ID: A photo of Adam Young when he was in his mid-thirties. A caucasian man with brown hair, short and quaffed; brown eyes, a round face, and a stubbly beard. He wears a navy button down shirt and sits near a tall black fence.
Feel free to play the music video above while you read.
IDs: From left to right. Adam Young in a white button down and undone black tie holding a guitar in blue light. Adam and his wife smiling together with a whimsical filter of stars, a moon, music notes, and a film countdown. Adam as a younger man looking up at the sky and wearing a shirt reading I AM. A black and white of Adam onstage with a guitar. Adam with a guitar, wearing a grey tank top.
First of all, who the heck even is Owl City?
Adam Randal Young was born July 5th, 1986 in Iowa, and then primarily grew up in Minnesota. He was heavily influenced by game and film scores such as from the Disney Renaissance and Finding Nemo. He got a general arts degree at community college and worked several service and warehouse jobs before his record deal. His song Adam, Check Please is an ode to his first job working at a Hy-Vee.
In recent years, he has said that he is married, Christian, and likely autistic (which explains a lot). According to his cryptic socials, he loves movies, cast iron skillets, Capri-Sun, and camping in subzero temperatures.
Here is a brief timeline of his discography:
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Pre-2007 – Creating music in his parent’s basement, uploading to MySpace.
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2007 – Released acoustic album under the name Sky Sailing.
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2008 – Released debut album Maybe I’m Dreaming under Owl City.
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2009 – signed on to Universal Records, released Ocean Eyes.
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2011 – All Things Bright and Beautiful.
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2012 – The Midsummer Station.
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2014 – Mini-album Ultraviolet.
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2015 – Mobile Orchestra.
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2016 – released 11 instrumental albums under real name.
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2018 – Went independent, released Cinematic.
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2023 – Coco Moon.
His Strategy | Life in the Bonus Round
ID: Adam sitting at a keyboard in a recording studio.
Many artists spend a huge portion of their early careers making music in order to top charts, saving personal, creative expression for their golden years.
But since Fireflies -- which went multi-platinum in 2009 -- practically Adam’s entire career has been his golden years! He has all the credibility and resources he needs to make the music that he wants without the pressure to top charts again.
Here's his business strategy: He provides publicity singles to movie studios like Dreamworks, Disney, Sony, and others. You may be familiar with his most popular one When Can I See You Again? from the Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack. He knows how to make pop songs that kids, parents, and studio execs enjoy, so why not profit from a few bubblegum singles? He then takes that money and puts it directly into his next album, which he produces in his home studio. Having a personal studio as nice as his is major expense, but it can save money in the long run since he doesn't have to rent studio space. Plus, now that he's releasing under his own label, he faces less time constraints to put out new music. He only tours every few years, unlike many musicians who financially depend on it. This also frees up his time to spend making music and simply living the type of normal life that many big-name artists regret missing out on.
IDs: Photos of Adam's freshly finished home studio. On the left, a rounded desk with impressively neat sound boards and equipment. A stack of keyboards line the wall. On the right, a table with more equipment and stairs leading up to a pair of recording booths. The whole space is lined with polished, yellow wood and arrayed with warm lights.
Adam always creates from scratch. He composes his own sheet music, mixes in his home studio, and records his own sounds effects. While other artists might sample from YouTube or a sound effects board, he serves as his own foley artist and documentarian. He finds objects around his house and frequently goes outside to record birds, water, crickets, and more.
IDs: On the left, a tiny mic nuzzling the face of a watch on a desk. On the right, Adam holding a Roland Edirol recording device up to a pair of eggs frying in a cast iron skillet.
If you ever have the pleasure of seeing him in concert (which are rarely too expensive), Adam is a one-man show. His concerts aim to create an experience that immerses the audience in his vivid imagination. He is a multinstrumentalist bouncing between piano, guitar, keys, drums, bass, synths, xylophone, tambourine, and vocals. His auxiliary bandmates complete the ensemble with cello, drums, violin, mandolin, and more. With virtually his own studio space set up onstage, he builds songs live and from the base up using a beatmaker, drum pads, and loop pedals. He also incorporates sound effects, movie audio, and lighting to create a cinematic experience, like you're in a movie with him. His live show at the Webster Hall, NYC in 2023 for his Coco Moon tour accurately showcases what an evening with him looks like.
