Clearlake "Finally Free"

If one were to take the step of applying, say, a bit of Zen Buddhist philosophy to the first line of Clearlake's "Finally Free" (mp3), it could make for a fun morning's worth of introspection. We hear the couplet "I'll say what I want, 'cause no one is listening", which at first blush could be chalked up to standard Big English Rock emotional insouciance (see: any UK band from 1992-97), but after meditating on it for a moment or two, I have a question for Jason Pegg. If no one is in fact listening, are you really saying anything at all, Jason? Did it happen? Did it? Despite my near-constant phone calls and emails, Pegg has yet to respond in kind. Or perhaps I just wasn't listening. From a purely musical (and slightly less stupid) perspective, this song is the sole swinger from the excellent Amber, which otherwise rhythmically broods its way through eleven well-crafted songs of disillusion, heartbreak and loss. Contextually, then, t's a success story of sorts---the music breaks out as much as Pegg apparently does in the lyrics. "Free" is the sound of a packed club at 15 frames per second---its internal motivation is relentless, but externally, the drugs won't allow the energy to manifest itself. Finally, if this song doesn't work its way into a cell-phone commercial about flexible rates and plans, someone needs to be fired.

Buy Amber here.