Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

Love is the Message podcast
  • 4.9 (48)
  • Music History
  • Updated Semimonthly

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. Jul 16

    Adventures Close to Home: Post Punk 1979 pt.2

    It's just Jem this week, mopping up the last suds of our post punk mini-series with a series of British bands who ripped it up and started again. We spend time with The Slits fantastic dub punk debut Cut, shouting out the production of the great Dennis Bovell on the way, then drive up the M1 to explore the rich pickings of that great musical city, Sheffield. With reference to an early Human League single, Jem unearths the imminent possibilities of the crumbling Fordist world. We hear two tracks from Public Image Ltd, before digging into one of our host’s favourites - the Raincoats - to explore feminist aesthetics, Maoist China and an unlikely meeting with Kurt Cobain. We round out the piece with two classics from the mighty Clash. Not a bad haul for one year. We’ll be away for a few weeks on various summer excursions, but will be back soon after with more music, dance floors, sound systems and counterculture. Tune in, turn on, get down!Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Produced by Matt Huxley Tracklist: The Slits - Typical Girls The Slits - Adventures Close to Home Human League - Empire State Human Public Image Ltd - Death Disco Public Image Ltd - Socialist The Raincoats - Fairytale in the Supermarket The Raincoats - Lola The Clash - London Calling The Clash - Lost in the Supermarket Books: Audrey Golden - Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats Frith & Horn - Art into Pop Reynolds & Press - The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock’n’Roll

  2. Jul 2

    LITM Extra - Kiss Me Again: Arthur Russell pt.6 [excerpt]

    This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full show, and dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod to join. We made it: what started as a ten-minute conversation and became a six episode mini-series finally reaches it conclusion, with the 1978 release of Arthur Russell’s Kiss Me Again. Jeremy and Tim conclude the genealogy of this epic track, detailing it’s recording, dry runs in the club, how the record was sold to the punky Sire Records, and how the Arthur came to put together the players. Friend of the show Nicky Siano gets an extensive mention as the record's co-producer, and his club the Gallery plays host to its first outings. Tim and Jeremy compare notes on how Nicky’s aesthetic differed from David Mancuso’s, share the story of how Arthur came to begin dancing at the Gallery, and explore his queerness both in contact with the dance floor and with his friend and mentor Allen Ginsberg. Elsewhere in the episode the guys ruminate on soft rock, spend a bit longer talking minimalism, and detail Arthur’s ill-fated trip to Italy to join Le Orme… Tracklist: Nirosta Steel - Lost in Music Arthur Russell - Don’t Forget About Me Allen Ginsberg - CIA Dope Calypso Le Orme - Canzone D’Amore Arthur Russell - Oh Fernanda Why Barbara Pennington - Twenty Four Hours a Day Desmond Child and Rouge - The Night was Not

  3. Jun 18

    Disorder? Post Punk 1979 pt.1

    We’ve finally made it - the pivotal Post Punk year of 1979. Well, sort of. It wouldn’t be LITM without a little extra detail, so Jeremy and Tim cue up our arrival with a couple of tracks from ’78 for good measure. They talk Tom Robinson Band, Undertones and the Only Ones, exploring ‘dole queue rock’, everydayness and the limits of politically self-conscious music of the period. Later in the show they tuck into a couple of indie disco staples to examine emergent New Wave, de-masculination, Manchester and the Iron Lady. Finally, for the first time on the show, the guys spend time on perhaps the most iconic post punkers of all: Joy Division.  This is our last main feed episode for a little while - we'll be back in mid-August. Until then, why not become a Patron and explore our LITM Extra archive, featuring dozens of bonus shows? Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Tom Robinson Band - Winter of ’79 The Undertones - Teenage Kicks  The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet Blondie - Heart of Glass Machine - There But for the Grace of God Go I The Cure - Boys Don’t Cry Joy Division - Disorder

  4. Jun 4

    LITM Extra - The Flying Hearts: Arthur Russell pt.5 [excerpt]

    This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing, plus dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. We continue our mini-series on Arthur Russell by turning to his mid-70s pop and folk work. Starting in the famous Poet’s Building in 1975, Tim and Jeremy explore life in the East Village, in particular the area’s poetry scene. They discuss the aesthetics of setting spoken word to music, stop by Ginsberg, and drop in some Tibetan Buddhist classes. Elsewhere in the episode we hear about a number of recording sessions at the Columbia Records studio, get haunted by the spectre of Dylan, and speculate on whether Arthur could have been the fourth Talking Head. Tim shares some demos from Arthur’s short-lived band the Flying Hearts, a version of Psycho Killer with punchy cello that didn’t make the final cut, and some Laraaji-ish keyboard noodlings. www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod Produced by Matt Huxley. Books: Philippe Bourgeois - In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio Tracklist: Arthur Russell - Barefoot in New York William Carlos Williams - The Red Wheelbarrow Bright and Early - Apple to the Orange Arthur Russell - Nobody Wants a Lonely Heart Arthur Russell - I Couldn’t Say it to Your Face Arthur Russell - Reach One (with Two Fender Rhodes) Talking Heads - The Girls Want to be with the Girls Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (acoustic version) The Flying Hearts - Ballad of the Lights The Flying Hearts - What’s It Like

