Chemicals Collide: A Wendell/Hodgins Mix
Day two of what has come to be known in my head as "Liz's Birthday Project" is a fanmix I've been working on for awhile now. cinderlily feels the same way I do about both fanmixes (essential) and Wendell/Hodgins (OMGperfect). Plus, she's already shared two (two!) Wendell/Hodgins mixes which I listen to on a regular basis (and sometimes steal ideas from for fics). So for her birthday, I wanted to share with her what I listen to while I write this pairing (when I am not listening to the mixes she's already posted, which you can find at the Wendell/Hodgins comm, if you missed them). But I will share it with all of you as well.
Happy, happy birthday, Liz. I hope it's everything you want it to be.
Chemicals Collide: A Wendell/Hodgins Mix
1) Betty Serveert -- Co-Coward
It doesn't happen every day
Living in denial
Have you lost your smile?
Well, it takes a while
Before you'll forgive
Wendell comes into the Hodgins equation at a pretty lousy time, let's be honest. Jack's just lost his best friend and his fiancee, he's nursing a broken heart and he's pretty sure he's never going to trust anyone ever again EVER for any reason, and that's just fine with him. It's a lot of heartbreak and insecurity to work around, but the fact that Hodgins isn't expecting to be romanced by this jumpy, skittish hockey player from Boston helps a lot. The sneak attack method breaks down his defenses a lot faster than a traditional approach would. But mostly this is a song about Zack and Angela and all the loss that Hodgins has to go through before he can find what he really needs.
~
2) General Public -- Tenderness
I held your hands
Rings but none on that finger
We danced and danced
But I was scared to go much further with it
I confess that I stuck this song on this mix at the very beginning stages just because I love it and I had been talking about it, but the more I worked on the mix the better it started to fit. After his break-up with Angela Hodgins freely admits that he's angry at everyone and everything, and he's not interested in getting over it. This song, in a lot of ways, is about taking the risk and putting yourself out there again even with the knowledge that you'll probably get hurt.
~
3) Cloud Cult -- Chemicals Collide
I was out catching up to tomorrow, or was I caught up in the past?
These days it's hard to tell what's out in front from what's behind
But, oh God, it's unforgettable and unpredictable the way our chemicals collide
I suspect this became my Wendell/Hodgins song partly because they're scientists, but mostly it's because it really fits them. Hodgins was just minding his own business when this relationship snuck up on him. But they have a good time together, and he doesn't have to care, so he goes with it. Mostly because it's a completely new experience, so he doesn't have to compare it to any other experiences from his past. What he doesn't count on is the crazy amount of chemistry they have, or the fact that they fit so well together, and for the first time in his life all those troublesome relationship things aren't so troublesome after all.
~
4) Lucinda Williams -- Right In Time
Think about you and that long ride
I bite my nails I get weak inside
Reach over and turn off the light
Oh my baby
The way you move it's right in time
So Wendell's timing is horrendous, but it turns out to be perfect, and a rebound experiment somehow turns into a bright new future.
~
5) Boston -- More Than A Feeling
I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away
Normally I am not one to put songs on a fanmix based on what the characters would listen to. I know some people do that (LOTS of country songs on Nick-centric CSI mixes, I've noticed). But in this fandom music has become almost a character all on its own, and this is one of the songs I picture Wendell singing the most. Partly because it's Boston, and partly because come on, who doesn't sing along to this song? (I feel compelled to confess that I own the CD, so I didn't even have to track it down special for the Wendell in my head.)
~
6) Eels -- Mr. E's Beautiful Blues
The kids flip their lids when their ids hear that crazy sound
My neighbor digs the flavor still he's moving to another town
And I don't believe he'll come back
Goddamn right it's a beautiful day
Goddamn right it's a beautiful day
Granted, there are other road trip songs that Wendell would probably go to before Eels. Tom Petty's "American Girl", maybe. Or Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69". "Pink Houses". Anything by Guns 'n' Roses. But "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" is one of those feel-good, driving with the windows down songs that Wendell and Jack both like, and Jack secretly likes the way Wendell's voice goes sharp on the falsetto when he sings the lyric 'the kids flip their lids when their ids hear that crazy sound'. He taps along to the beat on his thigh as they drive, and Wendell grins when he catches Jack doing it, and just for that moment, everything is perfect.
~
7) Rolling Stones -- Happy
I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love, baby won't ya keep me happy.
Baby, won't ya keep me happy.
