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camakazi96 · 6 years

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Cinematic - Alt Version

ABSOLUTELY LOVING CINEMATIC! Of course, after listening to it the first time, I had to try rearranging the songs to make an interesting alternative track listing (not that I dislike the original order). So here it is, in an order I think would work well as a telling of a movie-like story. Forgive the length of this post, got really into telling the story X)

1 | The 5th of July: Opening scene, Adam is born surrounded by family who we see adore him and know instantly will play an important part of his life in supporting him.

Title Card: Owl City presents Cinematic

2 | All My Friends (opt. Alt Version): Montage of Adam growing up with a few of his closest friends, doing things like hanging out after school, skating, making some James Bond inspired home videos. They’ve all got dreams, and as they approach the end of high school they know it’s up to them to make it happen. On the day of their graduation, they plan one last outing together before they go off their separate ways...

3 | New York City: ...and that outing is a road trip to New York City. The trip is a blast of a time, and Adam is enthralled by the big city - quite typical when you’ve grown up in the country. Full of wonder, he thinks maybe one day he’ll make a city like this one his home (and he will in a figurative way). Towards the end of the sequence, we smoothly swap from a sprawling city to a open countryside in juxtaposition...

4 | Montana (opt. Alt Version): Jump back a few decades in sparsely populated Montana, a different young man is getting lost not in the big city, but in nature. This story isn’t just about one person after all. Bill Olmstead builds a home for what will become his family, particularly featuring his two children, a boy and girl.

5 | Not All Heroes Wear Capes: Jumping back to Adam, who has returned home and is working an unextraordinary job that’s left him feeling a bit directionless in life. But then he looks to his dad for support, who’s always been a huge inspiration for him. Wanting to emulate what he sees in his dad, he set’s out to follow his heart and live true to himself.

6 | Winners Never Quit: And what his heart is telling him is to pursue music. He’s always loved the medium for creative expression, and as a person he’s unique in his whimsy poetic way of seeing the world - which in the past may have made him feel a bit like an outsider, but here, through music, allows him to thrive. But making it as a musician is a tough gig, and it’ll take plenty of determination and resilience if he wants to make it as one. He sits himself down in his chair, practices the guitar, and starts pumping out songs.

7 | Lucid Dream: Putting your all into something comes at a cost though. All these thoughts running through his head, and he hasn’t got the time to put it all down on the page. They race through his mind late at night, keeping him up, and - when he does drift of - turning his dreams into vivid tapestries of surreal experiences. One night he wakes up after a lucid dream, and starts to write a song about it. We see him recording it in his basement and finally uploading it online to what we now see is his MySpace account with multiple other songs he’s been uploading along the way.

8 | Firebird (opt. Alt Version): Cutting back to Montana, we’re in a white truck (names Troy apparently), with muffled ‘Fireflies’ playing on the radio, but this fades into ‘Firebird’. Bill’s two children Billy and Abbey have grown up over the years and find themselves going off in different directions. As Abbey reflects on her younger years with her brother, she makes peace with the fact that everything changes, and though that’s what leaves room for wonderful new experiences, she knows a part of them will always belong to the old days that they’ll remember fondly. The scene ends with Billy moving away to start a family of his own.

9 | Fiji Water: One morning Adam checks his emails and sees one in his Inbox that he can’t believe he’s reading (scans lines saying “...e’d like to offer you a record deal...”, “...fly you into New York to discuss the contra...”, “You’re lucky break has arrived!”). And truly Adam can’t believe his luck. But as the big weekend arrives, and everything unfolds like in a dream, part of Adam doesn’t like the way this whole deal is heading. How much will he have to give up to keep the support of these guys? A voice of wisdom, as if from his older self, tells him to pass it up and wait for the offer that’s right for him. After all, if he’s getting acknowledgement from a label this big, it can’t just be luck.

10 | Always: As Adam arrives back home in Owatonna, he stops to wonder if he’s just made a huge mistake. What if that was his one big chance? But of course, he didn’t get to where his now on hopes alone. He has faith in God, which he learned from his parents and shared with his friends, and that’s what’s going to get him through any future trials and lead him to the life he’s meant to live. We finish the scene with Adam praying at night, as he looks up to the light coming in through the window with a face of equal parts determination and contentment.

11 | House Wren: Moving forward a bit of time, Adam’s music has taken off, not on the huge scale it might of with the record company, but popular with a devoted circle of fans that have allowed him to quit his day job. He’s decided it’s time to move on from his parent’s home and find his own place to call his own. Thus begins a fun sequence in which Adam compares himself to a House Wren.

At the same time we see Abbey, who has also decided it’s time for her to find a change of scenery, not wanting to sell souvenirs for her whole life. We get the sense now that these two’s stories might intertwine.

