Salvation is free. Always has, always will be.

Had some free time on my hands today, so I decided I'll talk about one of the things I like, MUSIC!
Just a song in particular. It has a very strong tie-in to my childhood, not as much influence but it's one of those things that got my brain cogs turning.

The Cranberries - Salvation

I've been listening to The Cranberries ever since i first started meddling with the radio, give it around... 9 or 10 years old. So, it's always been a staple of my late 90's self. It was around that time when Metro Vision was the closest thing I had to Astro. Yes, itu benar, aku bukan budak era Astro. I have always been very into music videos, let me clarify, of the 90's! Back when 3d tech was first starting up. Was always very intrigued by the effects. So you can imagine when i first saw this video, needless to say, i was hooked. Well, of course clowns weren't my favourite thing, thanks to a picture of a crying clown in my cousins bedroom where i stayed over the weekends. But the thing about me is that i tend to keep looking at the things that scare and fascinate me. ( go figure ) I was a kid (i must say this again n again ok?) so i always wondering why they used a clown, what more a clown that looked like that. AGAIN I MUST SAY...ini sebelum era Wikipedia dan internet ok? information wasn't so accessible then. it was frustrating. trust me. Back to the story, why the clown? why the needles? why the flowers? why the car? as a kid it did cross my mind to have a hint demonic/ possession qualities. I did wonder, just because it looked like something negative, it might not be that the video was bad, seeing the lyrics didn't reflect it. Yes, again. As a kid i always tried to catch the lyrics to absorb and reflect, to see what the singer was trying to tell. I was always super attentive when it came on the radio, so i could catch the lyrics. And as a kid, most of what i caught was:

"Salvation, salvation, salvation is free. 
Salvation, salvation, salvation is free. "

Growing up in a Christian home, I very much agreed with this. Salvation is free, has always been. But I wasn't a very naive kid, I did have reservations of the possibilities of it being sarcastic. 

Good to know it was directly what it means.

Now with my best friend, wikipedia, i learnt that :

"It is one of the most acclaimed videos by the band's fans. It has a bizarre mood, and notorious references to drug use and abuse. It shows a clown with needles instead of hair, a confused girl whose parents are being held by the clown, all in a torn house at the top of a hill.

The bizarre images are supposed to represent the effects drugs have on people. The clown jumping on the teddy bear is a symbol of the loss of innocence, and the trapped parents show how drugs are a problem that affect not only the consumer, but also his or her close relatives/friends."

 And knowing all that, I'm glad that i did have good music taste (che wahhh!) Not everything though, but knowing one of my favourite songs was actually good for you. *successbaby.jpg* Lyrics do matter. One cannot always judge a song by the video, but this video was good la.... technology wise, meaning wise, symbolism wise.... creepily fascinating clown is meaningful :p