Music about sleep, dreams, and everything in between
By Sophia C.
I penned this little essay for my mother, who like so many others, suffers from a sleeping disorder. I want her to take solace in the fact that she's not alone. Millions of people around the world experience the same nightly torture. And like everything in life, a handful of musicians have dealt first hand or written about the misery or benefits of sleep. For all those struggling with the same thing, below is a group of songs that explore sleeps, dreams, and everything in between.
"O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee. That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down, And steep my senses in forgetfulness?" — Shakespeare
Sleep is something all human beings need to function. It's central to our happiness and overall wellbeing. The benefits of sleep are myriad: it helps maintain our cognition, solidify memories, regulate our metabolism, and strengthen our immune systems. While sleeping may have been easy as a child, it gets progressively harder with age.
You toss, you turn. Maybe you take out your phone and scroll a bit on social media to pass the time. If you get desperate like me, you eventually pull out an old high school math textbook and read its chapter on proofs. But nothing works, not even the boring proofs, and you're left with your own thoughts, eyes wide open and staring into the darkness. If sleep is death, then Insomnia, in the words of Ray Bradbury, is "living" death.
While small things like drinking coffee or big meals before bed can cause sleeplessness, anxiety and stress, especially those induced by traumatic events, are the most common factors for Insomnia. Such a traumatic event happened to Detroit singer, Anna Burch, who sings about her own Insomnia in the soft and mellow opener, "Can't Sleep" (If You're Dreaming, sophomore album).
In Hour Magazine's review of her 2020 album, Rudi Greenberg writes, "Sleeplessness and anxiety color a chunk of the album, partly as a result of Burch's extensive 2018 touring... but mainly because, on New Year's Eve in 2017, Burch and her boyfriend were robbed at gunpoint in front of their house in southwest Detroit".
Burch goes on to explain, "Life was a bit chaotic... I definitely was not sleeping well... It wouldn't be long before the paranoia hit, like too much wine on empty stomachs...while we were arranging Can't Sleep for recording, I realized that all my fear was connected to the robbery".
While everyone will have their different set of anxieties, stress, and trauma, "Can't Sleep" serves as an empathetic, guiding anthem for those dealing with similar bouts of Insomnia and mental health issues.
Aimee Cliff from Pitchfork sums up the album, "Just as spending a lot of time in your own company gives small interactions a feeling of outsize significance, the record's pared-back palette allows the tiniest variations to feel startling and fresh."
For those interested in learning about tips to deal with Insomnia, check out this article.
"I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me." — Sylvia Plath
If one side of the spectrum is Insomnia, then the other side is Narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,000 people. In scientific terms, a narcoleptic patient lacks a critical brain neuron called hypocretin. This neuron is important because it regulates other hypothalamus cells that control the nervous system, wakefulness, and our hunger/feeding cycles. Without sufficient levels of hypocretin, narcoleptic patients can experience varying degrees of daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (the temporary loss of control of your body's muscles), hallucinations, and disrupted nighttime sleep.
In a New York Times article on Narcolepsy patients, one commentator explains:
"The hardest part about Narcolepsy is keeping your sanity. I thought I lost my mind many times during my time as an untreated Narcoleptic. I didn't understand what was happening to me. I suffered from bad memory, exhaustion and things called cataplexies. My sleep was so bad that I feared falling asleep - it is very common that Narcoleptics suffer from severe nightmares. So mental health is to me the key to your improvement and recovering. Slowly but steadily I am growing and adapting to this illness."
For the Narcolepsy section, I decided to showcase "Narcolepsy" from Third Eye Blind's seminal 1993 album. In a 1998 Rolling Stone article, Stephan Jenkins, frontman of the band, discussed songwriting and how the song originally came to be: ""We don't really have a method [for songwriting]. For example, "Narcolepsy" happened when Kevin [Codagan] was telling me about post-sleep paralysis. That's when your body paralyzes itself when you dream so you don't get up and do all kinds of things. I thought there was a metaphor in that. Don't we all just want to wake up?"
