Music has always been a means of escape, a way of envisaging the life you are longing to lead, even when other, more everyday concerns keep you from following that dream. Music has often been used to fantasise about how things might be if the hard work paid off, lady luck was on your side and the stars aligned for you. But rarely does the very song that you are using to describe your fantasies become the same key that unlocks that very door.
But, in the case of Noam Fainer’s “London Dreaming,” that is precisely what happened. Usually, all you can do is send the song out into the universe and hope it finds the proper outlet, ally, and set of ears. “London Dreaming” did, when none other than Frank Ocean closed an episode of his Apple Music Homer Radio show with it.
And why wouldn’t he? It’s a great song. The sort of thing that reminds me of a Kinks album track, all pathos and reflection, hope and dreams, but modest ones, the kind that the everyday, jobbing musician hopes for, not fame and fortune, just the chance to take your music to new audiences, play new venues, see the world, be inspired by new sights and sensations, people and places.
Two months later, Noam, his brother, and their band were gigging their way through the grassroots scene of London town, in what can only be described as a self-fulfilling, sonic prophecy. You see, dreams do come true, especially modest, meaningful and manageable ones. Sometimes, the universe is good like that.
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