8+

"Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain" by DJ Shadow which clocks in at 9:23

Just two nights ago I had a dream where I started working a new job. It was my first day and I found myself working at a hip clothing store in Soho (something like this place where they always tend to have nice chill-hop/electro stuff playing). I was low man on the totem pole and one of the first things I remember thinking was, "what the heck am I doing working here??"

I then noticed that the music playing in the background was something I recognized, something I liked. My mind raced thinking about music but that subsided as I was suddenly in the middle of being trained how to properly hang dresses. Do I ever really hang dresses? No. Therefore I was all ears (as if this new job was going to fully tax my hand-eye coordination and mental capabilities) during my training session and fully trying to make the best first impression I could. I remember this super skinny girl with a shaved head getting frustrated with my dress hanging skills but I swear I was doing it right. In no time she yelled at me and told me I was to go in the back and speak to Claude because I was too shameful to work in the showroom where important customers might see my ineptitude and decide not to shop there anymore as a result.

Claude was this tiny little old Asian man who clearly wished he had been born a French woman. Claude was in charge of dressing the mannequins and was buzzing about with a lot on his mind when I showed up. "You", he yelled at me without even looking my way, "you get out of here, this is no place for the inexperienced!" Claude then set about dressing five naked mannequins with sweet designer outfits in the matter of about two minutes. I was actually amazed, and yes still standing there. "You! Get over here, let me look at you..." he then grabbed my cheek like a greeting Grandmother and said, "you've got talent, I can see it in your hair. Dress that doll with whatever you'd like from those racks and do it fast. Now! Go!"

In seconds I had hooked up that mannequin with a yellow sequined top, dark jeans, and a sweet hat I found on the desk next to the work area. I knew my work was amazing and I was beaming with a huge smile. In fact, I may have even actually been smiling. Like in reality, in my sleep, as I lay there dreaming of starring in Mannequin 2K6. As soon as I finished, Claude started clapping and exclaimed "that's MY hat! Haha, oh but I love it! Well done. Well done indeed!" Whether it was this sense of accomplishment or just the excitement in the air I may never know, but it hit me right then and there what song had been playing the whole time and I woke up. I woke up from the dream as if I needed my awake brain to actually remember the title of the track and I thought of it immediately. It was "Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain" by DJ Shadow and I knew at that moment that it was to be this week's 8+.

Yes, I've mentioned having a dream featuring an 8+ song as the soundtrack before, and it may happen again. Believe it or not, music is often featured in my dreams. Go figure.

Buy Endtroducing... [Deluxe Edition] HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
British Sea Power - "Lately"
Islands - "Swans"
Isolée - "Pillowtalk"
Animal Collective - "Banshee Beat"
Wilderness - "Post Plethoric Rhetoric"
The Wedding Present - "Interstate 5"
Sleater-Kinney - "Let's Call It Love"
My Morning Jacket - "Dondante"
Wilco - "Spiders (Kidsmoke)"
Isis - "From Sinking"
Lemon Jelly - "A Tune For Jack"
Herbie Hancock - "Sly"
New Order - "Temptation"
Polvo - "El Rocio"
Pulp - "Countdown"
Morrissey - "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils"
Dungen - "Du är för fin för mig"
Loose Fur - "Wreckroom"
The Who - "A Quick One, While He's Away"
Destroyer - "Rubies"
Neu! - "Fuer Immer (forever)"
Iggy Pop - "Mass Production"
The Cure - "Fascination Street" (Extended Mix)
Yo La Tengo - "Let's Be Still"
George Michael - "I Want Your Sex, Pts. 1 &2"
Digital Underground - "Doowutchyalike"
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - "1% Of One"
Big Brother & the Holding Company - "Ball And Chain"
The Stone Roses - "I Am The Resurrection"