Fanmix // Avatar: The Last Airbender - "When The War Came"
You know, it's funny, but I've had this done for months. I realized why I hadn't posted it the other day -- it's incomplete. In this one, I only cover the beginning of events, and then the characters themselves, but there's still so much left to tell. Because of this, I've already got another in mind, but for now, let's get introduced to the world of Avatar in three acts!
[ DOWNLOAD | LYRICS ]
:: act one - the beginning ::
01. The Decemberists - "When The War Came"
"And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out a rise by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard"
I chose this as the leading song and the title of the fanmix, because everything gets put into action the moment the war starts. Though the war casts a shadow over the entire world for a hundred years to come, but the initial shock of the start of the war, the massacre of the Airbenders -- the entire world changed in just one day.
02. Imogen Heap - "Have You Got It In You?"
"It takes a lot...to be always on form...
It takes a lot.
And maybe not...all the time, all I've got...
Maybe not."
I first thought of this one while watching "The Storm." When Aang first hears he's going to become the Avatar, he almost shrugs it off, but the subsequent training brings him down. Upon learning he'll be separated from Monk Gyatso, Aang does what any other 12 year old would do -- he runs. But no one can run forever; a hundred years later, he's got to face his problems again, though this time, there's no one to help him. The unkind words of the fisherman make him question his actions, and wonder if he can really be the Avatar the world needs, to save the world from war, if he's really got it in him. Moreover, the mood of the song strikes me as perfect for "The Storm," and the mood he was in during the flashbacks.
:: act two - the fire nation ::
03. Tool - "Vicarious"
"The universe is hostile,
So impersonal.
Devour to survive, so it is,
So it's always been.."
I've always found it interesting the way Ozai's face has never been shown. Not only is he already portrayed as a faceless villain, a figurehead, an enigma, but not showing his face just adds to it. There's no face to associate with the head of the Fire Nation. So just as the Fire Nation itself is portrayed as an evil, omnipresent, uniform being, its leader also has no clear face. Because all things done by the Fire Nation are done in his name, Fire Lord Ozai lives vicariously through the actions of the Fire Nation.
04. Disturbed - "Fear"
"I'll add your fuel to the fire now
Stand back, brother take your hand back
Leave it and I might crack
More than a smile or two you see
You don't judge what you don't understand
You can't deny what has been given to me "
What always struck me about Azula was her cold-heartedness; so much like her father. I'm not usually one to choose nu-metal songs for my fanmixes, but this one struck me as perfect for her. The most we see of Azula is her relationship with Zuko: her desire to one-up him, the way she regards him as a failure. Yet she knows exactly how to play off of his emotions, push his every button, and deceive him time and time again.
05. Kansas - "Carry On, Wayward Son"
"Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man
it surely means that I don't know "
If I had to choose one word to describe Zuko, it would be "perseverance." Even when things look their lowest, he'll continue on. Even if he knows in his heart he'll never truly get his honour back, he tries anyway. I wasn't a big fan of his at first, but as I watched the show, I saw the goodness and the compassion Iroh imparted upon him begin to take root, and saw him go from a one-dimensional, single-minded Prince with nothing but his goal in mind, to a fully-developed young Prince -- fit to rule, yet just as fit to spend his life in a tea shop; he had become human through his perseverance. For so long, Fate had tossed him about and in season two, we saw him start to accept that, and yet at the same time, take control of his own destiny.
06. BT - "All That Makes Us Human Continues"
Iroh was the hardest character to choose a song for. The more I thought about songs, the less I felt that any of them did him justice. By choosing this one, I tried to focus on Iroh's character, his place as the most human of the characters on the show. The title conveys that there are things that make us decidely human, and that they'll continue. For Iroh, the thing that made him human, human like everyone else, was the death of Lu Ten. Something changed inside him then, and since he's been trying to teach the lessons he learned to Zuko. Though a man forever scarred by the loss of his son, Iroh is a calm, kind man, willing to learn the lessons life has to teach him, and ready to apply them whensoever it becomes necessary.