By chance or fate, we see them both picking houses in the same tow: Adam moving in on his own, and Abbey with a close friend of hers.

12 | Be Brave: Adam is so grateful for the success he’s found, but still finds his work which is mostly online-based to be a bit isolating. He’s struggled to find connection since his friends left town after high-school, and finds himself feeling lonely. And well... you know how the rest of the song plays out (might I suggest a Star Wars film be on-screen at the cinema, for some continuity with the last song on the album :p ).

13 | Madeline Island: Adam and Abbey have met, and found an instant spark of connection. On a whim, they decide they should go on a camping trip together to get to know each other a little better. They chart a course to Madeline Island, which they’ve both never gone to see despite meaning to. They also invite along Abbey’s housemate and a friend of Adam’s who recently reached out and reconnected with him (I think he said his name is Matt (T?)) for extra company. During the trip, Adam thinks back to the events that led him here, and he feels hopeful while he and Abbey look up towards the stars at the end of the song.

14 | Cloud Nine: The sky returns to a day blue with plenty of bright clouds up there. In the last scene of the movie, we get to see Adam and Abbey spending more time together, Adam continuing his music career, and both their lives becoming more closely involved with one another. There is, and will always be, ups and downs, but they make each other happy. In a world where happy endings almost feel like a myth, or a cop-out, and where perhaps the best we can ask for is a hopeful ending, this is one of the happiest hopeful endings there is.

15 | Cinematic: Roll credits, with fun animations in the background to the uplifting lines of the title track. Some of these animations include characters from some of the films Adam’s written songs for (To The Sky, Wreck It Ralph, The Smurfs, Shine Your Way, and heck put some Oreos in there too), past Owl City music videos, and during that last little pop culture reference in the song get Adam holding up a lightsaber in a really heroic pose. The acknowledgements include all of Adam and Abbey’s family and friends who supported them to get to where they are. Maybe they’ll misspell Breanne Duren’s name in the credits ‘accidentally’ as a reference to Maybe I’m Dreaming’s album liner. The last line of the credits is “Adam Young is Owl City”.

And that’s it, the movie’s over. No post-credits scene or anything like that, but plenty of room for a sequel. Any of the songs with alternative versions can use either and it fits pretty well - I personally prefer to use the original of Firebird, and the alternative versions of the other two (simply because Breanne Duren <3 and the Sky Sailing sound of Alt Montana). Another option is to keep all the main version of the songs in the actual movie, and save the alternative versions for additional credits songs.

Note: Madeline Island and New York City could potentially be swapped around as the two road trip songs in the album, but ultimately I like New York far from the end because it sounds a lot like Cinematic at times, and three really electronic songs right at the end might be a bit much.

Anyway, those are my two cents. No matter how you listen to it, hope you Hoot Owls are all enjoying the songs :D

#owl city #OwlCityCinematic #adam young

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howyoustudythestars · 6 years

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My thoughts and theories on the Cinematic previews

Warning: long, spoiler-y post ahead!

Fiji Water: Earlier, on Reddit, many HootOwls took Abbey’s words and the announcement video to propose the theory that the album would follow Adam’s life journey from beginning to end. However, while I think it’s true for the most part, I don’t think it’s the case any longer. Fiji Water seems to be about, in my opinion, to be about Adam’s experience with Republic Records, thinking about what it would be like if he “knew then (or when he was first signing onto the label) what [he] knows now”. Think of it as being the only song on the album dealing with the label and whatever issues he had with it. (This theory is backed up by this old Instagram photo that I just came back across... He was 22 in 2008/2009, right around the time he signed onto what was then called Universal Republic Records.) Plus, the Owl City sound is back in full force on this song!

The 5th of July: The song is literally the story of his birth. What I like about this (and many other songs) is that it seems to be straight out of his scores project, with the addition of lyrics and vocals. It comes out really well!

All My Friends: Story time -- Back when The Midsummer Station was being promoted before released, I remember the fans were very much up in arms over the poppier direction. Adam defended his decision numerous times, including that his label had anything to do with it. I was not among the fans who didn’t like the Shooting Star EP or Good Time, but when I heard the full preview on iTunes when they were pushed out and announced, I listened and something clicked. Like every song on the album had a purpose. Even Good Time seemed less out-of-place when heard in context, and I’m sure many HootOwls agree with me on the full-length album. Basically, the same thing happened with All My Friends. It might not make sense as a standalone song, but I think it might work better in context of the full-length album. And if you’re still not on board, wait until you hear what I have to say about the Alt. Version.

