Essential Finger Eleven Songs

I feel like out of all of the bands that I've called a "favorite" at one point or another, Finger Eleven might be the most interesting. It took me two years to figure out who they were after hearing them on a mysterious mix CD given to me by a co-worker while working at a swimming pool. It was a CD he stole from a friend's car that was labeled "Family Values Tour", though nothing on the CD was live nor did it contain anything from Korn or Limp Bizkit. Two years later I was able to see that band live; then saw them again in 2011 and most recently in 2015. Here are a few songs I've enjoyed the most over the years.

10. "Slow Chemical" (The Punisher Soundtrack)
Taken from The Punisher movie soundtrack, this was actually a special version of WWF wrestler Kane's theme song. In 2001 the WWF partnered with various current "metal" and "nu metal" bands to record versions of several wrestlers' entrance tunes, like Disturbed created a new theme for Stone Cold Steve Austin and Limp Bizkit contributed their song "Rollin" for the Undertaker to use. The rest were existing instrumentals that were modified by rock bands into new creations, however this song was left off the album for whatever reason, even though it was heard in arenas across the country for a brief time in 2002. It made it's way onto The Punisher soundtrack in 2004, but has never been included on a studio album from the band.

9. "Stay In Shadow" (Finger Eleven)
When I discovered Finger Eleven in 2002 they already had two albums under their belt, so it was exciting that I could experience a new album in 2003 as a fan. I picked up the album right away, which was a limited edition version in a cardboard sleeve that included a bonus live DVD. I gravitated to their more aggressive tracks, much like the music on the previous album. "Stay In Shadow" is one I played on repeat for the remainder of that year. 

8. "Awake And Dreaming" (Tip)
While listening to Three Days Grace and creating last week's list, I noticed a similarity between their first album and Finger Eleven's albums The Greyest Of Blue Skies and Finger Eleven.  They share the same aggressive music and vocal style, while also being bands from Canadian. This brought me to another realization this week, which was that Finger Eleven's first album, Tip, and this song specifically remind me of another band from Canada- Our Lady Peace. I am really only familiar with 3 or 4 songs from Our Lady Peace but it was enough to notice a connection. Maybe they'll be the subject of a future list...

7. "Suffocate" (The Greyest Of Blue Skies)
I first heard this song on a mix CD that was mislabeled and the artist eluded me for years. I found out the CD was actually the Scream III soundtrack through happenstance; this was in the days before Wikipedia and even iTunes. Today it sounds incredibly dated with it's nu-metalesque production and down-tuned guitars but it stills hold a special place as my introduction to Finger Eleven. This whole album seems like a time-capsule because it's much more aggressive than their other albums and takes me back to being the age of 19 and 20, when I began spending far too much money on music.

6. "Lost My Way" (Them Vs You Vs Me)
I never gave this album much of a chance upon my first listen in 2007. I wanted more aggression and this was far too light. I've now come to realize that Them Vs You Vs Me is their strongest album.

5. "Good Intentions" (Life Turns Electric)
Finger Eleven seems to always have huge gaps in-between releases and I actually started to forget about them until the WWE used a song for it's Royal Rumble PPV theme. I believe it was "Whatever Doesn't Kill Me", so I knew a new song meant a new album was on the horizon. This album, and song in particular, brought me back into the fold after I felt Them Vs You Vs Me was too "poppy." At the time I preferred their more aggressive material of the early 2000's, but now I've grown to appreciate this song, and musical growth is never a bad thing.

4. "Thousand Mile Wish" (Finger Eleven)
Speaking of musical growth, while Finger Eleven had a surprise hit in 2003 with "One Thing", I felt like this was the more interesting of the two "ballads" on their self-titled album. While "One Thing" seems to be centered around it's percussion, this song is built on acoustic guitars.

3. "Obvious Heart" (Finger Eleven)
I've always been drawn to Finger Eleven's drumming, so it's odd that I've bumped into that guy the first two times I saw the band live; even at the same place too! The first occasion was in 2004 when the band played a show at Expo Gardens, opening for the bands Trapt and Strata. While my co-workers enjoyed meeting Trapt after their soundcheck, I was much more interested in Finger Eleven. I was informed that a member of the band was ill, so no meet and greet was possible but I did catch one member in the tiny lobby- the drummer, Rich Beddoe. Years later in 2011, I would again bump into Rich when the band played a show at the fair grounds of Expo Gardens. I was washing my hands in the bathroom, when in walked the drummer; the first time was outside of the bathroom and this time was INSIDE. Cue Twilight Zone music. Or cue the COPS theme as they hauled me away for being a stalker to rock stars.

2. "Paralyzer" (Them Vs You Vs Me)
I hated this song for the same reasons that I now enjoy it- because it's different. It seems like perhaps Finger Eleven outdid themselves with this surprise hit in 2007 because nothing in their catalog has been like this before or since.

1. "Living In A Dream" (Life Turns Electric)
I've been going back and forth between my #1 and 2 songs all week, and in fact, I've flipped flopped numerous times while writing this too. Both are great songs with groovy guitar licks and similar danceable drumbeats, but what gives "Living In A Dream" the edge are the lyrics, as I feel this song is much more engaging. Many can say they've been caught in a trance by someone of the opposite sex, at least I can say I've had blinders on and only focus on that person, which this song perfectly describes.