CHEECH & CHONG “Earache My Eye” (featuring Alice Bowie) b/w “Turn That Thing Down” (A&M/Ode Records #66102, August 1974)
Oh, how my mom hated this one.  All I remember is my older brother was driving me somewhere, and this 5-minutes-&-change comedy sketch popped up on the radio. We both howled with laughter until our sides ached, and I insisted we stop off at King’s department store (the most cavernous, dimly-lit treasure chest on Earth) and buy the record. Being the ultimate enabler, my brother agreed. My copy even still has the “Dept. 1-463” sticker on the back.
Since then, this track has become both a comedy and rock classic, the S&M-joke-riddled father/son sketch at the back referenced by hundreds of writers, and the untitled Gaye Delorme-penned glam satire at the front nicked by everyone from 2 Live Crew to Soundgarden. And let’s face it, nothing’s funnier than Cheech Marin, America’s super-stoned answer to Cantinflas, wearing a tutu and pasties.
See Cheech & Chong\’s \”Earache My Eye\” Live from 1978
This disc’s non-LP flip, “Turn That Thing Down” is merely a cacophonous continuation of side A’s ending, effectively extending the whole sketch to 10 minutes total, for the true masochist in you. A lease-breaker if there ever was one.
Personally, I would’ve preferred to hear one of Cheech & Chong’s Wedding Album‘s other great sketches, like “Black Lassie” or that “3 Little Pigs” bit, but I’m not one to begrudge C&C their dadaism. After all, “Earache My Eye” spent 8 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #9. Not bad for a hilarious clusterfuck of satirical slacker stoner raunch.
Cheech & Chong to this day continue to…oh, I don’t need to go into it.
NEXT WEEK: I try to separate my body from my mind.
