds like something made for an episode of Gossip Girl.
Score = 0
i own it. its very comfy.
Score = 0
THE POSTAL SERVICE KILLED THE RADIO STAR
Score = 0
Can you fucking nerds stop bitching about ripoffs? Musicians get inspired by everything they hear and it shines through in EVERY single song they make. Just because this sub-genre is small (you all seem to think the Postal Service own it) you start ripping on someone else being successful in the same field. Fuck you
Score = 0
his lyrics are unbearable. This music is for people that "don't like to think about stuff"...like people that like CSI and Law and Order and think they are intelligent because they figure out "who done it" 20 seconds before the show reveals it....the lyrics are "clever" to these kind of people....
Also, for the people saying he produced it in his basement...thats either A) a load of crap - just read the liner notes or B) he has a million dollar studio and mastering house in his basement. I'm sure some of his previous work and MAYBE some of the original tracking and reason drums were done at his house...but this was produced, mixed, and mastered by the big boys.
Also...this songs popularity has more to do with having the right song for the right campaign - songs don't just show up everywhere all at the same time without the right people putting money and time into it. The same week this song came out on Itunes it was playing on every Barnes and Noble, Steak and Shake, Big Boy, and Walmart soundtrack in the country...its not magic...its money.
Score = 0
hi, i'm satan. i like both owl city and postal service.
by the way, stop saying you hate owl city if you've only heard that one song. seriously, grow up.
Score = 0
I'm not sure why everyong is getting so worked up over this. Owl City has been around for a while now.I've known about and liked his music since he's been around. He also has other really good songs besides Fireflies. that song just happened to get suddenly popular. And for the people that say he sucks, well have you even listened to some of his other works? i firmly believe that people shouldnt base their judgements on one song without making an informed conclusion based on experiance and knowledge. in this day and age especiaaly with the simplicity of the internet, people go around spouting off their uneducated opinions and pass them off as fact. Even if you go to itunes and llisten to the 30sec preview of several of his songs, at least your can form a more education opinion. But of course opinions are just that, opinions. They are not right or wrong. They are a preference and you can't really think that just because you hate a band and say it that other people will magically agree and change their minds. But listen to his music before basing your opinion. I'm more that willing to listen to someone who has formed an educated thought and made up their mind. I'm not trying to suay you in anyway ; ) As for regards to Postal Service, yes there are similarities. But lots of artists draw inspiration and sound like other artists. There is hardly any real originality out there anymore so you can't really get too worked up about that when i bet you can scroll through your ipod and find artists that sound similar. Heck, theres even a function on itunes called Genius to do just that. (also i just remembered when coldplay ripped off that one song for Viva la Vida, but i dont recall huge uproar like this and people weren't all saying they hate coldplay for that...so just a thought.) But anyways i must say that i am a HUGE Postal Service fan but I'm also a Owl City fan. I don't understand why they can't coexist peacefully. I was delighted to discover a band that resembled the postal service because there werent any new albums so i was happy for new material in a style i really liked. before i came across all this hubbub i just naturally assumed that fans of Owl City would like the Postal Service and vise versa.
I just have one more point to make in regards to this article. The headline of this article says "Owl City pretty much admit ripping off postal service" I read this article and i must say that i don't believe he "pretty much admittted" to anything. I believe that was just a way to get everyone riled up. Stereogum should pay better attention next time to what impression their article title is giving. : ) By the way, I'm not here to argue with anyone i just felt like i should post my opinion.
OWL CITY AND POSTAL SERVICE FOREVER!!! <3
Score = 0
Okay i lied i have one more point ; )!!! HAHA! I really that Owl City is much more techno and electronic that the Postal Service. Owl City as a whole (in my own opinion) sounds more like Swimming With Dolphins. (im thinking Ambient Blue - EP from Sept. 2008) and Lights than the Postal Service. I think Fireflies is the only song that people know (unfortunatly because his other songs are sooo good too!!!!) But that song could be more like a Postal Service song. I think what really makes people say he's some sort of a rip off is because of his singing voice. it sounds similar to Ben Gibbards, but i don't really think he can help that. ; ) But really, the more you listen you become aware of the differences instead of the similarities. I personally can tell that ther are differences and that when Adam Young is singing it is not Ben Gibbard but this could be because I'm a fan of both. But nevertheless I think both are great!
Score = 0
i've never came to this site, but Jesus Christ, the hate here is enough to make anyone smile and say to themselves "i must be doing something right"...
i mean the hate here on this site is so strong, passionate, hilarious, and embarrassing, but it also glues with the site editors biases...
don't hate Owl City... if you don't like him, don't listen to his music! ITS THAT SIMPLE!!! COME ON YALL, GET A LIFE!!!!!! LOL I pitty you members, and some of the editors here... back to my life! lol
and LAST BUT NOT LEASE!!!! EVEN YOUR GOD TPS sounds like someone! remember art is always going to repeat itself... everyone sounds like a little bit of someone before...
now go buy a life!
Score = 0
"last but not lease"... yeah you like the word play... enjoy it enjoy it
good buy lol
Score = 0
Okay, you're missing the most important part:
I really prefer that Fireflies is on top of charts (and honestly, I prefer Owl City than Postal Service, and I've listened to both) than Ke$ha, or some other person that do music based on materialism, for selling purposes only.
