"Naked Eye" is a song by American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band
Luscious Jackson
Luscious Jackson is an alternative rock/ rap-rock group formed in 1991. The band's name is a reference to former American basketball player Lucious Jackson.
The original band consisted of Jill Cunniff (vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, guit ...
, released as the first single from their second album, ''
Fever In Fever Out
''Fever In Fever Out'' is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Luscious Jackson. It was released on October 29, 1996, on Grand Royal and Capitol Records.
The album peaked at number 72 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, as wel ...
'' (1996). It was released on CD and 12-inch, both of which feature three remixes and an instrumental version of the song as well as two non-
LP tracks. The song peaked at 18 on the US ''
Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 36 on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100. To date it is the band's only top-40 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 25 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Background
In a 1997 interview with ''
Billboard'', singer
Jill Cunniff
Jill Cunniff (born August 17, 1966) is an American musician and artist, best known as the lead singer of the band Luscious Jackson. Cunniff was born in New York City and attended college in San Francisco. After returning to New York in 1991, she ...
explained that the song is about being emotionally naked, or honest, rather than naked as in without clothing.
Music video
The song's music video was inspired by the 1977
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
film ''
That Obscure Object of Desire
''That Obscure Object of Desire'' (french: Cet obscur objet du désir; es, Ese oscuro objeto del deseo) is a 1977 comedy-drama film directed by Luis Buñuel, based on the 1898 novel '' The Woman and the Puppet'' by Pierre Louÿs. It was Buñuel' ...
'', which featured two actresses playing the same role.
All four of the band's then members (Cunniff, Gabrielle Glaser,
Kate Schellenbach
Kate Schellenbach (born January 5, 1966) is an American musician and television producer. She is the drummer of Luscious Jackson and was a founding drummer of the Beastie Boys.
Born in New York City, she played with the Beastie Boys from 1981 to ...
and
Vivian Trimble
Vivian Elizabeth Trimble (born May 24, 1963 in New York City) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist in the band Luscious Jackson from 1991 to 1998. She also joined bandmate Jill Cunniff under the name Kostars and recorded an album ...
) portray the same character, a woman being escorted to a departing aircraft by her boyfriend. The character arrives in a
Citroen CX car. Though the video is made to look like it takes place at an airport, it was filmed at New York's
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
.
The music video made its
MTV debut on November 17, 1996.
Track listing
US maxi-CD single
# "Naked Eye" – 4:44
# "Banana's Box" – 3:10
# "Naked Eye" (Tony's Magic mix) – 5:13
# "Naked Eye" (20/20 mix) – 5:42
# "Naked Eye" (Totally Nude mix) – 5:13
# "Foster's Lover" – 2:42
# "Naked Eye" (Suntan Knee-Hi mix—instrumental) – 4:38
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1996 singles
1996 songs
Capitol Records singles
Grand Royal singles
Luscious Jackson songs
Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois
Songs written by Jill Cunniff