Clearlake "Finally Free"
Monday, May 1, 2006
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.
nice complement to my post here.. Wish I could have said it as well as you have… Words I have a hard time forming, the music is another story.
merz