Soundtrack: The Avatar

SEVENTEEN AIN'T SO SWEET The Red Jumpsuit Aparatus Well she never was the best Yeah at following the trends Stayed one step above the rest And even though it seemed Like the world was crashing on her Didn't let it hold her down Didn't hold her back oh no Don't worry you'll show them There's a fire in your eyes And I hope you'll let it burn There's a scream in your voice And I hope you will be heard There's a fire in your eyes And I hope you'll let it burn Until you're heard, you're heard Commentary This entire song is my Korra song. I like to think of it as Aang kind of cheering her on (even though it doesn't sound like Aang at all, except for the lack of a romantic element) EVEN ANGELS FALL Jessica Riddle You will fly and you will crawl; God knows even angels fall. No such thing as you lost it all. God knows even angels fall. Commentary Ignore the fact that it is a schmaltzy love song. Take the love part out of it and it really kind of describes the emotional roller coaster of being a teenager (particularly being a Korra teenager, what with having super badass powers, an awesome responsibility, and a madman trying to destroy you). The line "No such thing as you lost it all" particularly makes me think of after Amon has taken her bending and she's convinced she's lost everything, but she hasn't. TRY Nelly Furtado All I know Is everything is not as it's sold but the more I grow the less I know And I have lived so many lives Though I'm not old And the more I see, the less I grow The fewer the seeds the more I sow Then I see you standing there Wanting more from me And all I can do is try Then I see you standing there Wanting more from me And all I can do is try I wish I hadn't seen all of the realness And all the real people are really not real at all The more I learn, the more I learn The more I cry, the more I cry As I say goodbye to the way of life I thought I had designed for me Then I see you standing there Wanting more from me And all I can do is try Then I see you standing there I'm all I'll ever be But all I can do is try Commentary I have no idea why YouTube calls this song a "celebratory, joyous work." I find it incredibly painful. Not depressing, but it's definitely a song about how hard things are, and there's no guarantee of success. It's a song about coming to terms with reality. But it's coming to terms in a way that isn't hopeless or resigned, and that's what makes me think of Korra. She's someone who never stops trying, even when parts of her are convinced she'll never succeed. She keeps studying airbending, even when a part of her is convinced she'll never be able to do it. I wouldn't call it celebratory, but I would call it hopeful. CRYSTAL BALL P!nk Oh I've felt that fire and I've been burned But I wouldn't trade the pain For what I've learned I wouldn't trade the pain For what I've learned. Commentary This entry JUST A RIDE Jem It's just a ride, it's just a ride No need to run, no need to hide It'll take you round and round Sometimes you're up Sometimes you're down It's just a ride, it's just a ride Don't be scared Don't hide your eyes It may feel so real inside But don't forget it's just a ride Commentary A message from her past lives IN THIS LIFE Delta Goodrem I have faltered, I have stumbled I have found my feet again I've been angry and I've been shaken Found a new place to begin Commentary Once again, ignore the schmaltzy love song part. This is a song about growing up and finding meaning for your life. BETTER Plumb But in the end, what leaves you broken In the end, makes you better, yeah Commentary It's a song about an abusive relationship, but these two lines make me think of the fact that it takes Korra losing all hope and sinking into despair for her to be open enough to change to reach out to her past lives and come into her full powers.

Soundtrack: Friends Are...

BIG BANG THEORY THEME Bare Naked Ladies It's expanding ever outward but one day It will pause and start to go the other way, Collapsing ever inward, we won't be here, it won't be heard Our best and brightest figure that it'll make an even bigger bang! Commentary Chekov is almost freakishly smart. It's one of the qualities that Korra admires most about him (and frightens her most). SONG FOR A FRIEND Jason Mraz As long as you got me And I got you You know we'll got a lot to go around I'll be your friend Your other brother Another love to come and comfort you And I'll keep reminding If it's the only thing I ever do I will always love I will always love you Commentary Chekov really is the best friend you could ask for. BURN OUT BRIGHTER Anberlin Live, I wanna live inspired Die, I wanna die for something higher than myself Live and die for anyone else The more I live I see this life's not about m Commentary A quality that pretty much all Korra's friends share is heroism -- a desire to do more for others than for themselves.

