This was no easy feat: My 10 Favorite Blindside Songs Jan 20 '05    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line To give you a glimpse of how good this band is, my brain hurt trying to come up with their 10 best. There you go. It's no secret to anyone who knows me even a little bit that I'm a huge fan of Swedish rockers Blindside. In fact, people who've never even spoken to me probably even know this. What can I say? They're my favorite band. So I decided to make a list of my top ten absolute favorites. The best of the best. The ones that get to me the most. It was really, really difficult to narrow it down, and I've changed the order on it fifty thousand times. Expect me to change it another billion times. But for now... 10. "Thought Like Flames" - from Silence. This song is absolutely stunning. A mid-tempo track glides smoothly and flawlessly, and this actually features some of Christian Lindskog's best vocals ever. When he laments "I'm near you, but my words land far from your heart," your heart literally hurts for him. Beautiful song. 9. "Shekina" - from About A Burning Fire. Gentle and dream-like, this magical and wondrous song is yet another showcase of what a diverse guitar player Simon Grenehed is. Not only that, this one of the most lyrically beautiful songs ever. Partially sung in Swedish, Christian maintains a near-whisper throughout the entire song. "Like joy was something you can touch, I wrap it around me like a blanket"...probably my favorite line from a Blindside song. Note: this song live in concert is even 10,000,000,000 times better than the album version. I've never seen a band pour so much emotion into anything, and besides - Christian replaces those slightly annoying "see deees" by that yodeling lady with these amazing "oh aaaaahhhhhh" lullaby whispers in concert. PERFECTION, I tell you. 8. "This Shoulder" - from Blindside. This song somehow calms me. It's freakishly consistent, and is easily the best song from their debut album. I love everything about it - where to start? Christian's voice, as always, layers the fizzy guitars with an assuring, flawlessness, low tone. "Come with me, ride on on my shoulder, why don't you," he suggests quietly. With a blissful, uplifting chorus, my only complaint about this song - and it's not even an authentic complaint - is that I wish it was longer. It's beautiful. 7. "Roads" - from About A Burning Fire. A sloooow, dreamy, jazzy track that is unlike most other Blindside songs...this song is sooo gorgeous. Whispery, crackly vocals from Christian here, accompanied by a light guitar. It should be played at coffee shops or something. I often fall asleep to it - and by that, I'm NOT saying the song puts me to sleep because it's boring. It's just so pretty and relaxing. I wouldn't mind if Blindside created an entire album of songs like this. "Every little second just flies, I hold on to them like pieces of paradise," Christian sings daintily. I initially considered this my favorite from About A Burning Fire, but another one won me over, which you'll learn about later... 6. "My Mother's Only Son" - from A Thought Crushed My Mind. So Blindside's second release, the noisy, raucous A Thought Crushed My Mind is easily their worst album. In fact, I even consider it merely an 'average' album overall. Weird, huh? Well, that's not to say it doesn't have a few stand-outs. "My Mother's Only Son" is lyrically and musical breathtaking. Very nice vocal trade-offs between Christian and guitarist Simon Grenehed. Flawless drumming by Marcus Dahlstrom. "Maybe the one who screams the most screams about himself," we find Christian pondering in a song about a cowardly guy who seems to hate everything and everyone, only to realize that the real problem boils down to his own self-loathing and lack of confidence. 5. "Silence" - from Silence. One of the longest Blindside songs. In the vein of "Roads", in a way, but even more relaxing, pretty and wonderful. It is slow, acoustic, and goosebump-evoking. "I believe in silence, our hearts beat the same word," Christian insists, and the sound of a heartbeat steadily takes over, particularly toward the latter half of the song. It is so beautiful. When I find myself trying to convert people into Blindside fans, this is always one of the first songs I let them hear. I can't imagine how gorgeous this one would be live in concert. 4. "Sleepwalking" - from Silence. Now it's time for a bit of change of pace in the countdown. "Sleepwalking" is possibly the most energetic Blindside song, launching immediately with a catchy guitar riff and Christian's contagious yelps: "Words so secure, screaming like an alaaarm! Are you trying to wake me up?!" One of my favorite parts of this great song is when it winds down a bit; Simon really rocks on this song, and the entire tone changes for a minute with the whole "And with a smile, I'll say my goodbye...one last goodbye" part. This was one of my immediate favorites from Silence, and I haven't gotten sick of it, even after over two years. 3. "Pitiful" - from Silence. As if anyone else needed proof that bassist Tomas Naslund rules the world, "Pitiful" is just another showcase of that very fact. Poignant lyrics that get right to the heart ("And I admit that I was only waiting for the right time, the right moment for you to look away, though you never did...") combined with this ridiculously flawless, LOUD, energetic music make this one just so-so-so good. Crazily good. Unnaturally good. Please listen to this song. But don't say I didn't warn you when you can't stop. 2. "Caught a Glimpse" - from Silence. Best intro ever. No questions asked. When I first got Silence and put this CD into the stereo, and heard that mysterious intro, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven. I kid you not. Then Christian Lindskog has to go and belt out those FUH-LAW-LESS verses, and delve into probably the most memorable Blindside chorus ever: "Caught a glimpse of YOUR eye," Christian proclaims adamantly, then declaring, "I'm ready to give you my hea-a-a-aart..." Then it goes right back into that intro guitar music! AHHH! Why must it be so immaculate? This song screams of perfection. It would even be my favorite Blindside song if not for...for... 1. "Across Waters Again" - from About A Burning Fire. Oh, my... this song is just a diamond in a sea of...I don't know what. Enough of the lame comparisons, it just boils down to the fact that every little fine detail of this gorgeous song makes perfection sound really, really awful. Christian wails, screams, whispers, cries, chock-full of emotion (not like that's a surprise anymore), all about missing his wife dearly while going on tour. Jumpy guitar work that couldn't sound better. I would not change ONE single thing about this song. "My thoughts are on an airplane home," Christian's voice begs, thick with longing, "while my feet are still... on the groooo-o-o-o-ound." Every member shines on this song, which was an easy pick for their BEST song to me. But, really guys, why can't you add this to your touring set list? Please do. That list was really difficult... I mean...well, the top 5 were kind of easy. But then again, there were so many other songs I wanted to put on the list. Should I have made a top 20 list instead? So, anyhow, I want to see lists from the other Blindside fans on this site. Or at least just let me know if you remotely agree with my list. :)

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