Where Are My Glasses?

Hey rockers, how you doin'?  Keeping The Man at bay?  Not me, unfortunately, but screw The Man.  Let's talk songs about glasses!

I've reached that age where I'm constantly needing and/or looking for glasses.  It's a pain, but they are wonderful to have - shout out to our Philly home boy, Ben Franklin, for the invention!  Anyway, as I was recently struggling without my glasses, I started to think about songs that are about them.  There are some good ones.

Let's start with glasses and love.  I think women with glasses are sexy.  I know, not everyone digs the look, but you already know how weird and unusual I am, so why assume anything different here?  And if you listen to Rhett Miller before he sings his great song, Four Eyed Girls, you'll see that Rhett and I are fully aligned here.  Enjoy.

Glasses and silliness?  Oh for sure!  Do you remember a one-hit wonder call John Fred and His Playboy Band?  Well, if so, that's cool and we are simpatico, and if not, welcome to a great song about glasses.  I'm not fully sure what this song is all about, but it's poppy and funny and filled with horns and don't we all need more of that in our lives?  And this video shows John sporting the dark underbelly of 1960's era fashion.  Without further ado, here is Judy in Disguise (With Glasses):

 
It just wouldn't be right to have a post about glasses without referencing sunglasses, would it?  We have two videos from classic rock icons that are worth checking out, and then one from the oddly named Timbuk 3.  First, let's talk about Billy Gibbons and his boys from Texas.  ZZ Top had a huge hit called Cheap Sunglasses that rocks and is fun.  And it kind of connects with Rhett Miller in that the second verse oohs and aahs over a hottie but what really knocked him out were those cheap sunglasses!  Oh yeah!  Me, too!  And this video captures the song live with ZZ Top demonstrating their signature synchronized guitar moves.

I'm not a huge fan of the band The Eagles.  I like some of their songs just fine, but if you put on New Kid in Town, Desperado, Witchy Woman, Take it to the Limit, Heartache Tonight, or Tequila Sunrise, well, I'm just going to have to move on down the road and let you enjoy those all by yourself.  Then again, Don Henley had a huge solo hit that I love, and he not only talks about a lost love wearing sunglasses, but even identifies them later as Wayfarers.  I think everyone at one point owned Wayfarers (or at least a knock off).  I really like this tune, The Boys of Summer.

Timbuk 3?  A new wave one-hit wonder, but their song has been in my repertoire for decades.  The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades is actually an ironic song about a depressing version of what the future could be.  But screw that - let's take it for what we want it to be, which is that the glass is half full and better times are comin'.  You with me on that?  Good, you guys rule.

The final one.  Do you like The Cramps, the proto-punk outfit that explored the area between rock music and horror films?  Well, I'm a pretty big fan, and loved songs like Goo Goo Muck, The Crusher, and Green Fuz.  But they really outdid themselves (at least for purposes of this post) with a crazy rockin' punk song called Sunglasses After Dark.  I never went for that fashion, and perhaps Lux Interior (their now-deceased front man) is just making fun of it, but the song is perhaps the perfect ending to this corrective lens post.  Here ya go:

I'm still working on the Car Seat Headrest write-up, but I can tell you one thing about it right now:  you don't want to miss it!  Check back soon and see what the Kid thought about them. 

It's a bummer that Fall is upon us, not because I dislike Fall (quite the opposite), but I'm already pining for those long languid days of Summer. Oh well, that's life in Philly, and I ain't leaving.  I like it here.  See you soon.  And yes, I do love you in those glasses!