House Wren: Am I the only one who thinks that this song stems from these old Instagram photos here and here? Sounds like a mix of both the Scores project and classic Owl City. The lyrics sound encouraging. Hopefully, this is on reel 1, as it’s one of the many songs I can’t wait to hear!

Not All Heroes Wear Capes: That moment of clarity isn’t there for this song. It may come with the full album, however. I’ve already shared my thoughts and opinions on why I’m not particularly fond of this song (though I’m not put off by it) so I won’t be going into any more detail here.

Montana: Something he put in his Instagram posts various times as a hashtag. I’m super pumped about this song. It sounds again like a mix of classic Owl City and the Scores project.

Lucid Dream: The song I’m probably the most excited for. There’s a lot of Trance and EDM elements in here, and the lyrics sound straight off of Ocean Eyes. I’ve got a GIF edit of sorts in mind already, but I won’t say much more than that. I can’t wait to hear it!!

Always: When I first heard the preview, I thought it was either a love song or a song inspired by his parents’ love for Adam. But as I listened to it more, I realized it’s likely about his Faith: “Hold fast”, “I am by your side”. The beginning of the chorus harkens back memories of both Angels and Tidal Wave, from All Things Bright and Beautiful and Ocean Eyes, respectively. One thing I secretly hope is that Adam doesn’t directly mention God or Jesus, only because it would then open up to a wider audience for those to appreciate the song, much like with Meteor Shower.

Cloud Nine: I firmly believe this is the song is from the Twitter Q&A video. This will either be like Ocean Eyes of The Midsummer Station, but I think it will be a solid song. Clearly a love song with an Ocean Eyes-era instrumental.

Winners Never Quit: This one reminds me the most of Ocean Eyes. It seems to be a song of perseverance, maybe with a tinge of stuff about making music after the wild success of Fireflies in 2009.

Madeline Island: With a mix of the Owl City sound and the Scores project, it reminds me lyrically like something off of Maybe I’m Dreaming! Maybe even On the Wing to an extent... but it’s gold. I think it might be a love song, but I’m not sure.

Be Brave: There’s no doubt that this is a love song. This is purely sounding like it’s from the Scores project. It’s almost like a song you’d expect to hear in romantic comedy musical movie. Very much a slow love song, and while those types of songs, in general, are ones that I don’t really like, something is coming off sounding right here. My guess is that it’s about Adam and Abbey.

New York City: The album announcement song! Plus these teased lyrics are heard at the end of the preview. Very much like Ocean Eyes. It’s one of the songs that I can’t wait to hear.

Firebird: Another song I can’t wait to hear. Sounds instrumentally like a mix between Dementia and Bird with a Broken Wing. Furthermore, I think the line “A basement full of boys building homemade bombs” is a reference to the one, the only, Flames Pond! I can’t wait to hear this song, as heard in a lyric in the Alt. Version preview, is about fearing you grew up too fast and missing childhood. Think a more nostalgic approach to All My Friends, but with way better lyrics.

Cinematic: I’m super pumped about this song. I think this song is encouraging people to follow their dreams, just like him. This is probably the closest that Adam has to a title track that actually deals with the theme of the album. He’s had a few in the past that open up the album with the right sort of theme (The Real World, Dreams and Disasters), and he had a title track in Japan that was purely a short instrumental piece (Mobile Orchestra), but this song is coming out right. I think this song is designed to wrap up the album on the right note, but of course, we still have Alt. Versions to go yet.

All My Friends (Alt. Version): A way better version of All My Friends than the official version out now. Stripped down, with vocals I think from Matt Thiessen and Breanne Duren in there, it comes off a lot less cheesy and a lot more enjoyable.

Montana (Alt. Version): Oh, the Sky Sailing feels... (But I’ll ask again: if Sky Sailing isn’t dead, why does it seem like the lines between Sky Sailing and Owl City are being blurred together? I have no problem with the song, though, but I’m just confused as to why Adam hasn’t said that Sky Sailing is not dead when he seems to be incorporating it more and more into the canon of Owl City.)

Firebird (Alt. Version): A Score-styled instrumental infused take on Firebird. I’m not sure how well it will work as an album closer, but I’m still excited to hear it!

Closing thoughts: “All My Friends” is not representative of the album at all. There’s a lot more on here that I think is better. On the one hand, I don’t know why Adam thought it was the best song to first release from the project, but on the other hand, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. And besides, I feel that both All My Friends and Not All Heroes Wear Capes are the weakest songs off of Cinematic, and with those two out of the way, the only thing left to release is pure gold!! I had reservations about pre-ordering the album following the release of All My Friends, but the preview took those reservations away. I can’t preorder at this given moment (due to financial issues), but rest assured, I’ll pre-order the album in time to receive the first reel!

#owl city #adam young #cinematic

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