The Magic of Jeremy Zuckerman

Happy Thursday, Steemit!

I won't bore you with the details but I've been away for a bit making a visit to Pismo Beach, CA. It was on my way down to Pismo that I was struck by the topic for my next non-fiction editorial as I listened to my playlist of cinematic and soundtrack music. So, today I want to share with you my thoughts about Jeremy Zuckerman's work as composer for the Nickelodeon show The Legend of Korra.

History

The Legend of Korra is set in the universe of Nickelodeon's hit original Avatar: The Last Airbender and follows protagonist Korra on her journey to becoming the Avatar: master of four styles of elemental manipulation called Bending (Air, Water, Earth and Fire). Where the original show was aimed for a young audience, it is praised for its willingness to dive deep into story-driven plot, the uniqueness of the world and excellent character development (culminating in one of the most significant redemption arcs of all time). The Legend of Korra knew its audience as the matured fans of The Last Airbender and so it met them with a comparably more mature plot and style.

Though The Legend of Korra never escaped the shadow of its predecessor, some of its strongest points were consistently complex villains, intentional exploration of moral and heroic values, and progressive themes. The Legend of Korra was one of the first mainstream stories on a major media source to openly and willingly portray a LGBT relationship on the screen, although that fact single-handedly caused its removal from broadcast television for its final season. The world of The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are far from dead, however, with comic books and a live-action The Last Airbender re-boot scheduled for release on Netflix in the coming years.

The Music

Jeremy Zuckerman composed the music for both shows, creating iconic themes and motifs that are woven through the very fabric of the experience that is watching either show. Fans of the show can often nearly-verbatim quote the opening narration from either show upon hearing the iconic Opening Suite. Mirroring the thematic elements of each show, his work on The Last Airbender was light and suited for less-dramatic situations while that in The Legend of Korra is dark, grand and epic. Because The Legend of Korra was less well-received however, the nuances of Zuckerman's work in the second show are easily lost.

There are three key elements that set apart Zuckerman's work.

• Use of non-traditional score instruments and rhythm
• Creation of a style of music to fit the world and period of the show
• Use of music to tell a story parallel with the visual narrative

Non-Traditional Instruments

Because both The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra's worlds have ties to real-world Asian culture, with each type of elemental Bending being rooted in a martial-art form, many of the instruments used in the composition of The Legend of Korra's soundtrack are traditional Western instruments like the Erhu and Guzheng. Understanding how to craft orchestral music together is difficult enough without throwing learning the nuances of new instruments on top of that but Zuckerman leveraged his time working on The Last Airbender well in The Legend of Korra, stepping up his game.

Additionally, Zuckerman composed tracks that were not locked to a single time-signature (an uncommon practice in modern film). It's highly noticeable on the track "Republic City Under Attack", where the rhythm alternates between 4/4 and 3/4 as the track progresses. Have a listen below.

Couple that with the first and what you have is a technically impressive musical score that highlights Zuckerman's skill as a composer. However, that's not all that sets Zuckerman's work apart.

Creation of a Style

The Legend of Korra's music is a mashup of traditional western sounds and what can be described as a vaudeville/early 20's style. The result is a sound that perfectly matches the industrial revolution that the world is undergoing during the time of the show. It's most prominent in some of the filler tracks from slower moments of the show, like Hittin' on All Sixes or Asami and Mako Dine.

The first two points come together to reinforce my final point.

Use of Music to Tell a Story

Non-traditional instruments from the world, an imagined and realized 'industrial revolution' style of music, ebb and flow to track that follows the action on screen. Jeremy Zuckerman didn't just write music to accompany a visual work, he wrote music to compliment and strengthen the visuals, an achievement that is increasingly rare in the film industry. With tracks being mass-produced using musical tropes and cliches, big-budget blockbusters don't have the time or concern for the nuances of music that film and TV labor-of-love works do. Every Marvel movie sounds the same when you get down to the nuts and bolts of the music (with the exception of Black Panther).

Conclusion

The Legend of Korra's soundtrack is phenomenal and you should listen to it. Additionally, if you haven't ever seen The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra, stop what you're doing, and go watch them.

Like, now.

Seriously.

While The Legend of Korra doesn't rise to the same level of quality of storytelling and worldbuilding as The Last Airbender, it still has its redeeming qualities and is a worthwhile watch. Make sure to keep a tuned ear out for the work of Jeremy Zuckerman in both shows, too, as you won't be disappointed.

That's all for now. Until next time!

~ Mako

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Thanks for reading!

Check out my most recent posts here:
Sherlock Challenge #2 - Win 4 SBI - STILL OPEN
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Kayde's Tale (Part 1)
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Kayde & Alora's Tale (Part 3)