Have you ever kept a dream journal? I have. I had one years ago which remains buried in some drawer among old papers begging to be sorted. Meanwhile, I started keeping a Word file that I can add to occasionally…if I can discipline myself to write down the dream before going back to sleep.
Among the most recent entries is a middle-of-the-night dream. It amazes me that I remember it at all. The reason for that is I woke up from it, made mental notes about it, then went back to bed and somehow willed myself back into it. The Health app on my iPhone informs me that I was awake for eleven minutes, making it even more surprising that this was possible.
This dream involved me being in a small club with (mostly) long-dead musicians, but at the beginning of their careers. No logic beyond dream logic to any of this. A young Jimi Hendrix was there. I don’t recall whether I saw and heard him perform. What I do recall is how impressed he was when Abbey Lincoln – who he would have known as an established artist – got up and sang one of his songs. It was either Foxey Lady or Voodoo Child (Slight Return). This is where my recall of the dream specifics fails, as I didn’t write anything down at the time. It would make less sense if she sang Voodoo Child (Slight Return), as Jimi was an established star by the time he released it.
The next musician on the docket was a young Billy Joel, who I recall playing Summer, Highland Falls. An oddly deep cut, though one that makes perfect sense given that he was not an established artist when that young and still performing it.
Cut to awakening, going to the bathroom, then returning to bed. Even after being awake for eleven minutes, I somehow returned to the theme of musicians playing in small venues. This last bit was like a reprise of similar dreams I’ve had featuring Frank Zappa. In these dreams, he’s around but he’s been ill for some time. He never looks as bad as he did near the end of his life, but he’s obviously somewhat hobbled. In this one, he had a pretty decent-sized ensemble playing with him on a stage in an outdoor venue. A cross between Jannus Landing in St. Pete and Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa.
I don’t recall anything else other than talking to him after the show and him breaking out a new record which had a copyright date combo, something like 1974/2025. It had a color scheme similar to Funky Nothingness, which just came out in 2023.
What about you? Do you have a dream journal, either old or new? Unlike most people, I am always fascinated by other people’s dreams. Feel free to describe them in the comments below.
