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# How to Think About Dreams
- URL: https://www.jamesreeves.co/how-to-think-about-dreams/
- Published: 2026-09-06T02:26:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-06T02:29:19.000Z
- Author: James A. Reeves
- Tags: Midnight Radio, #mr-53

*In the aesthetic dimension of vision and dream, the question in itself is an answer.*  
—[J.F. Martel](https://bookshop.org/a/114777/9781541607248?ref=jamesreeves.co)

### 1 

All streaks come to an end, at least if good sense prevails. For the first time in two years and 52 episodes, I missed my Midnight Radio filing deadline because I went to Montreal and came home with a Canadian Death Flu. When I woke at dusk after sleeping *seventeen hours*, my first impulse was to knock out a half-assed episode before midnight. But if writing isn't fun for me, it's even worse for the reader. Especially if it's composed through the fog of a high fever.

Several years ago, I made an obnoxious comment to someone I admired about how I'd meditated so-and-so many days in a row. He smiled politely. "Now I want you to skip a day." And so I learned that habits should never become attachments, let alone fetishes. Non-practice is my practice, aimlessness is nirvana, and there are no straight lines in the universe. Only waves.

Let it go.

But I'm pretty sure I know who got me sick. In Montreal, [C.](https://candychang.com/?ref=jamesreeves.co) and I attended Mutek for the first time. My favorite thing in the world is to look at new things with C., and we saw—and heard—so much good art. It was a rare treat to sit in a concert hall, close my eyes, and *listen* to heavyweight sounds from artists like Fennesz and Voices From the Lake. We also got to properly meet October's Special Midnight Radio Guest (but let's live in the mystery). 

Now my head is soaked in new inspiration. And congestion. Because while sitting on a concrete floor in a dark room for an experimental film screening, a young woman covered in tiny tattoos blew into a handkerchief. I inched over, not wanting to inherit her air. But who carries a handkerchief in the 21st century? When I looked again to confirm, she stood up, coughed on my head, and snuffled off into the dark. She was like an assassin. As an American, I am certainly not blameless for the state of the world, but there must be more worthy targets. 

So I apologize for leaving you bereft of Midnight Radio for five days. There are more mea culpas to come tonight, but first I want to tell you about the revelations I had while drifting in and out of feverish sleep.

### 2

Over the past year, my relationship with dreams has been enhanced by countless spirited discussions with C. and [Marty](https://martinessig.com/?ref=jamesreeves.co). Here's where I stand this evening:

- Dreams are the membrane between the logical mind and the mysterious intentions of the universe. They are not therapeutic tools for self-improvement or whatever today's grifters and faith dealers are selling. They are portals.
- Better yet, dreams should be approached like a work of art. Like the statue in this episode's cover art: a barely humanoid form, its body stretched as it plunges down into this world. "No, it looks like he's ascending," said C. Art's resistance to a fixed interpretation, how it flits between sensations, is the point.
- Lately I've been falling asleep while [Professor Brian Cox](https://www.bbcearth.com/shows/universe?ref=jamesreeves.co) tells me about the universe at 65% speed. Somehow I manage to doze off while learning the universe has a skeleton. But black holes keep me awake. Until now, I thought an event horizon was [the scariest, most cursed movie](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/event-horizon-1997?ref=jamesreeves.co) ever made. But apparently it's where time stops, objects vanish, and space does not exist. I think this is where dreams come from.
- Dreams are [the godhead of reverb](https://www.jamesreeves.co/five-early-autumn-classics/), and dub techno in particular, the way a rhythm slowly emerges like something dredged up from the deep. Which is tonight's soundtrack.

### 3

It's been a humbling week. A few days ago, a Very Kind Listener emailed to ask, very politely, if I could send him better-sounding versions of my mixes. I was about to fire off a salty response, but thankfully I remembered [my first rule](https://www.jamesreeves.co/instructions/): *Wait an hour, preferably two.* So I spent this time investigating, and soon I was reacquainted with the whiplash feeling of thinking I'm right when it turns out I'm colossally wrong. The popular podcast widget I've been using was compressing my files into 96 kilobits of crunchy monoaural garbage. Man, I had no idea. 