:: act three - the aang gaang ::
07. Ayumi Hamasaki - "Real Me"
"A woman never runs away
A woman never hides away
In order to survive
You should not want to be healed
Without fighting"
lol j-pop comes out of nowhere. Honestly, though, the lyrics are perfectly Katara. Like Zuko, she's matured as the series has progressed. Always a kind, determined, at times unabashed young woman, she's been able to tap into her own power and use that to help not only herself, but her friends, and anyone else who might need her help.
08. Millencolin - "Kemp"
"A spoke in your wheel, yeah like a bugging fly
A thorn in your side just like a constant red-eye
On being an ass I've really been a pro
So can I say no?
Can I say no?"
Let's all just admit it, Sokka is an ass. And while he may be almost constantly contrarian, he uses that to his advantage. He's never short of quips, or ingenuity. I'd really like to go into it more than that, but I fear I'd start fangirling, because I ♥ Sokka.
09. Incubus - "Favorite Things"
"Remember all the lessons fed to me?
Me the young sponge, so ready to agree.
Years have gone; I recognize the walking dead,
now aware that I'm alive and way ahead."
Toph is confident to the point of arrogance, stubborn to the point of obstinance -- Toph is the perfect example of what an Earthbender should be. And though despite her character, she was willing to play dumb around her parents, hide her true talents, and live two lives until meeting Aang. While she may love her parents dearly, the opportunity presented itself to take advantage of her talents and of the one thing she loved, Earthbending, and she took it.
10. The Juliana Theory - "We Make The Road By Walking"
"We can wish that everything was easy, counting all the ways that life's not fair.
Or say, "I'm not going down that easy. I'm not gonna' fall cause you're not here."
(Don't look back and don't be afraid. You got it. You got it. You need it)."
As an almost perfect seque into my next fanmix, we have the lone song about Aang & Co. From the very beginning, the task of stopping Ozai seemed impossible, but they pressed on, somehow finding a way to overcome the events and hardships they've encountered, and remained determined and upbeat throughout.
[ DOWNLOAD | LYRICS ]
:: act one - the beginning ::
01. The Decemberists - "When The War Came"
"And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out a rise by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard"
I chose this as the leading song and the title of the fanmix, because everything gets put into action the moment the war starts. Though the war casts a shadow over the entire world for a hundred years to come, but the initial shock of the start of the war, the massacre of the Airbenders -- the entire world changed in just one day.
02. Imogen Heap - "Have You Got It In You?"
"It takes a lot...to be always on form...
It takes a lot.
And maybe not...all the time, all I've got...
Maybe not."
I first thought of this one while watching "The Storm." When Aang first hears he's going to become the Avatar, he almost shrugs it off, but the subsequent training brings him down. Upon learning he'll be separated from Monk Gyatso, Aang does what any other 12 year old would do -- he runs. But no one can run forever; a hundred years later, he's got to face his problems again, though this time, there's no one to help him. The unkind words of the fisherman make him question his actions, and wonder if he can really be the Avatar the world needs, to save the world from war, if he's really got it in him. Moreover, the mood of the song strikes me as perfect for "The Storm," and the mood he was in during the flashbacks.
:: act two - the fire nation ::
03. Tool - "Vicarious"
"The universe is hostile,
So impersonal.
Devour to survive, so it is,
So it's always been.."
I've always found it interesting the way Ozai's face has never been shown. Not only is he already portrayed as a faceless villain, a figurehead, an enigma, but not showing his face just adds to it. There's no face to associate with the head of the Fire Nation. So just as the Fire Nation itself is portrayed as an evil, omnipresent, uniform being, its leader also has no clear face. Because all things done by the Fire Nation are done in his name, Fire Lord Ozai lives vicariously through the actions of the Fire Nation.
