Amateur sociology, history, philosophy, economics – musicians (and music critics) often fancy themselves experts without credentials in just about every field. The creative flare brought by musicians to their lofty hobbies is a continued source of amusement for fans who relish in the divisive discourse spun by performers at every opportunity. Traps In the Midst of Dreams seeks to add an additional area of undeserved expertise to musicians’ skill set: dream analysis – that derided facet of psychology that often reveals more about interpreters than dreamers.
For this installment, Mish Way, fierce vocalist of Vancouver, BC punk outfit White Lung, dreams she is speaking with Elias Ronnenfelt when suddenly Johan Wieth (both of Danish punk band Iceage whom White Lung recently toured with) endures gory violence at the hand of a bouncer. Later, he appears unharmed. The dream seems less about violence and more about miscommunication. Way doesn’t understand Ronnenfelt, the bouncers don’t understand Wieth. It’s as if Way internalized the widespread rumor mill and media speculation surrounding Iceage and her id gives the misunderstandings harmful consequences. Only, she finds Iceage impossibly resilient. Upstart San Jose rapper Antwon recalls learning that having sex with a parent in a dream doesn’t necessarily make one a creep, determines that Way and Ronnenfelt are yin and yang, and speculates that Way wishes violence upon Wieth. Whatever the case, we’ll agree with Antwon that the hammer image is “rad/wild.”
MISH WAY’S DREAM
I am at a show. I don't know if I am playing or not, but it's in a weird building with dimly lit, cream colored walls. The room is full with people, but I am sitting on a wooden bench with Elias and we are hanging, arms over one another's shoulders, drunkenly using one another for support. He's talking to me about something I can‘t really understand, but I'm pretending to listen and I just feel the weight of his heavy arm pulling my body downwards. We are trying to move, but we are attached and wasted and it feels like we are just swerving around in a circle. There is a sky light window above us with purple stain glass.
Suddenly, Johan falls through the sky light and starts running. There's no broken glass or anything (because, of course, this is a dream.) Behind him are three huge bouncers. They chase him into the center of the room which is just meters away from where Elias and I are sitting. Johan is screaming that they are going to kill him. Elias and I try to jump up and to run to him, but the bouncers have pinned him down with his face towards the floor. All three of the men are on top of him. They are all wearing black zip coats and Johan is in a cream button-up and dark jeans. One bouncer presses his knee on Johan's back, pulls out a hammer and starts bashing him in the back of his skull. Blood is going everywhere. His face remains untouched. He's bleeding from the head. The bouncer keeps smashing the hammer into Johan's skull. I am trying to force myself between the hammer and Johan's head, but I am caught in that dream-like slowness that doesn't let you to move with adrenaline, but rather a sluggishness that becomes slow motion. I'm screaming hysterically and trying to wedge myself in front of the bouncers to protect Johan. After one last blow, the bouncers suddenly get up and walk out of the room. No one follows them. They are terrified. Elias runs out of the room. I leave too, crying. I feel like I failed. I know Johan must be dead, but there is nothing to do about it anymore. Suddenly (because in my dreams, scenes switch quickly, nothing is totally linear) my band is setting up to play a set and I see Johan come around the corner with a white bandage wrapped around his head. He walks right up to me and I ask him what happened. Why were those men chasing him? He tells me that he was at the club down the street trying to get in, but they denied him entry so he made a joke, but it did not translate. They told him they were going to kill him. He starts cursing them out. “Fucking assholes. They do not understand me.” I just remember thinking that he should have been dead.
ANTWON’S INTERPRETATION
I don’t know how to interpret dreams, never have and I probably never fully will. Once a friend of mine once showed me a book that interprets things in dreams like certain colors or certain people in your life that and explains what they mean. He told me he once had a dream where he had sex with his mom. If it weren't for that book I’d probably to this day still think he was just a creep but according to the book he showed me if you have dreams where you're having sex with someone you wouldn't think about consciously fucking in real life then it’s some sort of subconscious longing to be closer to that person for some reason or other. The place where this dream takes place seems to be a familiar setting and sounds like familiar things. The holding on to Elias seems like a bond where the two are possibly yin and yang and that subconsciously that's how the relationship between the two are. That’s just my stab at that situation. The situation with Johan seems maybe like something in the back of the dreamers mind they think could happen. I’ve had dreams like this before and it fucking kills me. When the dream slow motion comes in… I’d Google it but I’m afraid to actually find out. Maybe that’s where it all stems from – fear of it happening, fear of you not being able to even do anything, and fear in general. This might be a bit too deep. But, the hammer part seems rad/wild.
