Fanmix: Back to the Start (Will/Finn, 99 Problems series)
(A little while ago Bess walked into my office and said, "I read that Will/Finn story you posted. Afterward I needed a beer and some M&Ms." I think that's possibly the best feedback I've ever gotten on a fic. And from a coworker, no less! It's not hard to make her blush or anything, but sometimes it's kind of fun.)
For a little while now I have been working on a Puck/Kurt-centric fanmix -- working title: Wedding Mix (spoiler alert: THEY GET MARRIED AT THE END) -- and there was this one song that I loved, but it just wasn't working for them. Then it dawned on me that it was actually a Will/Finn song, which launched a new Will-centric fanmix. I haven't given Will much of a voice in this series to date, mainly because while Will's a part of the relationship, certainly, up to now it's mostly been about Finn's journey of growth and discovering what he wants. (Puck calls it 'becoming a real boy'.)
So now Finn's figuring it out, and he knows what he wants, which is Will. The trouble, of course, is getting Will to believe that. So I suppose going forward that Will will have more of a voice in the series, and as a way of easing into that I started thinking about kind of a soundtrack for the two of them. The first fanmix* I made for the 99 Problems series was completely Finn-centric, and while this one isn't All About Will, it definitely focuses on him more.
Uh, vague spoilers for the future of the 99 Problems series, I guess? I mean, it's not like you can't guess where we're going with this thing, but if you really don't want to be spoiled, you should skip the notes after each track** and just download the zip file.
Back to the Start: A Finn/Will Mix
zip file of the whole mix
1) Bic Runga -- Sway
I'm practicing your name so I can say it to your face
It doesn't seem right, to look you in the eye
Let all the things you mean to me
Come tumbling out my mouth
Indeed it's time to tell you why
(This is not the crooner standard performed by Michael Buble and many other recording artists; most recently by one Matthew Morrison himself, during Burt and Carole’s wedding. Just, you know, in case you were wondering.)
There’s a line in this song that goes, “my head is battling with my heart,” which pretty much exactly sums up Will’s approach to his relationship with Finn. He’s head over heels, more in love than he’s ever been, but he’s terrified to let himself fall hard, because he doesn’t believe something might actually work out for him for once. He’s had such bad luck with relationships, which is mostly his own fault, but it’s still made him a little gunshy about trusting his own feelings.
So someone as simple and honest as Finn deciding, “hey, I kinda love you,” and offering Will everything he’s ever wanted...it’s a little scary. But he can’t say no, because he’s never wanted anything quite so much.
2) Natasha Bedingfield -- The Scientist
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start
But Will’s a drama queen, so he goes into their relationship expecting it to end at some point. They haven’t even really gotten started and already he’s preemptively breaking them up in his head, just bracing himself for the moment it’s all over, because there’s no way he could get everything he wants and get to keep it forever, right?
3) Billy Joel -- And So It Goes
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense
So he’s careful about what he gives Finn, which just ends up making Finn feel like he’s losing his mind, because when Will touches him it feels like he loves him, but he’s still not talking about anything important. He’s not hiding their relationship or anything, but it seems like the more Finn offers, the more Will pulls back.
4) Carbon Leaf -- Comfort
You've figured out the warnings
And the reasons why,
You smoothed me out.
I hope you know there's nothing
I could give,
For showing me how to live.
Finn’s not going to put up with that nonsense for long, though, not when he finally feels like he’s got a handle on what he wants out of life. It’s the first time he’s had something he cares about enough to fight for it, so instead of letting Will push him away he pushes back. Eventually Will realizes that Finn means it when he says that he’s already got what he wants. It just takes him awhile because he’s an idiot and he thinks he knows better than everyone else. (He doesn’t.)
5) Billy Bragg f/Barenaked Ladies -- Sexuality
If you stick around I'm sure that we can find some common ground
Sexuality strong and warm and wild and free
Sexuality your laws do not apply to me
Sexuality come eat and drink and sleep with me
Sexuality we can be what we want to be
The one thing that does work for Finn and Will without any hitches at all is their physical relationship. Which is a little weird, considering how long Finn spent ignoring the fact that he’s even attracted to other guys, but once he gets over the whole gay freak-out he realizes that a) he gets to have a lot of sex, and it all feels awesome, and b) he gets to have all that sex with Will. There’s no way he’s going to be shy about that.
