I’ve had this episode waiting for this moment ever since I started doing Troika, because of a special event on, July 2nd 2019. Our wonderful daughter Samantha turns 18 today, and while I’m still trying process that, I’m going to take you back to July 1st 2001.
Leigh and I are in the maternity ward at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, and we had been advised to take along a mix tape of her favourite music. The general idea was to make the labour room a little less clinical and provide some sort of home comfort, and it sounded like great advice at the time. In truth, there’s no such thing as a helpful soundtrack to childbirth, all our choices were either too chirpy or too dark. Here are three that stuck in our memories:
- "You make me feel so young" - Frank Sinatra
- "Underground" - Ben Folds Five
- "Paranoid Android" - Radiohead
Originally, this episode was going to stop there, but I wanted to bring this story up to date, rather than just dwell on the birth tape. Samantha and I have quite similar tastes in music, and without me indoctrinating her either. She’s discovered artists like The Smiths, Slowdive, Ride and My Bloody Valentine by herself.
She’s also introduced me to artists that I now love, so there is a bonus Troika, with:
- "Never let me go" - Florence and the Machine
- "Doom in full bloom" - American Football
- "John Wayne" - Cigarettes after Sex
Happy Birthday Samantha! x
How to get this episode
Listen using the player above, download Troika #35: Happy Birthtape! as an mp3, Subscribe to Troika with an RSS reader or via Apple Podcasts.
All music featured is the copyright of the respective artists.