L Extreme is billed as a novelization of the album A Love Extreme by Benji Hughes, though it actually pulls from his entire catalog through early 2021.
January 31, 2025 marked the release of three new Benji Hughes jams via the soundtrack to the film Home Free. Since I spent years mapping out how to work nearly all of his other songs into a story, my mind naturally processed these new additions in the same manner. How would “Go Dancin'” & “Snuggle Bunny” & “Home Free” fit into L Extreme? Listen up & read on…
Go Dancin’
“Make a long list” from the chorus naturally aligns with the repeated list motifs found during Benji & Jessica’s courtship. At the end of “I Went With Some Friends To See The Flaming Lips” the narrator hits us with a long list of L words. Jessica ponders finding someone to dance with on the dock upon her Jamaican arrival, and the verses feel like pickup lines Kenny would try. Mentally, I tie it to “Girl, You Can’t Dance” for obvious reasons.
Snuggle Bunny
The best song on the whole soundtrack by a country mile in my humble opinion, it also has the cleanest fit into the novel. “You used to kiss me and tell me I’m funny / now all you want to do is talk about money” slots perfectly into Benji & L’s deep dive into the finances of their relationship in “Love on a Budget.” Later, “I’ve been working on my magical touch” has echoes of Jessica’s penchant for magic tricks and would be a nice one-liner during the “let’s lay here in the dark together” bit that closes out “Where Do Old Lovers Go?“
Home Free
A nice piano demo with lyrics seemingly playing on the homeless message of the film, I hear some echoes of “Country Love” in the intro verses. “Rolling through the thoughts that keep on rolling through my mind” summarizes Heartman’s contemplative journey along the Vagus nerve. The same line also has a touch of “ladies roll by” from “Waiting for an Invitation.” The “up my sleeve” motif once again circles back to magic tricks. “I don’t care what it costs” could slip into the Jamaican timeshare sales presentation. “Setting everything on fire” invokes Jessica quoting a line from “Burn” by Vincent & Mr. Green. There’s also a great giggle in the middle of the song, reminding me of this:
“I don’t think I can cook with someone who likes wrestling.” Jessica kept a straight face for a couple of beats, but couldn’t hold it and resumed giggling. Benji also laughed. And so did the girl who bagged groceries.
For more:
Check out the full movie soundtrack
Learn more about the film
Read the novel to imagine these Benji songs were included (and understand what the heck I’m talking about in the out of context excerpts above…)