IDs: Top: Adam onstage playing guitar and singing into a mic with a sunflower attached. His keyboards, synths, beatmaker, and tambourine surround him. A bandmate plays cello in the background. The title reads Owl City To The Moon Tour Live. Bottom: Adam singing onstage, surrounded by his instruments and a pair of bandmates playing drums and mandolin. The lightshow behind him displays a giant owl.
He's also done a ton of fun collabs over the years. His most well known is likely Good Time with Carly Rae Jepsen, but he has many more. Switchfoot, Lindsey Stirling, Hanson, Luke Owen, Aloe Blacc, and TobyMac are a few of the bigger names he's worked with. He tends to work with other indie artists and singer-songwriters, refusing the pressure to benefit from the clout of big-name celebrities to enjoy running with like-minded artists like himself.
If you compare the archives of YouTube with Spotify, you will find that there are a handful of tracks that cannot be found on any streaming platform. How I Became The Sea and In Christ Alone are some of his best work, in my opinion! The sheer amount of unofficial singles further speaks to his priority of passion over profit.
As mentioned previously, Adam Young faces fewer constraints regarding the timing and trendiness of his music. The same goes for its content. While many artists feel pressure to write music that will please mass audiences, Adam has always written about what matters to him personally. Family, dreams, memories, love, faith, and mental illness are common subjects across his work.
Some songs are stylized like a story and may feature didacticism, overt or covert. His more recent albums Cinematic and Coco Moon feature songs that share stories from his personal life and the lives of those close to him; a prosaic break from his usually poetic style. Under The Circus Lights, Be Brave, Fiji Water, and My Muse all recount vital memories from his personal life, whereas songs like Montana, Firebird, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, and The 5th of July pay respect to family and friends, passing on their stories like a bard of antiquity. His fictional stories like The Meadow Lark, Field Work, and The Tornado serve as parables illustrating truths he holds dear.
Most songs are like vague recollections of a dream, inviting the listener to interpret their own meanings (ex. The Real World). Not everyone cares for his usually abstract style of lyrics. "Alligator sky? Sharks in the sink?" But this style is deliberate and often still contains meanings that can only be found by reading between the lines and thinking critically. It's believed, for example, that Cave In is about a soldier with PTSD and Kamikaze is about his Christian faith. But these interpretations are only noticeable once you've listened to them with an attentive ear. Everything is a metaphor, allegory, or symbol of a deeper meaning. In the rare event that a song is indeed just pretty visuals with no hidden meaning, that is art too! It still takes artistic talent to craft lyrics that transport a listener to another world in their imagination, and the worlds that Adam crafts are beautiful.
Here is a diagram suggesting what songs to listen to depending on what vibe, genre, or emotions you seek. As you can tell, Adam has a varied base of aesthetics.
ID: A venn diagram of six circles. The outer spaces include the following. Poppin' EDM = Up To The Cloud. Poppin' EDM + Sad Boi = Beautiful Times. Sad Boi = Silhouette. Sad Boi + Storytime = This Isn't The End. Storytime = 5th of July. Storytime + Orchestral = Wheels Down. Orchestral = Country Hymn. Orchestral + Poetry = Madeline Island. Poetry = If My Heart Was a House. Poetry + Jesus yay-yeah! = I Found Love. Jesus yay-yeah! = You're Not Alone.
The inner spaces include the following. Jesus yay-yeah + Poppin' EDM + Sad Boi = Up All Night. Poppin' EDM + Sad Boi + Storytime = Plant Life. Sad Boi + Storytime + Orchestral = Under The Circus Lights. Storytime + Orchestral + Poetry = Dinosaur Park. Orchestral + Poetry + Jesus yay-yeah! = Meteor Shower. Poetry + Jesus yay-yeah! + Poppin' EDM = Tidal Wave.
And here is a diagram illustrating how Adam's music speaks to the human psyche in every way.
ID: A venn diagram of five circles. The outer spaces include the following. Spiritually = My Everything. Spiritually + Sensorially = Thunderstruck. Sensorially = Up To The Cloud. Sensorially + Emotionally = Beautiful Times. Emotionally = The Tornado. Emotionally + Mentally = This Isn't The End. Mentally = 5th of July. Mentally + Creatively = Real World. Creatively = Alligator Sky. Creatively + Spiritually = I Found Love.
