Under the cut. It's over two and a half hours long, but I'll be crying over Makorra for the rest of my life, so feel free to add or send me suggestions.
How In The World – Family Force 5
Suspension – Mae
Gold (Acoustic) – Owl City
Let Your Hair Down – Capital Lights
Gone, Gone, Gone – Phillip Phillips
Soldier – Gavin DeGraw
What Hurts The Most – Rascal Flatts
Please Don’t Say – Breathe Carolina
I’ve Missed You – Aaron Sprinkle
Lead On – Phillip Phillips
Whisper Something – Aaron Sprinkle
Bed of Nails – And Then There Were None
Love Is On Fire (Acoustic) – Italobrothers
Story of My Life – One Direction
My Favorite Dream – Mae
I Caught Fire – The Violet Burning
Bloom – Mae
Pictures Of You – The Cure
Every Breath You Take – The Police
Madness – Muse
When Your Mind’s Made Up – Glen Hansard
Amnesia – 5 Seconds of Summer
I Don’t Wanna Love Somebody Else – A Great Big World
Lost Stars – Adam Levine
Let Her Go – Passenger
Up In The Stars – Swimming With Dolphins
Right Here Waiting – Richard Marx
If My Heart Was a House – Owl City
Written In Reverse – Tiesto, Hardwell
Thank the Watchmaker (Acoustic) – And Then There Were None
Shimmer – Tiesto, Christian Burns
This I Promise You – Anthem Lights
Let Her Go (Live at Spotify Amsterdam) – Passenger
Cryin’ In the Rain (IB HandsUp! Radio Edit) – Italobrothers
Silhouettes – Swimming With Dolphins
U Got Me – Young London
Where You Are – Everlife
I’ve Missed You – Aaron Sprinkle
Static – Everlife
Hey Little One – Capital Lights
Will It Be Enough – Everlife
Young and Beautiful (DH Orchestral Version) – Lana Del Rey
Commentary
OK, so, not going to lie, this was by far the hardest book to put together a Makorra playlist for. The Makorra moments in book 3 were few and far between (say about that what you will). So, I had to mostly go for the general feel of the season and what they must be feeling that whole time. This playlist is pretty moody/grungy, yet it has a very sweet sense to it overall. I hope you enjoy it!
“Just Give Me a Reason” is a great opener here. They’re clearly both still thinking over what happened between them- how could something that started so great go so wrong? And can it still be fixed? “We’re not broken; just bent. And we can learn to love again…” Ultimately, I think what little Makorra we did get in this book was sort of based on that theme. Even though they’re not “together” at the end, they’ve shown they still care about each other (we DID get some glorious reunion/goodbye hugs this season). But I slightly digress. “Shots Fired” and “Whisper Something” are a little more angst-y, but “Vanilla Twilight” and “Right Here Waiting” are very mellow and sweet; very meditative.
We get some more songs about confused feelings- a reprise of “The Promise,” “Find You,” “Not In Love,” and “Sweet Nothing.” “Cryin’ In the Rain” and “Silhouettes” deal a lot with regret and yearning to get things back to the way they were, and some resolution for that comes with “U Got Me.”
“Where You Are,” “I’ve Missed You,” and “Static” are all very characteristic of the Makorra mood this season, I think. They’re all about, simply, missing the other person. Mako and Korra used to be so close, and there’s this weird distance between them this season. They want to close that gap, and they’re not really sure how.
“Hey Little One” and “Will It Be Enough” kind of look forward- there’s sort of a glimmer of hope in the lyrics and mood of each of these songs. Finally, we close out with another version of “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey- it’s the darkest of the three versions you’ll hear in these Makorra playlists (yep, there’s one more coming! And it’s a… wait for it… DOOZY.), and I think the chord changes and orchestral parts really lend themselves to portraying Korra’s state at the end of the season.
That’s it! More feels are coming in the book 4 playlist, which… DOES, at this moment, exist! I’m waiting for the season to actually, you know, start before I post anything from it, though. It’s built purely on speculation and the hopes and dreams of my heart. Enjoy the premiere tomorrow, and enjoy my playlists in the meantime! Thanks for listening <3
Wow, there is so much Korra stuff going on right now. And my book 2 playlist is being recieved really well. And book 4 starts tomorrow, so…. what the hell. Here’s the book 3 playlist on Spotify. Let’s cry out all our feels tonight together. Text post with track listing, lyrics, & commentary to come in a few minutes!
When Your Mind’s Made Up – Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
Madness – Muse
Goodbye (Acoustic) – Everlife
I Don’t Wanna Love Somebody Else – A Great Big World
Let Her Go – Passenger
Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey, Cedric Gervais
Love the Way You Lie (Part II) – Eminem, Rihanna
Commentary
OK, after the fun, happy, pop playlist that made us laugh and cry for Book 1 Makorra, we’re on to Book 2, and things take a sharp downhill turn pretty quickly. So get in and buckle up; we’re going on a feels trip.
We start off with “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry, which reminisces all the pop we heard early on in the Book 1 mix, but also expresses a lot of the tension that we see right away with Makorra. There’s a lot of petty fighting and making peace, and there’s definitely a sense that they’re in the process of losing what they once had. The lyrics for “The Promise” are great; they really describe Mako’s dilemma of saying the wrong things with the greatest of intentions.
