Dream sequence

A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element.

Vinyl (HBO)
In Vinyl, the dream sequences are used throughout the show as a narrative device used by the show's writers as the "haunting" of the principal characters by "ghosts" that musically represent the internal struggles that the characters face. The ghosts, much like the that of the Coen Brothers movie Miller's Crossing, are very important to understanding the characters and, in some cases, the larger issues in music they are standing in for. These "ghosts" are also shout-outs to some of the great music artists of all-time. Many of them, however, are not universally recognized today for what they contributed to music. Perhaps the most important statement the show makes using these "ghosts" is that rock and roll in the 70s owed a great unpaid debt to the African American R&B and blues artists (this was particularly apparent in episode one).

Pilot

 * Ruth Brown - (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean
 * Chris Kenner - I Like It Like That
 * Bo Diddley - Hey! Bo Diddley
 * Otis Redding - Mr. Pitiful

Yesterday Once More

 * Jerry Lee Lewis - Breathless
 * Karen Carpenter (covered by Aimee Mann) - Yesterday Once More
 * Bobby Bland - I'll Take Care of You

Whispered Secrets

 * Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning

The Racket

 * Otis Blackwell - Please Help Me Find My Way Home
 * Janis Joplin - Cry Baby

He In Racist Fire

 * Little Richard - Rip It Up

Cyclone

 * Buddy Holly - Rave On

The King and I

 * Jan and Dean - Surf City
 * Pink Fairies - Do It

E.A.B.

 * Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe

Rock and Roll Queen

 * Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody

Alibi

 * Tony Bennett - Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2002 version)