Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

Love is the Message podcast
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Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture Podcast

Love is the Message: Music, Dance & Counterculture is a new show from Tim Lawrence and Jeremy Gilbert, both of them authors, academics, DJs and dance party organisers. Tune in, Turn on and Get Down to in-depth discussion of the sonic, social and political legacies of radical movements from the 1960s to today. Starting with David Mancuso's NYC Loft parties, we’ll explore the countercultural sounds, scenes and ideas of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. ”There’s one big party going on all the time. Sometimes we get to tune into it.” The rest of the time there’s Love Is The Message.

  1. 12 SEPT

    Boombox on the Klipshorns: Downtown in '77

    We’re back from our summer break and getting straight back to business to examine what was going on in the Downtown party scene during the fabled year of 1977. We return to a favourite of the show - Nicky Siano - to hear how the Gallery wound down, check in on what’s happening back at the Loft, and unearth the very first iteration of the Paradise Garage. Also featured in this episode: a bit more Studio 54 wash-up, the decline of the New York Record Pool, Deleuzian sobriety and more on Jem’s breakdancing. Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Books:Jonathan Mahler - Ladies and Gentlemen the Bronx is Burnin Tracklist:Salsoul Orchestra ft. Loleatta Holloway - Runaway Teddy Pendergrass - The More I Get, The More I Want Grace Jones - I Need a Man Sylvester - Over and Over C.J. & Co. - We Got Our Own Thing Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame

    1h 11m

  2. 18 JUL

    White Horses: Studio 54 pt.3

    In this episode Jeremy and Tim complete our mini-series on the opening of Studio 54. They discuss links between underground and mainstream both generally and specific to 1977 NYC, consider the importance of celebrities to the Studio project, and interrogate the velvet rope. We hear about Bianca Jagger’s birthday party, spend more time thinking about Richard Long and his sound system designs, and ask who really is a native New Yorker? We’ll be away for the summer holidays, but will be back with more music, sound systems and counterculture in September. For now, why not dig into our back archive of bonus episodes on by becoming a patron at patreon.com/LoveMessagePod Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Sweet Cream - I Don't Know What I'd Do  Olympic Runners - Keep It Up  Odyssey - Native New Yorker  Le Pamplemousse – Le Spank  The Trammps - The Night The Lights Went Out

    1h 12m

  3. 4 JUL

    Ten Thousand Discotheques: Studio 54 pt.2

    In this episode Jeremy and Tim walk us past the velvet rope and into opening night at Studio 54. They introduce us to Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the two businessmen who owned the club, as well as to the often overlooked Carmen D’Alessio, who’s taste and art world connections were crucial to the look and feel of the party. Through these characters and more we get to learn about the founding of Studio 54. We also hear discussions on Muzak, eclecticism, returning champion Nicky Siano, and the aesthetics of ‘smoothness’. Tim and Jeremy interrogate the surprising links between Downtown and Midtown, explore how journalists tried to understand the Studio 54 phenomenon, and contemplate whether they even like disco anymore. Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: The Ritchie Family - Brazil  Anthony Whyte - Block Party (A Walter Gibbons Mix)  Chic - Dance Dance Dance  Santa Esmeralda - Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

    1h 6m

  4. 20 JUN

    LITM Extra - Heavy Metal Falling from the Sky pt.2 [excerpt]

    This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the whole thing and hours more exclusive conversation, become a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. In this patrons-only episode Jeremy dons his leather jacket to conclude our history of the early days of heavy metal. We hear about how the convergence of space rock, biker gangs, and the fantasy aesthetics of writer Michael Moorcock created an deeply abiding metal culture that would contribute massively to the second half of the Twentieth Century and beyond. Jeremy discusses the success of Warhammer, makes the case for rock opera, argues for the cultural significance of the Lord of the Rings and even has time to unpack metal masculinity, with reference to bands including Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind, Judas Priest and Deep Purple. Rock on! Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven  Hawkwind - Silver Machine  Blue Oyster Cult - Stairway to the Stars  Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water  Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird  Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar  Kiss - Black Diamond  Judas Priest - Winter Retreat  Hawkwind - The Wizard Blew His Horn  Hawkwind - Kings of Speed  Judas Priest - The Ripper  Motorhead - Motorhead