Baby, please keep me
Hodgins isn't a happy person, generally speaking. He's pretty cynical, but the one bright spot of the entire Angela debacle was that we got to see that secretly, Hodgins really wants to be happy in love. He wants what we all want, which is to find that one person who just fits and live happily ever after with them, and he wants it badly enough that he tried to force it with Angela even though she wasn't the right fit for him. So he gets even more cynical for awhile, but it can't last, because underneath it all he's a romantic.
~
8) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss -- Stick With Me Baby
Everybody’s been a-talkin’; they say our love wasn’t real
That it would soon be over; that’s not the way I feel
But don’t worry, honey; let them say what they may
Come on and stick with me, baby; we’ll find a way
And of course he finally finds the right person in a place no one ever expected, least of all Hodgins. So everyone around them expects it to be a phase, an experiment that he'll move on from eventually. Even Wendell thinks that sometimes, but it turns out that when it's right, it doesn't really matter what package it comes in.
~
9) Carbon Leaf -- Life Less Ordinary
The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
Even though Wendell's the one who's securest in his sexuality, Jack's the one who has to do all the asking when it comes to the level of commitment in their relationship. Because Wendell's afraid that one day Jack's going to change his mind and go back to dating girls, he doesn't bring up the future. Plus, Jack's the traditional one who wants marriage and kids and labels to make everything feel permanent. And sure, it sort of blows his mind still when he stops to think about how different his life is than he planned, but at the same time, he ended up pretty much exactly where he always wanted to be.
~
10) Cake -- Love You Madly*
I don't want to wonder
If this is a blunder
I don't want to worry whether
We're going to stay together
'Till we die
They're both hopeless romantics. It causes friction from time to time, particularly when it comes to dealing with the day-to-day, unromantic stuff, but in the end it's what keeps them together, too. Both of them need to feel loved, and that's something they've both got an endless supply of.
* I realized this morning that I uploaded the m4a of this file instead of the mp3. The one in the zip file is m4a as well, but if you want to replace it with mp3 you can download that version here.
~
11) Natasha Bedingfield -- (I Wanna Have Your) Babies
I want to have your babies,
Get serious like crazy
I want to have your babies,
I see 'em springing up like daisies
Make all the mpreg jokes you want, but this is a song about Wendell and Hodgins. Underneath it all they are the most traditional couple I have ever written. Hodgins wants a family to take care of who will love him unconditionally, and Wendell wants to love somebody who loves him back just as much. Everything isn't perfect and rosy all the time; they fight over stupid stuff like age-appropriate cartoons and the best approach to squeezing the toothpaste tube, and it's completely, 100% normal. Which is the one thing Hodgins has wanted his entire life, and it takes a 'non-traditional' relationship to find it.
~
12) Indigo Girls -- I Believe In Love
I want to say that underneath it all you are my friend
And the way that I fell for you I'll never fall that way again
I still believe despite our differences that what we have's enough
And I believe in you and I believe in love
Look, I realize this mix is filled with an awful lot of romantic chick music, but it works so well for them that I can't even apologize. This song in particular really describes their relationship. They didn't expect to end up together, but they both know it couldn't have worked out better.
~
13) Chantal Kreviazuk -- Before You
But ever since I met you on a cloudy Monday
I can't believe how much I love the rain
Just in case you hadn't already overloaded on the romantic chick music. They really are the sappiest couple of all time, at least in my mind. Also, the Indigo Girls song, while perfect for them, is a little melancholy, so I wanted to offset it with a really happy love song, because I love my boys and I want them to be happy. Even when they're being total girls.
~
14) Beachwood Sparks -- This Is What It Feels Like
This is what it feels like
This is what it feels like
This is what it sounds like
And this is what it feels like
This is what it feels like to finally fall into the life you've always wanted. Mostly when I think of these two, I picture them driving somewhere on a normal, hectic family trip, Wendell singing along to the radio and Jack occasionally linking their hands so he can lift them up to his mouth and kiss Wendell's knuckles. It's romantic and drippy and normal and exactly what I wish for them both, and this song makes me think of that.
~
Bonus Track: Troubled Hubble -- I'm Pretty Sure I Can See Molecules
Traffic smoke and atmosphere, it's a one way ticket out of here,
it's a science you can trust,
it's a molecule and it's here
with us.
I put this song on here because it reminds me so much of Hodgins. He does like to be right. But even though he can be a lot to take sometimes, he's loyal and he pours everything he's got into taking care of the people he loves, and that's enough. Plus, science geek. That's pretty much the reason for this one.
