The one man band, Owl City, has put out a phenomenal debut album Ocean Eyes. While the average person has heard their chart topper “Fireflies,” many people have not explored the album any further. The techno type style Owl City has is not heard a lot, in the pop world, and really draws people in. Their style is definitely what draws fans in at first, but the witty lyrics found on the tracks is what keeps listeners coming back for more.

Probably Owl City’s second most recognized song is Vanilla Twilight. In this track, lead singer Adam Young, tells the story of a man enveloped in sadness over missing someone. The song never gives you any real hint as to whether the man is just a far distance away from the woman he loves or if the relationship has ended. This allows fans to enjoy and relate to the song in multiple ways. Depending on how you look at the song, it could be the sweetest love song written for the love of your life or it could be the feel good song you need when looking back on a meaningful relationship.

This song begins by laying out the imagery of a beautiful night which includes a guy deep in thought over special girl far away somewhere, falling to sleep. As she is falling asleep, he sings about how the night is not the same without her. Even the littlest things remind the guy of this amazing girl, such as his hands because the spaces between his fingers are right where hers fit perfectly. He is missing everything about their time together, from the way they use to whisper underneath the stars to the absence of her arms around him as they lay underneath the blanket of stars.
When the song winds down it gives the listeners hope that this guy will make it through sadness. The pain that is obviously present in the guy’s life is worded like a piece of literary art. Talking about how he will find peace of mind or comfort someday, but right now all he can do is long for what they had in the past is written as, “I’ll find repose in new ways, but I have not slept in two day, because cold nostalgia chills me to the bone.” Not only is the word choice impeccable, it also projects good imagery to the point where you feel all the sadness he is feeling too. By using words like repose and nostalgia, the listeners are challenged to figure out what the words mean and expand their vocabularies. Yet there still are some pretty good sappy lines such as, “As many times as I blink I will think of you tonight,” that just makes your heart want to melt for this magnificent song.

Since I am a teenager, I am assuming that I am the target audience for this pop song, and I think that Owl City did an amazing job. It is an effective song because most teenagers are involved in the dating world where love songs fit in perfectly. The song is there for the love birds that are in a long distance relationship, for the nights when you feel alone without that person there to comfort you, and for the relationship that ended before you were ready. When a song relates to its audience in so many ways, the popularity of the song will increase dramatically.
This song has a little persuasiveness in it as well. At the end of the song, the singer sympathizes with the listener over that empty feeling but at the same time gives hope that everything will eventually work out. Telling the listener that things will get better is always a smart thing to do with many emotional teenagers. For the target audience, it is very relevant topic. Most teenagers see their love lives as the most important thing in their life, so having a song all about love is spot on.

This song has been on my iPod playlist for almost a year now, and it never gets old for me. Over the past year, this song has meant many different things to me just as it was designed to do. Vanilla Twilight has carried me through the highs and lows which give it a special place in my heart.