Polyphemus, Luis Buñuel, Black Francis, and Me

I had cataract surgery this morning. I got the foggy left lens of my eye removed and replaced by an artificial lens. Thinking of a surgeon slicing the lens off my eyeball made me think of the film still from the pioneering surrealist short, Un chien andalou by Luis Buñuel. Which of course makes me think of one of my favorite rock bands, the Pixies, and their song Debaser, in which Un chien andalou is name-checked.

left to right: Me after catarct surgery, a still from Un Chien Abdalou, College-age me holding up Buñuel's autobiography, a christmas gift that year.

The lyrics go:

Got me a movie, I want you to know
Slicing up eyeballs, I want you to know
Girlie so groovy, I want you to know
Don't know about you, but I am un

Chien Andalusia, I am un
Chien Andalusia, I am un
Chien Andalusia, I am un
Chien Andalusia, wanna grow up to be

Be a debaser (debaser)
Debaser (debaser)

The lyrics basically repeat after that.

Now I wear plastic eyepatch while my eye is healing. I’m not exactly a cyclops like Polyphemus—I can see out of my left eye. I just have to keep it protected with a transparent eye covering.

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