Soundtrack: All Hail the Heartbreaker

RAIN Patty Griffin It's hard to know when to give up the fight Some things you want will just never be right Commentary There's a reason it's a "disastership". GRAVITY Sara Bareilles But you're neither friend nor foe Though I can't seem to let you go. The one thing that I still know is that You're keeping me down Commentary Those four lines = their entire relationship JEKYLL AND HYDE Plumb Well it's not easy for me to be Somebody different somebody else but me But you're the actor the extraordinaire You make it look like I am the crazy one here Commentary Li is an expert liar. Korra...is not. BREAKING Anberlin Do you collect the souls you've lost In the top of your dresser drawer Count the number of tears displaced On lonely bedroom floors A machine where your heart once was Slowly takes the place of you Only hold the memories now Of a love I thought I knew Commentary Korra certainly isn't the only one whose heart he's fucked with. WALK OF SHAME P!nk One step, two steps, Counting tiles on the floor. Three steps, four steps, Guess this means that I'm a whore. Commentary No, it doesn't really fit anything, but it was the theme song of this thread (NSFW). GOING OUT OF MY MIND Amy Studt Cos I'm going out of my mind, And I don't think it's fair. Just when things seemed to be fine, You changed then didn't care. Cos the least you could do, Is to talk this through And I'm going out of my mind, Over you. Commentary It's been an ongoing thing in their relationship: something happens between them (sex, dancing), then he shuts down and won't explain why. YOU KNOW MY NAME Chris Cornell Arm yourself Because no-one else here will save you The odds will betray you And I will replace you You can't deny the prize It may never fulfill you It longs to kill you Are you willing to die? The coldest blood runs through my veins You know my name Commentary This thread HOT N COLD Katy Perry 'Cause you're hot then you're cold You're yes then you're no You're in then you're out You're up then you're down You're wrong when it's right It's black and it's white We fight, we break up We kiss, we make up You! You don't really want to stay, no You! But you don't really want to go Commentary One moment he's sweet, the next he's mean. One moment he's intimate, the next he's closed off. Man of mixed signals. HOWL Florence + the Machine If you could only see The beast you've made of me I held it in but now It seems you've set it running free Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart Drag my teeth across your chest To taste your beating heart Commentary If she gets nothing else out of this relationship, at least she's learned one thing: she really likes sex. IMPOSSIBLE Anberlin You're impossible to love or leave So impossible to win or please I'm wearing you out Just wearing you out But I'm wearing you down Take what you want from me It means nothing now Take everything from me It means nothing now Not so easy to forgive; harder to forget Take what you want Commentary They're stuck together, drawn together, pushing each other's buttons and chipping at each other's walls. HEAVY Holly Brook Underneath the corset of your mystery Piece by piece undress you from your history I'm sleeping with seclusion in sweet disarray You can go heavy on me And I will not weigh you down, down, down You can be steady and clean I can take it heavy on me And I will not weigh you down Commentary Korra's not sure what she feels about him, but she knows something is deeply wrong with him, and she wants to help.

Soundtrack: Love Hurts

EROSION Rye Hollow He moved me to the bones And will I sink or float? The choice is mine alone Commentary Most of the song isn't relevant, but those lines make me think of Korra and the various menfolk that have hurt her (Amon in canon, Mako in canon/game, and Hei in game). And I like it because she's hurt but she's not a helpless victim. How she responds to what happens is her choice. GRAVITY Sara Bareilles I live here on my knees As I try to make you see That you're everything I think I need Here on the ground. But you're neither friend nor foe Though I can't seem to let you go. The one thing that I still know is that You're keeping me down Commentary This is my Korra/Mako song. There's something really kind of sad about how she can't quite get over him, in part because she's never given the chance. Particularly in-game, where she's trying to be good and move on and then Mako keeps doing nice things that make her love him again. Tears. TRY P!nk Where there is desire There is gonna be a flame Where there is a flame Someone's bound to get burned But just because it burns Doesn't mean you're gonna die You've gotta get up and try Commentary One of the things I love about Korra is that being thwarted in love doesn't slow her down. It can make her a little moony and petty and jealous, but it doesn't make or break her world. She gets burned and she gets up and keeps going. (She doesn't let him go, so it's more like she keeps carrying a candle that keeps burning her, but her feelings for Mako don't interfere with her duties as the Avatar, and only temporarily interfere with her duties as a Fire Ferret) WHY PRETEND? Mandi Perkins I'm a bad friend You know it's true For the guilt I feel I blame you She is lying To herself again You don't love her Why pretend? You are lying To yourself again You don't love her Why pretend? Commentary Mako is still dating Asami, but pretty clearly has feelings for Korra.