04. Disturbed - "Fear"
"I'll add your fuel to the fire now
Stand back, brother take your hand back
Leave it and I might crack
More than a smile or two you see
You don't judge what you don't understand
You can't deny what has been given to me "
What always struck me about Azula was her cold-heartedness; so much like her father. I'm not usually one to choose nu-metal songs for my fanmixes, but this one struck me as perfect for her. The most we see of Azula is her relationship with Zuko: her desire to one-up him, the way she regards him as a failure. Yet she knows exactly how to play off of his emotions, push his every button, and deceive him time and time again.
05. Kansas - "Carry On, Wayward Son"
"Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man
it surely means that I don't know "
If I had to choose one word to describe Zuko, it would be "perseverance." Even when things look their lowest, he'll continue on. Even if he knows in his heart he'll never truly get his honour back, he tries anyway. I wasn't a big fan of his at first, but as I watched the show, I saw the goodness and the compassion Iroh imparted upon him begin to take root, and saw him go from a one-dimensional, single-minded Prince with nothing but his goal in mind, to a fully-developed young Prince -- fit to rule, yet just as fit to spend his life in a tea shop; he had become human through his perseverance. For so long, Fate had tossed him about and in season two, we saw him start to accept that, and yet at the same time, take control of his own destiny.
06. BT - "All That Makes Us Human Continues"
Iroh was the hardest character to choose a song for. The more I thought about songs, the less I felt that any of them did him justice. By choosing this one, I tried to focus on Iroh's character, his place as the most human of the characters on the show. The title conveys that there are things that make us decidely human, and that they'll continue. For Iroh, the thing that made him human, human like everyone else, was the death of Lu Ten. Something changed inside him then, and since he's been trying to teach the lessons he learned to Zuko. Though a man forever scarred by the loss of his son, Iroh is a calm, kind man, willing to learn the lessons life has to teach him, and ready to apply them whensoever it becomes necessary.
:: act three - the aang gaang ::
07. Ayumi Hamasaki - "Real Me"
"A woman never runs away
A woman never hides away
In order to survive
You should not want to be healed
Without fighting"
lol j-pop comes out of nowhere. Honestly, though, the lyrics are perfectly Katara. Like Zuko, she's matured as the series has progressed. Always a kind, determined, at times unabashed young woman, she's been able to tap into her own power and use that to help not only herself, but her friends, and anyone else who might need her help.
08. Millencolin - "Kemp"
"A spoke in your wheel, yeah like a bugging fly
A thorn in your side just like a constant red-eye
On being an ass I've really been a pro
So can I say no?
Can I say no?"
Let's all just admit it, Sokka is an ass. And while he may be almost constantly contrarian, he uses that to his advantage. He's never short of quips, or ingenuity. I'd really like to go into it more than that, but I fear I'd start fangirling, because I ♥ Sokka.
09. Incubus - "Favorite Things"
"Remember all the lessons fed to me?
Me the young sponge, so ready to agree.
Years have gone; I recognize the walking dead,
now aware that I'm alive and way ahead."
Toph is confident to the point of arrogance, stubborn to the point of obstinance -- Toph is the perfect example of what an Earthbender should be. And though despite her character, she was willing to play dumb around her parents, hide her true talents, and live two lives until meeting Aang. While she may love her parents dearly, the opportunity presented itself to take advantage of her talents and of the one thing she loved, Earthbending, and she took it.
10. The Juliana Theory - "We Make The Road By Walking"
"We can wish that everything was easy, counting all the ways that life's not fair.
Or say, "I'm not going down that easy. I'm not gonna' fall cause you're not here."
(Don't look back and don't be afraid. You got it. You got it. You need it)."
As an almost perfect seque into my next fanmix, we have the lone song about Aang & Co. From the very beginning, the task of stopping Ozai seemed impossible, but they pressed on, somehow finding a way to overcome the events and hardships they've encountered, and remained determined and upbeat throughout.