Luscious Jackson lead singer Jill Cunniff wrote this song. It seems to be about reaching a moment of clarity in a relationship, finally seeing it with the "naked eye," and not through a filter.
Luscious Jackson is an all-female alternative funk band that made four albums in the 1990s. "Naked Eye" was the most successful of the songs they produced. It's best remembered for its stylish video, in which all four members of the band (Jill Cunniff, Gabrielle Glaser, Kate Schellenbach and Vivian Trimble) portray the same character, a woman being escorted to a departing airplane by her boyfriend. Though the video looks like it takes place at an airport, it was actually filmed at the World Trade Center. According to frontwoman Jill Cunniff, the video for this song was inspired by the Luis Buniel film That Obscure Object of Desire, which featured two actresses playing the same role.
This was recorded at Daniel Lanois' Kingsway Studios in New Orleans, where the band lived while they were making the album. Lanois, known for his work with U2, also produced the track along with Jill Cunniff and Tony Mangurian.
"Naked Eye" was the only Hot 100 entry for Luscious Jackson, the first band signed to the Beastie Boys' label, Grand Royal (their drummer, Kate Schellenbach, was an early member of the Beastie Boys). Their band name is a play on Lucious Jackson, a basketball player who played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the '60s and '70s.
After Beastie Boys moved from Def Jam Records to Capitol, they set up Grand Royal as an imprint for their own music so it would seem like they were on an indie label, not a corporate behemoth. It was purely symbolic until they heard from their old friends Jill Cunniff and Gabby Glaser, who sent them a demo of Luscious Jackson material and asked for advice. They loved the demo, so in 1992 they decided to make Grand Royal a real label and make the first Luscious Jackson EP, In Search of Manny, the first release. They promoted the band as best they could, including a feature in the first issue of a magazine they started called Grand Royal in 1993. The first full-length Luscious Jackson album was Natural Ingredients in 1994; that was followed by Fever In Fever Out in 1996, which includes "Naked Eye." The group called it quits in 2000 but reunited for a few years starting in 2011.
A corollary to this story: Beastie Boys kicked Kate Schellenbach out of their group in 1984 when they took on Rick Rubin as a producer. She found out after returning from a month in Europe and spotting the guys at a club, where they were dressed in matching Fila suits Rubin bought for them. The Beastie's knew they did her dirty and were happy to help make amends by helping out Lucious Jackson. Another corollary: Beastie Boys started degrading women in their music and presentation starting with their first album, Licensed To Ill, in 1986. They essentially became the characters they portrayed in their hit "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)." By 1992 they were trying to shed this image and show due respect for women. Championing Luscious Jackson helped them to that end. From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/luscious-jackson/naked-eye
