Loney, Dear — I Am John

I spent the summer of 2006 living in Italy. We had classes to attend, but they seemed rather second choice for what we could be doing instead. Fortunately, those teaching us were well aware of our desire to explore and not stay inside an amazing 15th century Italian villa all day long. The classes covered an array of subjects, but could be largely put together under the humanities heading. One of these classes was a music appreciation class that lasted for three sessions and was guest taught by a man named Dr. Hopper. To call this man eccentric is to issue a mild judgment on him and his antics are quite entertaining from any seat that you may have to watch him. He does have an incredible appreciation for music though, and those three sessions were the best examples of what music appreciation should look like. During one session, he talked for several minutes about his favorite arches (literally... stone arches) where several members of the Medici family are buried in Florence. He then took this description of the arches to illustrate a wonderful song: The Boxer, by Simon and Garfunkel. The song builds, but not straight up. It builds at an increasing angle—just like the arches. 

Loney, Dear is a Scandinavian band, which is really a solo project from Emil Svanangen. The first three albums he released were recorded by himself in the basement of his parents house and were sold only through his website or at live shows that he performed. Loney, Noir is the first album to reach the states on a mass production scale. From this album, the song, I Am John, is one that does not seem to lose the magic the more I listen to it. 

Like The Boxer, there is a build to this song. The tempo is quicker and the lyrics not so clear to the ear than The Boxer, but the build is the same. From the second chord one's heart starts to pump in rhythm with the song, but this is so subconscious that the only thing that is felt is the attention move towards the song. By the time the second verse comes along, the foot may be tapping now and there is the pinnacle of the arch in sight. Emil's falsetto breaks the barrier that is needed to achieve the resolution that is coming. The falsetto is quite brisk at first, not like that of Sigur Ros, but soon it finds its mesh inside the drive behind the song. Then it comes, the best part of the song, right as his guitar finds the three chords that it has been searching for throughout the entire song. By this point, you are dancing—it is involuntary and your heart and muscles have taken over. Fortunately, I have a large enough room that I am able to allow myself to let my body flail like a fish out of water in choppy rhythm with the song. 

I enjoy writing music and find it difficult to write something that I truly feel is good enough to share. My greatest compliment that I can give to a song is to say that "I wish I had written that". I Am John is from beginning to end a song that I wish I had written. Enjoy for yourself. Do not be embarrassed to dance. 

Why I sing...

Loney, Dear — I Am John