    9 min

  5. 6 JUN

    'Tossing the Salad': Studio 54 pt.1

    In this episode Jeremy and Tim discuss the economic and social setting into which Studio 54 opened in 1977. They talk about the differences between midtown and downtown scenes, the antagonism (or lack thereof) between punk and disco, subcultural theory and escapism.  How did disco become so popular so quickly? The guys explore the commercial phenomenon as it exploded after 1975, including the first Disco Convention in 1976 (with awards ceremony!), the in-crowd vs the suburbs, and an extended meditation on the history and value of gimmick records. Plus: has Jeremy done the Hustle? Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Books: Sarah Thornton - Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital Anthony Hayden-Guest - The Last Party Thomas Delany - Times Square Red, Times Square Blue Tracklist: Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots - Disco Ducks  Van McCoy - The Hustle  Carol Douglas - Midnight Love Affair  Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Cherchez La Femme

    1h 4m

  6. 23 MAY

    LITM Extra - Heavy Metal Falling from the Sky pt.1 [excerpt]

    This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing and a whole lot more, go to Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. In this patrons-episode Jeremy raises a devil’s horn salute to the gods and demons of heavy metal. He explores the etymology of the genre term, excavating its shared roots with acid rock, and explaining how heavy metal compliments our story here on LITM. With reference to Easy Rider and the misconceived ‘end of the ‘60s’, we hear about how biker culture, the legacy of the blues and changing regimes of accumulation contributed to the anguished intensity expressed in the music of Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and Iron Butterfly.  Jeremy also explores noise, feedback and distortion as the new aesthetic tools of metal, questions why people in the late 60s would want to explore occult and black magic ideas, and finishes with a deep dive on Black Sabbath, asking: was heavy metal an expression of the blues for white guys who’s dad’s worked in the car factories of Birmingham? Join us next time for pt. 2. Produced by Matt Huxley. Books and Films: Easy RiderRobert Walser - Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music Tracklist: Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild  Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues  The Who - My Generation (Live 1968)  Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused  Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love  King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man  Iron Butterfly - Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way)  Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath  Black Sabbath - Paranoid  Black Sabbath - War Pigs

    1h 11m

  7. 9 MAY

    Punk pt.3

    In the final episode of our three-parter on punk, Jeremy and Tim stick a pin through their ears and make their way down the Kings Road for the release of Anarchy in the UK. We hear about the mercurial Malcolm McLaren, Situationism, Symbolism and SEX in discussion with the Pistols project. We uncover why John Lydon knows what he hates but not what he wants, how a prime-time curse word scandalised Britain, and ask who wasn’t at the Manchester Free Trade Hall the night the Sex Pistols played. Elsewhere in the episode we dig deeper into what constituted punk as a structure of feeling, contrasting authenticity with irony and asking: how serious really is all this? With Blondie, John Waters, Rimbaud, the Mercer Street Arts Center and Patti Smith. Never mine the bollocks, here’s Love is the Message… Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist:New York Dolls - Personality Crisis Patti Smith - Horses Blondie - X Offender Books:Frith & Hall - Art into Pop

    1h 18m

  8. 25 APR

    LITM Extra - No UNESCO: Detroit Techno [excerpt]

    This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the whole thing and much more besides, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod Earlier this month UNESCO added Berlin techno to its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a register to recoginize and safeguard important traditions, practices and expressions. This news was met with consternation from music fans over how this honour completely overlooked the birthplace of techno, Detroit. For this patrons-only episode, Jeremy and Tim react to the news by pulling out a dozen or so of their favourite Detroit techno cuts to discuss. We hear about the ‘Belville Three’, post-Fordism, Alvin Tofler and the relationship between Chicago and Motor City. The guys dwell on the aesthetic of coldness and futurity that characterised much of the Detroit sound, folding in the Panthers, jazz and unidentified flying objects into records from Underground Resistance, Carl Craig, Drexciya and Theo Parish. Plus, we hear one of the first records Jeremy ever bought, memories of squat parties past, and a de rigour David Mancuso cameo. Tracklist:Model 500 - No UFOs Rhythim Is Rhythim - It Is What It Is R-Tyme - R-Theme Underground Resistance - The Theory The Martian - Star Dancer K-Hand - Starz Innerzone Orchestra - Eruption Innerzone Orchestra - Bug in the Bass Bin The Aztec Mystic - Jaguar Drexciya - Birth Of New Life Carl Craig & Pepe Braddock - Angola (Carl Craig Mix) Theo Parish - Falling Up Innerzone Orchestra - People Make the World Go 'Round

    8 min
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Love is the Message: Music, Dance & Counterculture is a new show from Tim Lawrence and Jeremy Gilbert, both of them authors, academics, DJs and dance party organisers. Tune in, Turn on and Get Down to in-depth discussion of the sonic, social and political legacies of radical movements from the 1960s to today. Starting with David Mancuso's NYC Loft parties, we’ll explore the countercultural sounds, scenes and ideas of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. ”There’s one big party going on all the time. Sometimes we get to tune into it.” The rest of the time there’s Love Is The Message.

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