So I spent my days of convalescence rewiring this situation via a classier service called [Transistor](https://midnightradio.transistor.fm/?ref=jamesreeves.co) that promises to serve Midnight Radio in 320kbps stereo like God intended. And if you'd like to upgrade any episodes, I dumped them all [here for easy listening and downloading](https://midnightradio.jamesreeves.co/traxx/?ref=jamesreeves.co).

I apologize to all of Midnight Radio’s Special Guests this year whose thoughtful selections were squashed into mono. You are such good sports. And to everyone who suffered through trashy audio files, I am sorry. The fact that you're still here means a lot to me. And while I'm at it, I might as well apologize for future embarrassments and glitches. With luck, Midnight Radio will always be a learning process.

### 4

Now for some deep listening inspired by my Mutek experience and subsequent recovery from [Canadian Death Flu™](https://bsky.app/profile/crompsy.com/post/3mulizbvgys25?ref=jamesreeves.co). I selected some songs that patiently unwind themselves, starting with a portion of a glorious cv313 set. Of all the drum patterns in this world, this is one of my favorites. Then a gear-shift into a late summer Japanese pastoral that blurs into the heartbeat chug of a Fennesz epic. There's also some lovely bottomless drone from the new Windy & Carl album, a bit of Sisters of Mercy, two different dream moods from Donato Dozzy, and a dusting of Roy Orbison. 

I've also been learning how to fold my sheets of reverb a little more nicely with returns, sends, damping, and a [snazzy plugin](https://valhalladsp.com/shop/reverb/valhalla-vintage-verb/?ref=jamesreeves.co) that [Earl](https://www.jamesreeves.co/open-the-door-of-the-cosmos/) recommended. Hopefully this one's worth the wait.

Thank you for listening.

1. **cv313 - Forever in the Sky** \[Excerpt\]  
*Plays Sequential Space* • Echospace, 2025 • [Bandcamp](https://echospace313.bandcamp.com/album/plays-sequential-space-2?ref=jamesreeves.co)
2. **Tomo Katsurada and Jonny Nash - Anone None**  
*At The Emerald Pool* • Melody as Truth, 2026 • [Boomkat](https://boomkat.com/products/at-the-emerald-pool?ref=jamesreeves.co)
3. **Fennesz - In My Room**  
*Agora* • Touch, 2019 • [Bandcamp](https://fenneszreleases.bandcamp.com/album/agora?ref=jamesreeves.co)
4. **Donato Dozzy - Vaporware 01**  
*Plays Bee Mask* • Spectrum Spools, 2013 • [Bandcamp](https://spectrumspools.bandcamp.com/album/plays-bee-mask?ref=jamesreeves.co)
5. **Windy & Carl with Optigan Conservatory - Coast Starlight**  
*Windy & Carl Meet Optigan Conservatory* • Kranky, 2026 • [Boomkat](https://boomkat.com/products/windy-carl-meet-optigan-conservatory?ref=jamesreeves.co)
6. **Sisters of Mercy - Neverland** \[Midnight Radio Edit\]  
*Floodland* • Merciful Release, 1987
7. **Donato Dozzy - Velluto**  
*Magda* • Spazio Disponibile, 2024 • [Bandcamp](https://donatodozzy.bandcamp.com/album/magda?ref=jamesreeves.co)
8. **Variant - Flux Reprise (Live in Ann Arbor)** \[Excerpt\]  
*Dreaming Thru Vector* • Echospace, 2015 • [Bandcamp](https://echospace313.bandcamp.com/album/dreaming-thru-vector-reprise?ref=jamesreeves.co)

#### [Download](https://media.transistor.fm/4030a064/bd101b0e.mp3?download=true&ref=jamesreeves.co) • [Podcast](https://midnightradio.transistor.fm/?ref=jamesreeves.co)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/bb/85bbc222-eb2e-4bcf-8b92-f241768e9260/content/images/2026/09/MR53-Notes.png)

The first draft of this episode

Oh, and a brand new version of [our Dream Club widget](https://thedream.club/?ref=jamesreeves.co) is available. It's getting weirder. 

[The first God Is All Mouth video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo3%5FXUq085c&ref=jamesreeves.co) is now broadcasting.

And I just noticed the Tchitcheri Sakwa Ancestor Figure on this episode's cover would be an ideal companion for [the Venus of Willendorf in Episode 49](https://www.jamesreeves.co/the-shimmer/).