(Normally I don’t include live performances on mixes, but I made an exception in this case because if I didn’t, there wouldn’t be any Barenaked Ladies on this mix, and that doesn’t seem right. Mostly because the Barenaked Ladies are goofy and hilarious and that makes me think of Finn. Plus, it sounds like Billy Bragg is having such a good time with this performance, and that’s nice to hear.)
6) Acid House Kings -- Do What You Wanna Do
You do what you wanna do
And say what you wanna say
So, come on and be my light
Come on and lead the way
Once Will finally gets over himself and realizes that Finn might be a few years younger, but he does actually know his own mind -- sort of -- and he’s capable of making decisions regarding his future, it really sinks in what he’s being offered here. What he’s had for some time now, actually, even though it took them a really long time to get there. And maybe it’s better that way, because waiting for Finn to know without a doubt that he wants Will means he doesn’t have to question Finn’s commitment ever again.
7) Orson -- Push the Button
I've been waiting patiently for him to come and get it
I wonder if he knows that he can say it and I'm with it
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Catch this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos
Finn, on the other hand, is a little annoyed that he’s the one who’s had to do all the work so far. He had to make the first move, and he had to sell Will on the idea of them together -- not that it took much selling or anything -- and he has to basically talk Will into making a commitment. But if Will needs convincing, Finn will do it, because he’s happy for the first time and he’s not giving that up just because he fell in love with a moron with a martyr complex.
(Also this is just a truly fantastic cover of the Sugababes song. Better than the original, one might even say.)
8) The Police -- De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true
And in the end, all the talking is just a lot of noise, because they’ve both known the most important thing all along, which is that they keep coming back to each other, no matter who or what else comes along to distract them. That’s as good a basis for a relationship as any, as far as Finn’s concerned. So he tells Will he loves him, but he shows him too, and eventually Will learns to trust what Finn’s not saying.
____________________________________________
* None of those links are good anymore, so if you need the zip file let me know and I'll upload it again.
** Whatever, everybody knows fanmixes are just an excuse for posting cheesy covers anyway. I mean, come on, look at his Drama Face. How am I supposed to resist that? Though this is actually what I was listening to while I wrote that story that made Bess blush, so it must be doing the trick.
For a little while now I have been working on a Puck/Kurt-centric fanmix -- working title: Wedding Mix (spoiler alert: THEY GET MARRIED AT THE END) -- and there was this one song that I loved, but it just wasn't working for them. Then it dawned on me that it was actually a Will/Finn song, which launched a new Will-centric fanmix. I haven't given Will much of a voice in this series to date, mainly because while Will's a part of the relationship, certainly, up to now it's mostly been about Finn's journey of growth and discovering what he wants. (Puck calls it 'becoming a real boy'.)
So now Finn's figuring it out, and he knows what he wants, which is Will. The trouble, of course, is getting Will to believe that. So I suppose going forward that Will will have more of a voice in the series, and as a way of easing into that I started thinking about kind of a soundtrack for the two of them. The first fanmix* I made for the 99 Problems series was completely Finn-centric, and while this one isn't All About Will, it definitely focuses on him more.
Uh, vague spoilers for the future of the 99 Problems series, I guess? I mean, it's not like you can't guess where we're going with this thing, but if you really don't want to be spoiled, you should skip the notes after each track** and just download the zip file.
Back to the Start: A Finn/Will Mix
zip file of the whole mix
1) Bic Runga -- Sway
I'm practicing your name so I can say it to your face
It doesn't seem right, to look you in the eye
Let all the things you mean to me
Come tumbling out my mouth
Indeed it's time to tell you why
(This is not the crooner standard performed by Michael Buble and many other recording artists; most recently by one Matthew Morrison himself, during Burt and Carole’s wedding. Just, you know, in case you were wondering.)
There’s a line in this song that goes, “my head is battling with my heart,” which pretty much exactly sums up Will’s approach to his relationship with Finn. He’s head over heels, more in love than he’s ever been, but he’s terrified to let himself fall hard, because he doesn’t believe something might actually work out for him for once. He’s had such bad luck with relationships, which is mostly his own fault, but it’s still made him a little gunshy about trusting his own feelings.