~
And now I go back to my fic hiatus. I've only given myself permission to break it for certain people, so it shouldn't happen too often. There's stuff I should post about, but I don't feel like talking about it, so instead I will go work out and then go to the library book sale. Members preview today! I plan to stock up on the grossest romance novels I can find. I just wish it wasn't snowing. Ugh. Come ON, spring.
Happy, happy birthday, Liz. I hope it's everything you want it to be.
Chemicals Collide: A Wendell/Hodgins Mix
1) Betty Serveert -- Co-Coward
It doesn't happen every day
Living in denial
Have you lost your smile?
Well, it takes a while
Before you'll forgive
Wendell comes into the Hodgins equation at a pretty lousy time, let's be honest. Jack's just lost his best friend and his fiancee, he's nursing a broken heart and he's pretty sure he's never going to trust anyone ever again EVER for any reason, and that's just fine with him. It's a lot of heartbreak and insecurity to work around, but the fact that Hodgins isn't expecting to be romanced by this jumpy, skittish hockey player from Boston helps a lot. The sneak attack method breaks down his defenses a lot faster than a traditional approach would. But mostly this is a song about Zack and Angela and all the loss that Hodgins has to go through before he can find what he really needs.
~
2) General Public -- Tenderness
I held your hands
Rings but none on that finger
We danced and danced
But I was scared to go much further with it
I confess that I stuck this song on this mix at the very beginning stages just because I love it and I had been talking about it, but the more I worked on the mix the better it started to fit. After his break-up with Angela Hodgins freely admits that he's angry at everyone and everything, and he's not interested in getting over it. This song, in a lot of ways, is about taking the risk and putting yourself out there again even with the knowledge that you'll probably get hurt.
~
3) Cloud Cult -- Chemicals Collide
I was out catching up to tomorrow, or was I caught up in the past?
These days it's hard to tell what's out in front from what's behind
But, oh God, it's unforgettable and unpredictable the way our chemicals collide
I suspect this became my Wendell/Hodgins song partly because they're scientists, but mostly it's because it really fits them. Hodgins was just minding his own business when this relationship snuck up on him. But they have a good time together, and he doesn't have to care, so he goes with it. Mostly because it's a completely new experience, so he doesn't have to compare it to any other experiences from his past. What he doesn't count on is the crazy amount of chemistry they have, or the fact that they fit so well together, and for the first time in his life all those troublesome relationship things aren't so troublesome after all.
~
4) Lucinda Williams -- Right In Time
Think about you and that long ride
I bite my nails I get weak inside
Reach over and turn off the light
Oh my baby
The way you move it's right in time
So Wendell's timing is horrendous, but it turns out to be perfect, and a rebound experiment somehow turns into a bright new future.
~
5) Boston -- More Than A Feeling
I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away
Normally I am not one to put songs on a fanmix based on what the characters would listen to. I know some people do that (LOTS of country songs on Nick-centric CSI mixes, I've noticed). But in this fandom music has become almost a character all on its own, and this is one of the songs I picture Wendell singing the most. Partly because it's Boston, and partly because come on, who doesn't sing along to this song? (I feel compelled to confess that I own the CD, so I didn't even have to track it down special for the Wendell in my head.)
~
6) Eels -- Mr. E's Beautiful Blues
The kids flip their lids when their ids hear that crazy sound
My neighbor digs the flavor still he's moving to another town
And I don't believe he'll come back
Goddamn right it's a beautiful day
Goddamn right it's a beautiful day
Granted, there are other road trip songs that Wendell would probably go to before Eels. Tom Petty's "American Girl", maybe. Or Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69". "Pink Houses". Anything by Guns 'n' Roses. But "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" is one of those feel-good, driving with the windows down songs that Wendell and Jack both like, and Jack secretly likes the way Wendell's voice goes sharp on the falsetto when he sings the lyric 'the kids flip their lids when their ids hear that crazy sound'. He taps along to the beat on his thigh as they drive, and Wendell grins when he catches Jack doing it, and just for that moment, everything is perfect.
~
7) Rolling Stones -- Happy
I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love, baby won't ya keep me happy.
Baby, won't ya keep me happy.
Baby, please keep me
Hodgins isn't a happy person, generally speaking. He's pretty cynical, but the one bright spot of the entire Angela debacle was that we got to see that secretly, Hodgins really wants to be happy in love. He wants what we all want, which is to find that one person who just fits and live happily ever after with them, and he wants it badly enough that he tried to force it with Angela even though she wasn't the right fit for him. So he gets even more cynical for awhile, but it can't last, because underneath it all he's a romantic.