Follow along with the lyrics:
I'm on a train
But there's no one at the helm
And there's a demon in my brain
Who starts to overwhelm whelm whelm whelm whelm
And there it goes
My last chance for peace
You lay me down
But I get no release
And I say I, I try to keep awake
I try to swim beneath
I try to keep awake
But I, I can feel this narcolepsy slide
Into another nightmare [1:23]
And there's a demon in my head who starts to play
A nightmare tape loop of what went wrong yesterday
And I hold my breath till it's more than I can take
And I close my eyes, I dream that I'm awake
I try to keep awake
I try to keep awake
I try to keep awake
But I, I can feel this narcolepsy slide
Into another nightmare
I read dead Russian authors, volumes at a time
I write everything down except what's on my mind
Cause my greatest fear is that sucking sound
And then I know that I'll never get back out
And there's a bone in my hand that connects to a drink
In a crowded room where the glasses clink
And I'll buy you a beer and we'll drink it deep
Because that keeps me from falling asleep I said
How'd you like to be alone and drowning
How'd you like to be alone and drowning
How'd you like to be alone and drowning
How'd you like to be alone and drowning
Still I find this narcolepsy slide slide
Into another nightmare
[Outro]
Keep awake, keep awake, keep awake
I can feel this narcolepsy slide
Hypothetical question. If you could bring only 5 band's CDs with you to a desert island, what would they be? For me, Third Eye Blind would be on that list. While I never went through a goth or emo phase in high school, I do have my own affinity and appreciation for darkness and just generally, the ugly things that lie beneath the surface... I mean, we can sing along to One Direction all day, but sometimes you need a healthy dose of darkness to keep your sanity. And that's where Third Eye Blind comes in. As Kaufman in a reunion 2017 article points out, 3EB came about in the mid 90s, right after the Grunge of Kurt Cobain and just before the poppy glitz of NSYNC, etc. Overall, 3EB is the right concoction of dark and happy. Just think of their most famous song, "Semi Charmed Life". All the "doot doot doots" and the sunny, surfer bro California guitar would make you think it's the happiest song ever, but then read the lyrics on paper and all of a sudden it's got a dark, more complicated side to it.
As evidenced in "Semi Charmed Life," the fact that Third Eye Blind's songs were both poppy and addressed some heavy shit infused the band with an edge over their radio-ready contemporaries that many would later imitate with less sincerity. "Jumper" addresses suicide with a catchy acoustic jangle, former member Kevin Cadogan's "Narcolepsy" frankly explains his titular sleeping disorder, - 9/17 Observer article.
The song, "Narcolepsy", is a little more straightforward with its dysfunction and yearning. From the get go, it's clear that things aren't 'okay' with the narrator: "I'm on a train/But there's no one at the helm/And there's a demon in my brain/That starts to overwhelm". In all of Third Eye Blind's songs, they go straight to the heart of something. While "Semi-Charmed Life" is about drugs, sex, and just the mentality of being alive and not being needed, Narcolepsy is about the search for peace and an escape from nightmares -- whether they be literal (as in the case for Narcoleptics) or metaphorical.
For me, Third Eye Blind is free therapy. Even though a lot of their songs are nearly two decades old, I can turn on their music anytime and still feel a deep human connection with the singers and what they're talking about. And a reason for that, you'll notice, is that their lyrics are often really longgggg. Not only do they have ample time to develop their themes, but also Stephan Jenkins' way of sing-rapping the whole thing like a troubadour makes it more real. Their genius also comes from exploring and presenting the minutiae of life. 3EB is one of my favorite bands because their "thesis" isn't just that life is shitty, but also that it's the acceptance of our pain that makes us human, and what ultimately gives us freedom and vitality.
P.S. Like every good 3EB song, Narcolepsy has its spiritual outro at the end and gives listeners an emotional catharsis at the transition at 1:23. **My favorite outro, though, by them is in Non-Dairy Creamer at 3:09. Goddamn, it's so good.**
The original Third Eye Blind squad, Arion Salazar (Bass), Stephan Jenkins (Lead Voice/song-writer), Brad Hargreaves (Drums), and Kevin Codagan (Guitar, Lead song-writer).
