Lucid Dreams

I had a dream last night which I consciously experienced as if watching a television show. That is, I remember thinking, ‘I’m dreaming. I should wake up. But I’ll wait until the dream is over.’

When I woke up, it occured to me that this phenomena could only have occured subsequent to 1934 (later, really, but not before). And I wondered, will kids who grew up with video games begin to act upon the outcome of the dreams in the same way that I passively — though consciously — waited for mine to end?

In other news, you’ll notice in the associated photo that the air conditioner is still in the window over my shoulder. That’s mostly due to the fact that I’m lazy. But it is 54° at 11:37 p.m. on December 17th. Despite the current administration’s protests, it feels more like North Carolina than New York these days. I don’t mind, but the Hudson isn’t lapping at Broadway. Yet.

You’ll also notice that I have something resembling a beard goin’ on. That’s two weeks of growth you’re seein’. Which has less to do with fashion, and more to do with the fact that I still have the weird stress-related thing in the corner of my mouth. Whiskers hide it. Still, I expect I’ll shave it off in the morning. I’m speaking on a panel at Syracuse’s Lubin House on The Future of Television. Best not to look like Paul Bunyan.

On Saturday, Chris and Jen had us over for a tree trimming last night. Ethan was pretty excited, hanging every ornament at roughly two feet off the ground. Edward was largely non-plussed, but he’s barely six months old, so one can understand. We all sang some carols, which was pretty cute. Then Abs and I hit a full battery of holiday parties, popping from the Upper West to Midtown East to Dumbo. Oddly, I don’t remember one conversation I had between eight and one o’clock.

Correction; I remember one. A dude named Adam and I were discussing the death of the music industry for a while. I explained how my home studio and iTunes makes it possible for a guy like me to keep making music, evern if I just earn a few thousand dollars a year from it (and by “earn” I mean “pay back what I spent on equiptment,” but still). It was basically a Long Tail 101 conversation, during which he asked, “So will there ever be another Bono or Eddie Vedder?” Meaning, does The Rise of The Niche and The Death of The Mainstream pell The End of the Great Big Crossover Star? Which is a good question.

And which leads me to “Casino Royale,” which I finally saw tonight, and really dug. I used to be a huge Jackie Chan fan (prior to his issuing me a cease and desist order, but that’s another long — and completely true — story). To some degree, the new Bond moves fights Chan: quick, nimble, acrobatic. But he’s also almost primeval, almost primate. As you’ve no doubt read (or seen) by now, the film goes back to Bond’s pre-“double o” origins. He’s ruthless and unrefined, not he slick, suave Bond we’ve come to expect. It’s original, smart, and inventive. I liked it. Yunno, for a blockbuster and all.

Which reminds me that Chris Abad asked me to play his wedding in January. I’m singing while people take their seats, while Chris walks down the aisle, while his betroathed, Meg walks down the aisle, and during the ceremony. It’s a terrific honor. So Saturday afternoon we browsed my catelogue to decide what to play prior to his big entrance. Of course, I had to laugh; not a lot of my songs are wedding material. Most of ’em are about heartbreak. Still, we found a few. But looking over nearly fifteen years of songwriting really made me think that maybe I should release some kind of greatest hits record. That may sound absurd, but as long as you re-adjust your notion of “hit,” it makes some sense.

One thing’s for sure, I’ll be releasing my children’s album before my greatest hots album. Primarily because I’m finishing one off this week. I mean, kinda’. I’m recording a few songs for Ethan’s Christmas present. I noticed when I babysat last week that he falls asleep to acoustic music like James Taylor and Indigo Girls and thought, ‘He should be falling asleep to me!’ So, in addition to obvious children’s songs and lulabies (“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “Hush Little Baby”), I’m recording him some other cool songs that kids should know, like “This Little Light Of Mine,” and “This Land Is Your Land” and even “Mr. Tamborine Man.” I’m pretty sure that children’s music doesn’t have to suck. So it got me thinking about recording a solo/acoustic children’s record full of songs that parents and kids can enjoy together. Stay tuned.

Which reminds me that I’m also finishing up a few Christmas carols for The Morning Mix. They should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday, so be sure to tune back in to download some holiday cheer from your Grinch-in-recovery.

Meanwhile, it’s getting on midnight, so I gotta’ call it a day. I have a lot to do tomorrow.

Like shave.