So someone as simple and honest as Finn deciding, “hey, I kinda love you,” and offering Will everything he’s ever wanted...it’s a little scary. But he can’t say no, because he’s never wanted anything quite so much.
2) Natasha Bedingfield -- The Scientist
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start
But Will’s a drama queen, so he goes into their relationship expecting it to end at some point. They haven’t even really gotten started and already he’s preemptively breaking them up in his head, just bracing himself for the moment it’s all over, because there’s no way he could get everything he wants and get to keep it forever, right?
3) Billy Joel -- And So It Goes
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense
So he’s careful about what he gives Finn, which just ends up making Finn feel like he’s losing his mind, because when Will touches him it feels like he loves him, but he’s still not talking about anything important. He’s not hiding their relationship or anything, but it seems like the more Finn offers, the more Will pulls back.
4) Carbon Leaf -- Comfort
You've figured out the warnings
And the reasons why,
You smoothed me out.
I hope you know there's nothing
I could give,
For showing me how to live.
Finn’s not going to put up with that nonsense for long, though, not when he finally feels like he’s got a handle on what he wants out of life. It’s the first time he’s had something he cares about enough to fight for it, so instead of letting Will push him away he pushes back. Eventually Will realizes that Finn means it when he says that he’s already got what he wants. It just takes him awhile because he’s an idiot and he thinks he knows better than everyone else. (He doesn’t.)
5) Billy Bragg f/Barenaked Ladies -- Sexuality
If you stick around I'm sure that we can find some common ground
Sexuality strong and warm and wild and free
Sexuality your laws do not apply to me
Sexuality come eat and drink and sleep with me
Sexuality we can be what we want to be
The one thing that does work for Finn and Will without any hitches at all is their physical relationship. Which is a little weird, considering how long Finn spent ignoring the fact that he’s even attracted to other guys, but once he gets over the whole gay freak-out he realizes that a) he gets to have a lot of sex, and it all feels awesome, and b) he gets to have all that sex with Will. There’s no way he’s going to be shy about that.
(Normally I don’t include live performances on mixes, but I made an exception in this case because if I didn’t, there wouldn’t be any Barenaked Ladies on this mix, and that doesn’t seem right. Mostly because the Barenaked Ladies are goofy and hilarious and that makes me think of Finn. Plus, it sounds like Billy Bragg is having such a good time with this performance, and that’s nice to hear.)
6) Acid House Kings -- Do What You Wanna Do
You do what you wanna do
And say what you wanna say
So, come on and be my light
Come on and lead the way
Once Will finally gets over himself and realizes that Finn might be a few years younger, but he does actually know his own mind -- sort of -- and he’s capable of making decisions regarding his future, it really sinks in what he’s being offered here. What he’s had for some time now, actually, even though it took them a really long time to get there. And maybe it’s better that way, because waiting for Finn to know without a doubt that he wants Will means he doesn’t have to question Finn’s commitment ever again.
7) Orson -- Push the Button
I've been waiting patiently for him to come and get it
I wonder if he knows that he can say it and I'm with it
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Catch this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos
Finn, on the other hand, is a little annoyed that he’s the one who’s had to do all the work so far. He had to make the first move, and he had to sell Will on the idea of them together -- not that it took much selling or anything -- and he has to basically talk Will into making a commitment. But if Will needs convincing, Finn will do it, because he’s happy for the first time and he’s not giving that up just because he fell in love with a moron with a martyr complex.
(Also this is just a truly fantastic cover of the Sugababes song. Better than the original, one might even say.)
8) The Police -- De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true
And in the end, all the talking is just a lot of noise, because they’ve both known the most important thing all along, which is that they keep coming back to each other, no matter who or what else comes along to distract them. That’s as good a basis for a relationship as any, as far as Finn’s concerned. So he tells Will he loves him, but he shows him too, and eventually Will learns to trust what Finn’s not saying.
____________________________________________
* None of those links are good anymore, so if you need the zip file let me know and I'll upload it again.
** Whatever, everybody knows fanmixes are just an excuse for posting cheesy covers anyway. I mean, come on, look at his Drama Face. How am I supposed to resist that? Though this is actually what I was listening to while I wrote that story that made Bess blush, so it must be doing the trick.