"There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it." - Mindy Kaling
Yes, dreams can be nightmarish, and sleep can be torturous and horrible. But sleep and dreaming, when you get it right, also serve as a much needed refuge from reality, from the crap of the day before. Plus, you can hit the replay button all night long (cue Lionel Richie! wahoo!) on the good, warm memories of your past. This is the part of sleep that is wholesome and positive. 10/10 would recommend. Let's take a look at two songs that explore the better side of sleep.
In "Up From a Dream", Haim explores the intersection of dreams and reality, and how sometimes you can still feel confused about what's real and what's not, even when you're conscious and "awake". One of my favorite parts about this song is the bass. It bounces up and down, almost like footsteps chugging along from one location to the next.
UP FROM A DREAM was inspired by feeling like we're in a dream state at all times. not knowing what's reality #haimlisteningparty
— HAIM (@HAIMtheband) June 27, 2020
"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?" — Ernest Hemingway
Overall, I think this song gets at the craziness of life and how sometimes you'll just wonder to yourself: How did I get here? Haim capture this disorienting feeling, singing, "We were lying' awake, or so it seemed. Tryin' to figure out what was happening. Are we already up from the dream? Or do we need to wake up again?"
The themes of disorientation are heightened throughout the song and in general, "Up From a Dream" is a rollercoaster ride defined by sharp dualities. For example, we go from fast to slow tempos, from imagery of dreams to the mundane/everyday living, and from screeching (yet awesome) guitar solos to peaceful and atmospheric Haim-sister harmonies. One moment the narrator is asleep dreaming of the beach, and the next moment they've been "snapped" awake, walking "into the kitchen, pulling the dishes from the sink". Life is a whirlwind, and it changes harshly in the "blink of an eye". In contrast to "Narcolepsy",the vision of sleep that Haim offers is one of comfort.
Even though reality can be so strange and confusing sometimes, dreams and sleeping can help us get by and offer us a sense of peace:
I could always dream, could always leave, could always breathe
And still picture you there by my side
I could always slip out the front door, find my way home
Only to crawl into bed next to you at the end of the night
:-)
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." — Dr. Seuss
Courtesy of the Band
The last song I want to highlight is "Sleep, Rinse, Repeat" (OurVinyl Sessions) by Ona. First things first, a little background information about the band: All members of the band grew up near the same town of Huntington, West Virginia. Even cooler, several of the guys in the band have known each other since grade school, so rehearsals for them are basically one big brotherhood hang out.
In 2019, they released their second album, Full Moon, Heavy Light. Bass player, Zach Johnston explains, "When I like a record, it's because it makes me groove, and it makes me smile, or it makes me contemplative. I hope people will feel something when they hear this album". Bradley Jenkins, lead vocals and guitar, also says:
"In the production of Full Moon, Heavy Light, I wanted people to recognize emotion. There's a lot of ear candy that we snuck in there, but it might be an album that you need to sit with. We want our audience to experience and feel the music. There are ups and downs, and sometimes people might ignore those feelings, but we want people to recognize every emotion."
The song "Sleep, Rinse, Repeat" is another great jam that demonstrates Ona's penchant for crafting easy melodies with a "timeless and contemporary sound". With its more upbeat version, I actually prefer the 2019 rendition (see video below).
Honestly, this song isn't really about sleeping or dreaming at all. But I included it in this list line of songs because it's a different way of looking at sleep. In this song, the narrator is in love with a girl, "courting her around all day". All he can think about is her, "how she don't wear gloves" and "shakes hands with everyone she meets". Everything is enchanting about her -- even her most basic routine of sleep, rinse, and repeat.
As Dr. Seuss gets at in the quote above, Love has a way of boiling everything down into its simplicities. When you're crushing on somebody hard (or just excited about life in general), reality finally becomes better than sleep and your dreams. Sleep is neither a refuge nor nightmarish. Now, it's something completely different: something you need to finish -- like a task on a checklist -- to finally get back to living.