  5. May 21

    The Mudd Club, An Intense Laboratory: Post Punk pt.5

    In this episode we return to the Mudd Club, NYC’s ‘intense laboratory’ of cinema, performance, dance and music. We hear about how this new kind of club fused these various media in novel ways, both as a day-to-day scene hang out spot and a site of never-ending unusual parties (‘Rock’n’Roll Funeral Ball Extravaganza’ anyone?). Tim and Jeremy detail the movement of artists into the East Village in the late 70s, the Fluxus inspiration for the Club’s goings on, and throw a little light on another less well-remembered venue, Club 57. Elsewhere in the episode the guys talk about The Cure, Lou Reed, retromania and cable TV, whilst also spending a moment on the legacy of Anita Sarko, a much-loved DJ on the scene. Produced by Matt Huxley. Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. Loveisthemessagepod.co.uk. Tracklist: Shrapnel - Combat Love Policeband - Mono The Cure - Killing an Arab Lou Reed - Vicious Bobby Freeman - Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes

  6. May 7

    LITM Extra - Instrumentals: Arthur Russell pt.4 [excerpt]

    This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing, plus dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. We’re back on the tail of Arthur Russell this week, paying close attention to his piece Instrumentals. A large ensemble composition comprised of multiple musical cells and first premiered at The Kitchen while he was music director, this work expresses Arthur’s proximity to NYC’s post minimalist scene. Jeremy and Tim discuss the works of several of the more prominent composers of that world, including Steve Reich, La Monte Young and Philip Glass, discussing the merits and failures of minimalism and how Arthur’s music aligned and diverged. Elsewhere they spend time on Arthur’s close friend and collaborator Peter Gordon, spend a moment unpacking Postmodernism, attempt to give a very potted account of just and equal temperaments, and give the stage to Memphis rockers Big Star. www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Arthur Russell - Hey! How Does Everybody Know Captain Beefheart - Dachau Blues Arthur Russell - Instrumentals (Live at the Kitchen) La Monte Young - The Well-Tuned Piano Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians Henry Flynt & Nova'Billy — Amphetamine Rhapsody

  7. Apr 23

    The Mudd Club Opens: Post Punk pt.4

    Continuing our mini-series on post-punk, Jeremy and Tim turn their attention to the pre-history of a crucial NYC venue: The Mudd Club. Given Tim literally wrote the book on this stuff, he’s well-placed to tell the story of how three Downtowners got the idea, got the premises, agreed on the name (not without its difficulties) and threw open the doors. We revisit the blending of punk and dance cultures that was emerging in the city at the time, spend a moment in another club - Hurrah - and contemplate the pitfalls of punk. Elsewhere in the episode Jeremy recounts his indie disco escapades, we hear a very early iteration of Psycho Killer, and pour one out for the mighty B52s. Plus: John Wilkes Booth, Molotov cocktails, and Elvis. Produced by Matt Huxley.Become a patron at patreon.com/LoveMessagePod https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Tracklist: The Rolling Stones - Miss You The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (Live at CBGB’s) Elvis - Moody Blue The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks B52s - 52 Women

  8. Apr 16 ·  Bonus

    [UNLOCKED] LITM Extra - Rebel Sounds with Joe Mulhall

    We've dug into our vault of past episodes and unlocked this previously patrons-only interview from last year. To hear dozens more episodes like this from just £3 a month, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. In episode we welcome writer and anti-fascist activist Joe Mulhall to the show to discuss his fantastic book Rebel Sounds: Music as Resistance, a survey across time and place of groups and cultures using musics as part of their resistance to forms of racism and imperialism. We hear about Irish rebel songs, Kneecap and an impromptu Irish history quiz in the toilets of a Wolftones gig; the role of Jazz, Blues and Soul in the Civil Rights Struggle; revisit Tropicalia with fresh eyes and ears; and fly to Nigeria for the Felabration in Lagos. Alongside these topics we consider how our personal tastes can divert from a music’s political power, US cultural hegemony, music in the USSR, 'bone records’, Two Tone, and bring things up to date with a trip to the trenches of Ukraine.

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4.9
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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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