Drop the bomb on Owl City

Chumbawamba.

Devo.

Eiffel 65.

Sinead O’Connor.

Names remembered by some, forgotten by others and never heard of by most.
But for an instant, one brief moment of time, they all stood alone in the spotlight. Their songs tore through the speakers of cars all around the world, setting the mood for a late night rave or early morning bed-wrestling match.

These one-hit-wonders have come and gone — thankfully.

No one in his or her right mind wanted to hear anymore of these “artists’” music. They were one-hit-wonders and nobody complained.

Now, a new band has emerged, made up of all the ingredients needed to make a successful one-hit-wonder. All I can hope for is that this band turns out to simply be a flavor of the week: Owl City.

Twenty-two-year-old Adam Young makes up the illustrious band. This Minnesota native has come to take the pop world from behind. Good for him.

It’s not the kind of music Young creates that bothers me. It’s that his music isn’t original at all.

I used to love The Postal Service and had a serious man-crush on Ben Gibbard. So the genre Owl City falls into should appeal to the same crowd — right?

Not exactly. Owl City sounds like The Postal Service toned down, with a dash more Auto-Tune, aimed to appeal to girls who leave their windows open at night hoping that Edward Cullen will come in and turn them into his new vampire bride.

So the music isn’t all that great. Maybe, lyrically, Adam Young will keep his own as the next Paul Simon.

“Cause I’d get a thousand hugs / from 10,000 lightening bugs / as they tried to teach me how to dance” is the opening to the third verse of Owl City’s hit “Fireflies.” Now, there is no doubt in my mind this phenomenal writing, this is watercolor of words, transcends nothing short of pure poetry. Rhyming hugs and bugs? He must have polished that one for a while.

Paul Simon probably would’ve gone with something, oh I don’t know, better. But nonetheless, Young’s words have squirmed their way into the hearts and minds of millions.

Am I missing something?

His new album is number one on iTunes. YouTube sports 10 million views for the “Fireflies” video.

“Again last night I had that strange dream / where everything was exactly how it seemed / where concerns about the world getting warmer / the people thought they were just being rewarded.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the beginning of the third verse of The Postal Service’s “Sleeping In.”

Maybe still not at the level of Simon but exponentially better than Adam Young’s softhearted, mushy, Eskimo-kissing, flat-out ridiculous lyrics, only worsened by a voice that sounds like a prepubescent Ben Gibbard with his gentlemen’s plums in a tightening vice.

We can only hope that Owl City will soon join the elusive ranks of Chumbawamba and Devo.

Don’t hold your breath.