Owl City doesn't care about that. They only bring positive, metaphorical lyrics, that are very clever, indeed. Some of the songs are flamboyant, yes, like Dental Care, but some songs are really, really deep when you take a better look on them. At least, I prefer hearing "I've got misty eyes as they said farewell" (and this phrase has a personal meaning to me) than "tonight's gonna be a good night" one thousand times or "I like my jewelry, that's always on gold". You're being haters without knowing what you're talking about, because you have a shortened-mind and can only see one aspect of all. At least, I know my point, have my arguments and keep walking.
Score = 0
Hahaha! Really deep. Deep as a 6-inch kiddy pool. Maybe their music wasn't made for commercial purposes, but their videos and jumpsuits certainly were. If I had made their latest record, I'd be too embarrassed to play for even my own bandmates, friends, or wife, let alone the whole world.
Score = 0
But why is that? Because Kid A is "darker?" Darkness doesn't automatically qualify something as better. Kid A was a stylistic fusion with oddly similar roots to Give Up, but Give Up was indeed more cohesive, "catchier" (which can be a bad thing) and oddly, very original.
This is from a guy who thinks Xiu Xiu's first record, Boredom's Vision Creation Newsun and Orthrelm's second are the most stunning rock records of the past 10 or so years (Xiu Xiu for developing the first original singing style since about 1977, Orthrelm for the literally absurd and seemingly impossible merger of minimalism, futurism, formalism, and ... metal, and the Boredoms for essentially inspiring the whole of non-retro indie music after that record [by inspiring the "live band leader as DJ composer" aesthetic and the percussion-heavy movement in experimental rock music of the mid-2000s, which directly begat the newfound interest in African sounds]).
I know technically that Boredoms' record was released at the end of 1999, but man, it's specter is so monolithic, it can't be ignored.
Score = 0
It's such a blatant rip-off! Anyone who's a genuine TPS fan is bound to be angry/frustrated. This boring, talentless, corporately beige wannabe has gone way beyond 'inspiration' and just copied the whole sound of TPS without any of the originality or storytelling that made their songs so good. It is totally fair for everyone who sees this for what it is to make a point of complaining about it. He doesn't have the right to 'cash in' on a another bands sound because they're not using it at the minute, it's not just that he's stealing the success and credit they deserve (which even if it was decent effort would still be a shitty thing to do), it's that on top of that the song's so sodding awful. And yes, I do think he did it on purpose.
Score = 0
this is all hilarious, you say you hate how he ripped postal service, but all of the rap crap that everyone else loves today is being ripped off from eachother, whoever started music in general probably wouldn't be pissed at everyone else for copying him/her, get over yourselves, just because you think postal service was ripped off by owl city doesn't mean that you're the shit
Score = 0
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA you bunch of fucking dumbass adolescent simpletons, how stupid are you? Looks like owl city in such little time has made far more money than youll ever dream of, and here you are ohhh boo hoo hoo thats not fair??? they ripped off postal service?? HA HA fucking HA...get over it, whiney cunts.....or do something about it? nevermind, you'd never live up to that.
Score = 0
soall you people say this is a rip-off of postal service and death cab or something, of what songs is this a rip-off then and with that this is a great song, i mean what are you all nagging about, lots of songs get ripped off
Score = 0
if all u idiots want 2 there does the postal service (which i've never heard of) have a song called Panda Bear, The Tip of The Iceberg, Rianbow Viens, Strawberry Avalanche, Meteor Shower, The Saltwater Room!! please please tell me if he does nd if u i pretty much have the right 2 push u down every flight of stairs in the "Willis" Tower!!!!!!
Score = 0
Holy crap! I was reading an article about Monsters of Folk (way overrated) and clicked on something that brought me here. I can't believe this argument is still going on. Owl City didn't rip anyone off but Ben Gibbard STOLE Sufjan Stevens' voice!!! Stuff that in your pipes and smoke it.
Score = 0
I have always found Ben Gibbard's voice and lyrics annoying although I can handle Such Great Heights. But I do enjoy Owl City in a background music kind of way.
What I think is funny is all the people freaking out about how much OC is ripping off PS for copying their sound and then calling it shit!! Which is it?? It sounds like Postal Service or it's shit? If it's shit you are calling Postal Service shit! Give the (one-man band) guy a break, there is much more terrible music out there. Ke$ha anyone?
Score = 0
I really think "Nick Rock" is the guy from Owl City!!! He keeps bagging on Death Cab and Postal Service when obviously Owl City is just a very very VERY cheap rip off of said bands. And come on The guy even sounds like Ben Gibbard who had that voice first by the way Dick Cock! So go F*%K yourself or better yet you should go wack off to some Death Cab with the Owl City loser!
Score = 0
The only reason some people think Owl City ripped off TPS is because the music has an electronic element (much different from Dntel ) and a guy that can't help it that his voice sounds like Ben Gibbard. To get an idea of what it really sounds like when someone is deliberately trying to rip off The Postal Service, go and have a listen to anything by a group called "The Go Find". While the voice is different, it is obviously copying Ben Gibbards style and the music could be straight off of 'Give Up". Still, the music sounds lquite different from Owl City. The difference is there because Owl City's sound obviously evolved from a different place - which is what he actually said in the interview being referenced in this article).
Score = 0