By the time we get around to “Goodbye,” we’re in that early episode 5 territory where things are about to hit a breaking point. “Lies” is that breaking point at the end of the episode. It’s a heartbreaking song, and perfect for that breakup moment and their immediate reactions. And sorry I’m not sorry, but we have to have “Wrecking Ball.” “Don’t you ever say I just walked away, I will always want you…” *Tear rolls slowly down face as you sail across the ocean for the Fire Nation*
The next few songs sort of springboard off of “Wrecking Ball” and really encompass all of the hurt and emotional turmoil that come from having a nasty breakup with someone whom you still love with all your heart. I wouldn’t have come up with “Pictures of You” on my own, but after someone posted a picture on Tumblr of Mako’s photo of them at the Glacier Spirits Festival and put the lyrics of the chorus underneath, I cried on the spot and it instantly became one of my go-to Makorra songs. I put a nice acoustic reprise of one of the Book 1 songs, “Love Is On Fire,” in here, as well.
“Madness” is an interesting moment where we sort of build up to what could potentially be some resolution as everybody realizes their mistakes and all that good stuff that would’ve resulted in a perfectly repaired relationship on any OTHER show *cough cough* BRYKE *cough cough*. But right off the bat, we’re thrown back into the angst of “This doesn’t work, as much as we might want it to.” Cue the acoustic reprise of “Goodbye,” a heart-wrenching reprise of “Love the Way You Lie,” concentrated sadness, and too much A Great Big World. “And I will swallow my pride… you’re the one that I love, and I’m saying goodbye…” (Hint/spoiler: I put the duet version here for a reason. The solo version is coming up in a future playlist, and you won’t like it.)
Anyway, hopefully the songs did most of the talking for themselves. Sit back, *try* to relax, wrap up in a blanket with a hot drink and some chocolate, give yourself hugs where appropriate, use up a whole Kleenex box in one sitting, and listen to this playlist.
Thanks for listening! Book 3 Makorra to come soon! <3
As promised, here's a text post with the raw track listing and my commentary on the list!
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We’re So Far Away – Mae
Gold – Owl City
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Heart Attack – Demi Lovato
Save the Last Dance – Capital Lights
Dance With Me – Jump5
Shower – Becky G
Die Young – Ke$ha
Feels Like Falling – Jump5
Dangerous – Young London
Love Is On Fire – ItaloBrothers
Just a Dream - Jump5
Boom Clap – Charli XCX
Trippin Up – Young London
I Caught Fire – The Violet Burning
Honey And The Bee – Owl City
Clarity – Zedd
The Other Side – Jason Derulo
Time After Time – Mark Williams, Tara Morice
I See the Light – Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi
Come What May – Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor
If My Heart Was a House – Owl City
How In The World – Family Force 5
Ooh La La – Britney Spears
Gold (Acoustic) – Owl City
Commentary:
The first track, “We’re So Far Away,” is a beautiful ballad about one’s life being dramatically changed forever by falling in love. Being in love with someone else brings out different sides of you and helps you understand yourself- obviously, this has been the tear-jerking theme of Makorra since the very beginning, so I think this is an appropriate opener to the playlist.
“Gold,” I think, describes Korra really well in general in the opening lines: “Stand on up and take a bow / there’s something there and it’s showing / there’s no need to look around / you’re the best we’ve got going. / Shout out to the dreams you’ll chase / shout out to the hearts you’ll break / nothing’s gonna stop you now / I guess you better be going.” And I think, ultimately, the chorus will describe how Mako feels about Korra- that’s why I reprise the song in its acoustic form at the very end of the playlist. For now, though, he’s just sort of secretly blown away by how amazing she is, which this song expresses well.
I’m tempted to apologize for the next part of this playlist- it’s straight-through, sexual-tension-driven pop songs. I think they’re all appropriate, though, especially given the little reactions to Mako we get from Korra between episodes 2 and 4. “Heart Attack” really suits her situation in the fourth episode, where she’s feeling inferior for the first time in her life and is struggling with seeing Asami- the ultimate embodiment of femininity- on Mako’s arm at the gala; “Die Young” accompanies some of those same sentiments on her part. “Save the Last Dance” gives us a little peak into Mako’s developing flame for Korra.
From here, the playlist starts to get a little more serious, and all 3 following playlists will follow suite. “Dangerous” is one of my favorite Makorra songs ever- sexual tension driven by the female party being in danger and the male party wanting to protect her? The line “We’re a dangerous combination”? PLEASE. This song SCREAMS Makorra.
All the way down from there through “The Other Side,” we really get this confused side of Makorra that we see from episodes 5-8- are we together or are we not? We tried to just be friends, but it’s not working! Ultimately, the theme of realizing how much they need the other person emerges from this selection of tracks.
And, cue the tear-jerking songs about sacrifice and love and… and… *sniffle.* These tracks really encompass those last few episodes, 9-12, where we see both parties (but especially Mako) putting it all on the line for the other person. “Ooh La La” reminisces the pop vibes from earlier on- I put it here for no reason other than the “Spin me around just the way I like” line. BECAUSE, MAKORRA SPINNY HUGSSSSS.
We close out with the softer, piano-led version of “Gold.” Look at how far we’ve come. Look how perfect everything is. (I’m not crying; YOU’RE crying.)
But to our dismay, we know it doesn’t last. Don’t worry; we’ll work through it in the Book 2 playlist.
I know callistonicol and fireferretfuzzies are interested, so I will share my Makorra playlists with y'all as you prepare thyselves for book 4. Keep in mind that these playlists are not finalized, since we don't know the outcome of Makorra yet even though it is totally endgame.
I will post them right from my Spotify but will also make text posts with lyric links and comments and stuff like that.
I will also make a fanmixes page on my blog, which I will likely continue to update with new playlists for various fandoms and ships, because I really enjoy making themed playlists!
