Troika

Welcome back to Troika after a lovely summer break! This Troika is about the three 'discoveries' I made at the Reading Festival last weekend - bands that I liked after seeing them live. 'Happy Song’ by Bring me the Horizon* (contains sweary swears!), ‘All the Sad Young Men’ by Spector and ‘Tryer, you’ by And So I Watch You From Afar.

Episode 13 of Troika is all about the versatile singer-songwriter and Yahama maestro John Shuttleworth! Songs featured are: 'Mutiny over the Bounty', 'Two Margarines' and 'I can’t go back to savoury now'.

I had planned a different Troika for #12, but I was so late getting it ready, I was going to miss the fact that the Tour de France starts this weekend! So that will become #13, and here is my rather hurried tribute to the annual cycling pantomime that is the Tour! First up is 'Tour de France' by Alexis Roche (apparently a bit rude, but it's in French), then 'Tour de France' by Benôit Charest (from the fantastic Belleville Rendezvous soundtrack), finishing with 'Tour de France' by Señor Coconut...

Hello peoples! This Troika is all about the bassists! We start with 'Hello Meow' by Squarepusher, 'Jerry was a race car driver' by Primus, and finish with 'By the Way' by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Eighteen years ago, I sold my car, and met my wife! These are songs that remind of that wonderful time - Step into my World' by Hurricane #1, 'Don't Whiz on the Electric Fence' by Ren and Stimpy, and finishing up with 'No Surprises' by Radiohead

This coming Sunday is three years since my mum died, so I wanted to dedicate this ninth episode of Troika to her memory! There are four pieces of music this time: 'Strawberry Fields Forever' - The Beatles', Ukelele Lady' - Peter Sellers and The Temperance Seven, 'The Lark Ascending' - Ralph Vaughan Williams and finally 'Dear Friends' - Elbow.

This episode of Troika is a collection of music that uses NASA samples. The first track is *"Space Walk" by Lemon Jelly*, which samples Ed White's reaction to the first ever space walk on the Gemini 4 mission in 1965. Then we have *"V1 | 130" by Geremia Vinattieri*, released as part of the Space Songs EP from Bad Panda records. The final track, called simply *'Go', comes from Public Service Broadcasting*'s second brilliant album 'Race for Space' uses samples of the hubbub of Mission Control.

I discovered the music of J Dilla (aka James Dewitt Yancey or Jay Dee) by going backwards. I'm a big fan of the band Phantogram, and when they mentioned their sound uses 'J Dilla beats' I looked back on his extensive back catalog and found his influence everywhere. He's one of hip hop’s most influential producers and artists, but his career was cut short at just 32 after battling the incurable blood disease, lupus. I've chosen one he produced, one of his own, and one that was a homage...

The theme for this Troika is a little more esoteric than normal - it's comedians, singing parody songs, in the style of other artists. Weird Al Yankovic has made a whole career out of this, but these are maybe slightly less well known.

Back in the mid-90's the British Music Press had decided that Shoegaze music was finished, and that if you weren't Britpop or Grunge you deserved to be mocked. Bands like Slowdive disbanded and explored other genres, but it had left enough quality work to inspire the next generation of bands, nastily called 'Nu gaze'.