Alas, The Scores are Finished

So I gotta write a post on one of my favorite things of the year 2016.
The Adam Young Scores.
If you've been hanging around my blog for awhile, you've heard of them before.

What are the Adam Young Scores, you ask? Let me start with the 'Adam Young' part.
He's the guy who writes Owl City. You might have heard of Fireflies, one of his most popular songs. Like most Hoot Owls (for that is what they call us), Fireflies is what got ME started, about oh, 6 years ago. My brother would take me places in his car, and he would always play the song for me, among others.
Well, time passed, and for my 16th birthday, he gave me my very own album! Ocean Eyes still sits proudly among my other CDs.

Over time, of course I got to liking his other albums too, 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', 'Maybe I'm Dreaming', and his LATEST album, 'Mobile Orchestra', which I just love.

Anyways, the guy's really talented.
He records his own noises and then layers them with the computer to make music. How awesome is that?! Some might say it's not really 'music', but I disagree. If it sounds good and I like it, who cares how it's made? Besides, some of it IS real. I mean, have you heard this guy's piano?! That's real! And so is his voice, which I love as well.
Anyways, no amount of talking down to electronic music will make me love Adam's music any less. The words speak true to me, and they have helped me get through some of the toughest times in recent years.
If you're a teenager and don't have Owl City, I gotta say I'm sorry for you.

'Tidal Wave'

At the beginning of 2016, in February, he came out with the first 'Adam Young Score'.
It was called 'Apollo 11;, and it 'told' the story of America landing on the moon. I actually didn't care for this one very much, so I wasn't too excited.

BUT THEN.

In March, 'RMS Titanic' came out, and BOY.
I was BLOWN. AWAY.
See, the Titanic has always been one of my favorite stories in history. And here was MUSIC TO GO WITH IT. But not just music. Noises like the ship is creaking and breaking apart in the ocean.
As I listened, it was like I was right there on the ship. Among the chaos, desperate for the only hope for survival: the lifeboats.
It was like a soundtrack without the movie.
What's more perfect than that?
Then I found out that he does these music/soundtrack/depiction thingies every single month. Boy was I happy.
It's kind of like when you subscribe to a really cool monthly magazine. Every month, you're there at the mailbox, waiting for the newest issue to come out. Craving to get your hands on it.
That's the kind of blissful anticipation it was for me.

I, the one who loves history, and learning, and music, and Owl City most of all, was getting the most amazing 'subscription' every single month.
Of course, it's over now. The scores are done (for the time being).
That's why I'm writing this post NOW instead of months ago.
The last score came out December 1st, 2016. 'The Endurance: Shackleton's Journey'.
I am sad that it's over, but I will always remember what fun they were. And of course, they're still on YouTube!

After all of that, I have to say "Thank you, Adam Young."

And now, of course I had to write down my top five favorite scores for 2016, as well as a few others.
So here they are. If you've never heard the Scores before, I would start with these. :)

1. Corduroy Road (A beautiful depiction of the Civil War just before it ended. I absolutely adore this one. There's piano, sounds of the rain falling in a Civil War camp, a rewrite of Amazing Grace and EVEN ADAM YOUNG'S VOICE... It's all so beautiful I could cry. Definitely my favorite out of all of them).

2. RMS Titanic (The story of the Titanic has always been close to my heart. I just love learning about it and my love for Titanic history is wrapped up into this beautiful musical package, complete with Irish themed music and "Nearer, My God, to Thee".).

3. Voyager 1 (The story of a lonely space probe traipsing across the galaxy. I like this score because it's practically the exact same as me: A tiny bit beautiful, a little strange, somewhat mysterious, a little dark at times, but altogether, quite amazing. Plus, stars and galaxies and moons and dark matter are among my favorite things in the entire world).

4. The Endurance (this is the most recent score to come out. I probably know the least about this score's historical representation than all the others, but I still have a fantastic time listening to this one. I loooove how it's so LONG. It gives me more to listen to, more to love. This one also has some pretty cool sound layering. In fact, Adam Young made a video about how he layers sounds for this score. It's pretty neat to watch)

5. Last but NOT least, Project Excelsior (first of all, that's just fun to say. Excelsior. It makes me think of Gomer Pyle {don't ask me why} and I just love the sound of it. Anyways, the music is quite pretty, less flowy and delicate sounding than some of the other scores, but really cool. There's some guitar music and a tiny bit of piano near the end. Love it).

 

And of course, a couple of honorable mentions that didn't quite make the list, but they're still pretty good:

Mount Rushmore: I just have to ask WHY IS THIS ONE SO SHORT. It's really pretty but it needs to be much longer. :(

Spirit of Saint Louis: This one came out pretty early in the year, so I feel like I've listened to this one more than the others. I have always liked the story of the Spirit of Saint Louis with Charles Lindbergh (especially since some of my family originally came from St. Louis), so this one holds a special place in my heart.

Miracle in the Andes: I didn't like this one as much as the others, but it DOES have some pretty piano parts, and therefore deserves a mention on the list.

So if you've never tried Adam Young's Scores before, try a couple of these out. :) I promise you won't regret it.
I mean, they're like soundtracks, only better. How is that not amazing?!
So though I'm sad the scores are finished, I am still super excited because APPARENTLY HE'S GOT A NEW OWL CITY ALBUM COMING OUT THIS YEAR.
YEEEEHEHHEEHHEAHAHAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! HOORAY FOR NEW SONGS!!!!

And he apparently said on Instagram that he might do more scores again sometime, after the new OC album and all that.
I, for one, will be holding my breath until that time comes.
Until then, don't assume you WON'T hear about them on The Blog. I assure you, you will.

Oh and before I go, here's a tip from Adam:

Ok, I'm done.
-Amaris

p.s. Have any of you guys heard the Scores before? Which ones are YOUR favorites? Comment below!