Milk Bar Mornings: Milk Bar Musicians

Welcome to this week’s issue of Milk Bar Mornings. This week, we will be listening to tracks redone by the Milk Bar Musicians, a duo of amazing musicians, who play various songs from the Zelda series, in A Link Between Worlds. The duo is comprised of Bard, a guitarist, and Flute Boy, a flutist. Together, they play songs which the player can listen to for 10 Rupees in (as the name suggests) the Milk Bar, which is a steal considering what gems of music they can produce. Today, we will be analyzing the technicalities presented in the song, along side the story told by the song. So hit the jump to see what we have in store!

Zelda’s Lullaby

Zelda’s Lullaby is a song that has been in the series for years, serving as Princess Zelda’s theme. The song, first appearing in A Link to the Past, is recognizable by any fan of the series. Made popular by Ocarina of Time, the song has been featured in nearly every Zelda game, making it a staple in the series. The version played by the Milk Bar Musicians is from A Link to the Past, rather than the version in A Link Between Worlds. What makes this version different from versions from other games, is that it has a grand intro, before breaking in the calm and beautiful piece that it is.

Though these are simply remakes of original tracks, these songs do hold their own story separate from the originals. The story in this one, is a story of peace. The opening of the song holds a strong royal sound, reminding the listener that the princess is royalty, and her place of power. After the opening, the song goes calm, playing the melody of Zelda’s Lullaby. This calmness is here to represent the musicians opinion on Zelda, and how though she is in power, she is kind hearted, and that the Royal Family is mirroring that kindness, keeping the land safe and free.

Ballad of the Goddess

Ballad of the Goddess is a song that made its debut in Skyward Sword. The song can only be heard by the Milk Bar Musicians in Hero Mode, which is unlocked after beating the game once. The song is played many times in Skyward Sword serving as the main song in the game. Because of Skyward Sword being first in the timeline, the song holds a heavy history, as it had to be passed down for thousands of years for it to finally reach the ears of Bard and Flute Boy.

The story presented in this is a story of battle and creation. The song in its original form already holds a story of battle and creation, but since the song had been passed down for so many years, the story has a different outlook. The song starts off with the guitar playing a gritty sound, while the flute plays the melody. The guitar represents the battles fought by Link and Hylia in Skyward Sword while the flute represents the beauty of the world they were trying to save. Eventually, the guitar starts playing arpeggiated notes, and the flute continues. This section represents the amazing world that was created through the battles fought. Eventually, the flute drops, and the guitar continues, holding the melody and the original guitar part, till the flute returns. Soon, the song goes back to the gritty guitar and the flute doing the melody, almost as to say battles were still fought and heroes still lived years later. Finally, the song hits a strong closing, almost as if to say “now it is your turn.”

Lorule Castle

Lorule Castle is the final dungeon of the game, and the Lorule equivalent of Hyrule Castle. The Milk Bar Musicians are from Hyrule, meaning that the only way they could have heard about the castle is through legend, or by a Lorulian. This song has one major difference than the rest of the songs, it features humming. Due to the deepness of the voice it is highly possible that Bard is singing this, since he is the older of the two.

The story in this song is a story of hardship. The insturmentals are simply a cover of the Lorule Castle theme, but the humming is what truly holds the story. The humming is not of the melody, but rather its own melody. The melody has the sound of evil and almost as if it shows the reasoning behind evil. The way it branches off from the flute playing the melody, it starts of giving the sound great evil, but eventually it sounds as if the evil was created through tough times, parallel to the story of Lorule and Hilda presented in the game. The representation of the hardships of Lorule and the power and grandness of Lorule Castle combines to make a song of what Lorule truly is like. The castle is in the center of Lorule, and the song holds what is in the core of Lorule, creating  the ultimate Lorule Castle variation.

But that is all for this issue of Milk Bar Mornings. Let me know what you thought of this issue! Did you love it? Did you hate it? Got any ideas for next weeks theme? Let me know in the comments below!

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