Dream Theory

As the full moon approaches once again, my dreams have taken on a James Joyce Ulysses vibe, sending me on endless journeys through the Interzone version of Manhattan that I've inhabited for a large portion of my sleeping life. My most recent day spent there was an alternative universe version of Record Store Day and involved a trek up the Hudson River side of the island, reminiscent of my walk during the great blackout of 2002. Along the way, I stopped off to browse through crates of imaginary records and shelves of odd nic nacks. I also came across an amazing piece of secluded real estate along the river whose land resembles the above picture. I also managed to dine on a lobster dinner and visit with old friends. But like Stephen Dedalus, my mission always remained unclear.

Travels in Interzone

My dreams of late have been highly evolved, often having me traverse large regions of the Interzone. I've come across sections both familiar and previously unexplored. During my waking hours, when thinking about these recent travels, I've found myself recalling various dream locations, some of which are from dreams I had years and years ago. 

Given the nature of dream logic, it's never really easy to describe the plot in a coherent way. Many times the plot unravels before your very eyes while the dream is in production. The threads lead in different directions, pulling you along for the ride. While plot is usually fleeting, one thing that I find to be very vivid is location. Sometimes I can't remember what I was doing, but I can remember the house I was in, or the strange area of a city that never really existed but is rather a patchwork real and imagined places. 

The other day it struck me that some of these imagined elements most likely come from reading and the visual images conjured up from stories. It would explain the familiarity of the seemingly foreign. Not to mention the fact that I've encountered more unique places through reading, and the thousands of settings that I've written into existence, than I've been to in real life. I don't know why this never occurred to me before. It seems so obvious. Anyway, I've been enjoying thinking about it the past few days as I try to get a better understanding of the geography of Interzone.

The Economy of Dreams

I frequently have dreams where I find myself in record stores that don't exist in reality. There is one particular record store that I've visited twice, in two different dreams, and which I attempted to visit a third time but could not seem to find the outdoor mall where I knew it to be located. This fictional store was located somewhere in the Interzone area outside New York. It had a brick edifice, was quite spacious, and contained a dynamite selection of albums that have never existed. 

Last night I had a dream about that very same store. Only this time I wasn't inside it, but rather was watching an interview with the owner. As it turned out, the store had closed down. It was the victim of its own success, having attracted other stores to the area and becoming unable to compete. It was quite upsetting. I felt genuine sadness that my favorite dream record shop hadn't survived the economy of my dreamworld. 

In a state of bewilderment, I came across a tiny record store located in a basement store front. It turns out this shop was owned and operated by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, which sounds fantastic, but ended being a disaster. Both of them were in the shop, and it was run like a SNL skit. It didn't actually have any records. In the bins where the records were supposed to be were packages of ramen noodles with band logos on the front. There was also a wide variety of novelty items, which rather than amuse me, made me frustrated. The whole thing was this elaborate joke they had set upon record enthusiasts that caused me to make a scene. Needless to say, I won't be welcome in their shop during future dreams. I guess I'll just have to find that other store I was once at, the one that kept the really great stuff on the second floor...if only I can remember where it's located.