Something Like Kites has been pretty annoying for
me.
I can't blame him. It was his team that followed me.
I don't think this was so much an official street team as a self-appointed one,
but I put him on the review list and found myself followed by lots of other
devoted young girls. Something Like Kites does have a sizeable following, plus
a picture of him with Ed Sheeran which I think gives an idea of the
demographic. I eventually stopped following his followers back, and then
started unfollowing due to the retweets.
I am not unused to fans retweeting the bands they
love, or even bands retweeting fan praise. I am also not unused to bands
tweeting about working for your dreams and believing in yourself; I have
nothing against positive messages.
My annoyance was two-fold. One is that the devotion
of the girls seemed a little more cult-like, as if they were working for him
rather than zealously appreciating him (a fine line to be sure). The other
part, though, was that his quotes seemed to go beyond the normal positivity to
the power of positive thinking evangelism where only you can hold yourself back
and no one else should be able to stop you.
That sounds fine, but there is a harsh side to that
where if you haven't made your dream come true, what's your problem? In
reality, there can be very good reasons where structural obstacles require more
than the enthusiasm of the person trying to get past them, where
responsibilities to other people can legitimately take away from your available
energy, and where a refusal to acknowledge said reality opens you up for
catastrophic disappointment and low self-esteem.
(Also, I think it's weird when he says he's here to
make your dreams come true. Really? Working for your own dreams and encouraging
the dreams of others I can see, but you're making theirs come true too?)
These complaints would seem to be separate from the
music, but I believe that shallow confidence is exactly why I find the music so
cloying. And there's so much of it! Releasing two albums in 2014 might make
sense if you had a lot to say, but if the second album sounds that much like
the first one, this time could have been better spent in reading books, taking
lessons, or doing some kind of humanitarian service.
I was thinking that, and then it occurred to me that
fans of Owl City would probably like him. He does list Owl City as an influence, so
it's valid. If you like Owl City, you should check out
Something Like Kites.
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