How Steven Universe, a joyous cartoon about love and aliens, used music to evolveThe Steven Universe

How Steven Universe, a joyous cartoon about love and aliens, used music to evolveThe Steven Universe theme song sounds like what winning a video game feels like. Its exuberant beats sound like old 8-bit games, evoking triumph, determination, and silliness while celebrating heroes as committed to saving the day as they are joyful to be alive.The song is, in other words, the perfect encapsulation of what makes the beloved Cartoon Network series such a delight.Since it premiered in 2013, Steven Universe has earned the adoration of its devoted fans for the depth and ambition it packs to every one of its short, 11-minute episodes. What started as an unabashedly silly cartoon about a lovable boy named Steven Universe and his alien guardians (Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, a.k.a. the “Crystal Gems”) has evolved over the course of more than 100 episodes to explore a complex web of mythology surrounding Steven and the Gems’ otherworldly origin stories.And the show’s music, which has always been an intrinsic part of Steven Universe’s DNA, has evolved right along with it. While Steven Universe’s songs are sometimes still there just there for fun — à la “Cookie Cat,” a jingle about Steven’s favorite adorable ice cream sandwiches — they increasingly play more of a role in the story. Often, they serve as perfectly distinct, bite-sized embodiments of what the characters are feeling in any given moment, swerving from deeply human to eerily alien depending on what the scene calls for. This evolution has given the show’s characters room to learn (and sing!) about everything from love and trust to anxiety and grief.As of June 2, fans have the opportunity to hear many of the show’s best songs in one place with the release of Steven Universe Soundtrack: Volume 1, a comprehensive collection that feels like taking a trip through the show itself.Read the full story here.  -- source link

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