Music of the Day, 12 September 2024

only getting better

The radio station in my mind walloped me with an old, kinda weird song that I adored back in the day, even as I suspected its lyrics were deeper than I was willing to go. Turns out I was right.

In 1986, when Timbuk 3 released its first album, Greetings From Timbuk3, and its only charting single, I was working on my master’s thesis and brimming with optimism. I naïvely thought that once I’d earned my PhD, I’d be set for life; so it should come as no surprise that when I first heard “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades,” I rode right past the nuclear-themed content and embraced the feel-good element of it.

Today I’m grooving as much on the music as the lyrics, which is a pleasant surprise since I’m usually not a harmonica fan. The then-married duo of Barbara Kooyman and Pat MacDonald delivered on every aspect on this song, and I plan to explore more of their music soon.

While I almost certainly saw the video back then, I don’t remember it, and watching it today sparked no memories. But it sure looks like it could have been filmed in New Mexico, which heightens the ominous quality of the “nuclear science” theme… as do the near-whiteout shots.

So even though I now know the song is ironic, I’m choosing to focus on its upbeat attitude¹ to bolster shifting my frame of mind toward the positive. Hope it brings a smile to your face, at the least.

1. including the fact that we haven’t yet destroyed our planet with nuclear bombs, accidents, and/or waste