A few months ago, a friend posted a story on Facebook about a recurring dream. His dream involved having tea with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend of the Who. Pretty interesting stuff, especially since Roger is an avid tea drinker and Pete is better known for much harder stuff. Their conversation included kids, life on and off the road, and plans for the summer. My friend posed a question about recurring dreams especially during the pandemic, and I shared my recurring dream.

I’ve actually had two recurring dreams, which started decades ago. The first one involves Jimmy Page, one of a few people who have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice (first as a member of the Yardbirds and later as a member of Led Zeppelin). In the dream, I am on a layover in London’s Heathrow airport and I’ve stopped at an Admiral’s Club. Mr. Page is seated at the bar and I grab a seat next to him. He has been interviewed countless times, and has been described as curmudgeonly, dismissive, and sometimes downright combative. Do I care? Nope, I’m about to chat with a legend. So I decide to ask him guitar nerd questions, thinking he would enjoy the conversation. Led Zeppelin’s music is known for its layered sound, accomplished with numerous tracks of overdubbed guitars – a few Les Pauls, a Telecaster or two, the odd Danelectro, and maybe an acoustic – building up to a cavernous sound. I wanted to know how he translated that sound to the concert stage. When I asked him how he arranged all those guitar tracks into a single play onstage, he shot me an awful look. I could swear the paint on the walls was boiling. He looked baffled, and was clearly not amused. No matter how many times I’ve had the dream, he never spoke an answer.

The second dream is a little more varied. I am looking out a window but each time the scene is different – the window has been in a city bus, a subway train, a taxi, and a jet. What am I looking at? There is a choir of street people right outside the window. And they are singing Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” in a beautiful harmony. A Capella. Always that early 70s deep cut from one of Long Island’s finest songwriters. The harmonies are different; I remember one being barbershop style, another sounding like the Beach Boys, and another a Himalayan chant.

What does it all mean? Way too big a question. But don’t be afraid to dream. A music legend might just get around to answering your question.