"Alligator Sky" is a song by American
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
project
Owl City from his third studio album ''
All Things Bright and Beautiful''. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 22, 2011. Four versions of the song were released: The first features Californian rapper
Shawn Chrystopher, the second version omits Chrystopher's vocals, a third version featuring Atlanta rapper
B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later, ...
leaked online, and a fourth version featuring vocals by
Big Boi of Atlanta hip-hop duo
OutKast also leaked online. The song debuted at the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Electronic Track chart.
Background
Adam Young stated in an interview with
AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017â ...
that he experimented with different sounds on the album ''
All Things Bright and Beautiful'' and that "Alligator Sky" is where he 'pulled the
hip-hop vibe, stating; "... I am a big fan of the way hip-hop music is put together and everything that goes into it—being so beat-heavy and just focusing on the rhythm side of it, sometimes more than melody. But I wanted to marry those two ideas and just focus on the rhythm side of it then have this rapper do verses just as a new look to it."
According to Young, the song was inspired by the 2008
computer-animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
film, ''
WALL-E''. Explaining the concept of the title of the song, he stated, "It's about how there are so many weird things coming at you every day. Why not just meet them head on and take charge even though you have no say over what’s going to happen? You and those around you are what matter most."
Critical reception
"Alligator Sky" was met with positive reviews from music critics.
''Billboard'' magazine stated, "it's pretty much an exact rewrite of Young's original smash, from the bubbly electronics to the
Ben Gibbard-approved melodic choices to the overblown optimism." Robbie Daw of
Idolator praised the Long Lost Sun remix version of the song for its, "dreamy keyboard riffs, insistent hand claps and upbeat production" that brings out Owl City's "wall of sound."
Music video
A music video for the first version of the song was released on May 6 and was made by Endeavor Media. Young uploaded 'Behind the Scenes' footage of the video a few days prior to the release on April 22, which explained the concept for the video; saying that it's about two men (Young and Chrystopher) leaving earth, but unlike many videos with a similar theme, they aren't leaving a
post-apocalyptic earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, instead, there is a big celebration about leaving a very polluted earth. In the video the earth is shown as a planet that has terrible living conditions. The celebration is because they are leaving earth to find a better planet in outer space. As shown in the music video the duo are taking samples of earth with them to outer space to archive them.
Young's "Alligator Sky" self makes an appearance at the end of the music video for "
Deer in the Headlights
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindee ...
" where he is nearly run over by himself driving the
DeLorean (from ''
Back to the Future'') after coming to the year 2015.
Track listing
Charts
References
External links
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{{authority control
2011 singles
Owl City songs
Synth-pop songs
2011 songs
Songs written by Adam Young
Universal Republic Records singles
Songs written by B.o.B
Songs written by Big Boi