The inner spaces include the following. Creatively + Spiritually + Sensorially = Up All Night. Spiritually + Sensorially + Emotionally = Meteor Shower. Sensorially + Emotionally + Mentally = Tip Of The Iceberg. Emotionally + Mentally + Creatively = Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Mentally + Creatively + Spiritually = Plant Life. Mentally + Creatively + Spiritually + Sensorially = Angels. Creatively + Spiritually + Sensorially + Emotionally = Up All Night. Spiritually + Sensorially + Emotionally + Mentally = In Christ Alone. Emotionally + Mentally + Creatively + Spiritually = Meadow Lark. In the very center is Galaxies.
I'll just let his classic tweets and Instagram speak for himself.
IDs: Screen shots of classic tweets from Adam Young. 1. Puts on gym shorts. Puts in earbuds. Plays Eye of the Tiger. Flexes in mirror. Does one sit-up. Ruptures spleen. Dies. 2. Called walgreens to ask if they sold bubble mailer envelopes and owl city was the hold music which was ironic because owl city is me but anyways walgreens doesn't sell bubble mailer envelopes fyi. 3. Worries a serial killer might jump out from behind my shower curtain and start reading Twilight to me. 4. Boops you on the nose with a chair. 5. Mom said I could join your gang. 6. Listens to owl city. 7. Jojo says u like owl city? name THREE of his song ... #fakefan. Adam says firefly, good times, idk what else.
IDs: Screen shots of classic IG posts and their photos. Post 1: Slept out in the woods last night and beat my low temp record. -28 below zero out here in Minnesota. Photo 1: Adam bundled up in frosted coats. Only his eyes are visible through all the layers. Post 2: This little guy smacked into my window and was lying on his back so I picked him up and told him a story until he felt better and then he flew away. #indigobunting. Photo 2: A little bird with royal blue feathers looks into the camera as he stands on a gloved hand. Post 3: Today My Headphones Broke, a short poem by Adam Young. I bought a pair of headphones half a dozen years ago. And they meant more to me than anyone could ever know. I wore then say and night, alas, they never left my side. The joy they always brought me was too splendid to describe. The days turned into months, then the months turned into years. And all that time, my headphones say securely on my ears. They started fraying, then the ear cups fell apart. But lovingly, I fixed them with affection in my heart. With every piece of music, every single song I wrote. My headphones heard it all, yes, every word and every note. Without that pair of headphones, I would laugh aloud and say. I don't know that I'd do, cuz they were perfect, in a way. I vowed it couldn't happen, oh, but deep down I was scared. To think the day might come when they would break beyond repair. But now, the worst has happened, a lump formed in my throat. I blinked away a tear because ... today my headphones broke.
IDs: Chart of Owl City's awards and nominations. One nomination in 2009. Two wins and three nominations in 2010, including Record of the Year. Two nominations and one win in 2011. Three wins and two nominations in 2012. Two wins in 2013.
Apple Ringtones (Yes, really!)
Over the course of 2016, Adam composed, recorded, & released 11 instrumental albums, like film scores for historical events that were personally meaningful to him. The song featured at the top of this article is from my favorite, The Spirit of St. Louis, which I love to listen to on flights.
1.Apollo 11 – The Moon landing
2.RMS Titanic – The sinking of the Titanic
3.The Spirit of St. Louis – The first successful transatlantic flight by Charles Lindburg
4.The Ascent of Everest – The first successful conquering of Mt. Everest
5.Omaha Beach – The Allied troops’ storming the coast of Normandy
6.Miracle in the Andes – Andes Flight Disaster of 1972
7.Project Excelsior – Joseph Kittinger setting world records while testing high-altitude parachutes
8.Corduroy Road – The American Civil War and building of the Transcontinental Railroad
9.Voyager 1 – NASA launching the Voyager probes to capture the first photos of our solar system
10.Mount Rushmore – Scaling the carving
11.The Endurance – Last arctic expedition by Ernest Shackleton in 1915
Listen to Owl City.
Thank you.
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