~
8) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss -- Stick With Me Baby
Everybody’s been a-talkin’; they say our love wasn’t real
That it would soon be over; that’s not the way I feel
But don’t worry, honey; let them say what they may
Come on and stick with me, baby; we’ll find a way
And of course he finally finds the right person in a place no one ever expected, least of all Hodgins. So everyone around them expects it to be a phase, an experiment that he'll move on from eventually. Even Wendell thinks that sometimes, but it turns out that when it's right, it doesn't really matter what package it comes in.
~
9) Carbon Leaf -- Life Less Ordinary
The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
Even though Wendell's the one who's securest in his sexuality, Jack's the one who has to do all the asking when it comes to the level of commitment in their relationship. Because Wendell's afraid that one day Jack's going to change his mind and go back to dating girls, he doesn't bring up the future. Plus, Jack's the traditional one who wants marriage and kids and labels to make everything feel permanent. And sure, it sort of blows his mind still when he stops to think about how different his life is than he planned, but at the same time, he ended up pretty much exactly where he always wanted to be.
~
10) Cake -- Love You Madly*
I don't want to wonder
If this is a blunder
I don't want to worry whether
We're going to stay together
'Till we die
They're both hopeless romantics. It causes friction from time to time, particularly when it comes to dealing with the day-to-day, unromantic stuff, but in the end it's what keeps them together, too. Both of them need to feel loved, and that's something they've both got an endless supply of.
* I realized this morning that I uploaded the m4a of this file instead of the mp3. The one in the zip file is m4a as well, but if you want to replace it with mp3 you can download that version here.
~
11) Natasha Bedingfield -- (I Wanna Have Your) Babies
I want to have your babies,
Get serious like crazy
I want to have your babies,
I see 'em springing up like daisies
Make all the mpreg jokes you want, but this is a song about Wendell and Hodgins. Underneath it all they are the most traditional couple I have ever written. Hodgins wants a family to take care of who will love him unconditionally, and Wendell wants to love somebody who loves him back just as much. Everything isn't perfect and rosy all the time; they fight over stupid stuff like age-appropriate cartoons and the best approach to squeezing the toothpaste tube, and it's completely, 100% normal. Which is the one thing Hodgins has wanted his entire life, and it takes a 'non-traditional' relationship to find it.
~
12) Indigo Girls -- I Believe In Love
I want to say that underneath it all you are my friend
And the way that I fell for you I'll never fall that way again
I still believe despite our differences that what we have's enough
And I believe in you and I believe in love
Look, I realize this mix is filled with an awful lot of romantic chick music, but it works so well for them that I can't even apologize. This song in particular really describes their relationship. They didn't expect to end up together, but they both know it couldn't have worked out better.
~
13) Chantal Kreviazuk -- Before You
But ever since I met you on a cloudy Monday
I can't believe how much I love the rain
Just in case you hadn't already overloaded on the romantic chick music. They really are the sappiest couple of all time, at least in my mind. Also, the Indigo Girls song, while perfect for them, is a little melancholy, so I wanted to offset it with a really happy love song, because I love my boys and I want them to be happy. Even when they're being total girls.
~
14) Beachwood Sparks -- This Is What It Feels Like
This is what it feels like
This is what it feels like
This is what it sounds like
And this is what it feels like
This is what it feels like to finally fall into the life you've always wanted. Mostly when I think of these two, I picture them driving somewhere on a normal, hectic family trip, Wendell singing along to the radio and Jack occasionally linking their hands so he can lift them up to his mouth and kiss Wendell's knuckles. It's romantic and drippy and normal and exactly what I wish for them both, and this song makes me think of that.
~
Bonus Track: Troubled Hubble -- I'm Pretty Sure I Can See Molecules
Traffic smoke and atmosphere, it's a one way ticket out of here,
it's a science you can trust,
it's a molecule and it's here
with us.
I put this song on here because it reminds me so much of Hodgins. He does like to be right. But even though he can be a lot to take sometimes, he's loyal and he pours everything he's got into taking care of the people he loves, and that's enough. Plus, science geek. That's pretty much the reason for this one.
~
And now I go back to my fic hiatus. I've only given myself permission to break it for certain people, so it shouldn't happen too often. There's stuff I should post about, but I don't feel like talking about it, so instead I will go work out and then go to the library book sale. Members preview today! I plan to stock up on the grossest romance novels I can find. I just wish it wasn't snowing. Ugh. Come ON, spring.