Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

• LITM Extra - Music in the Cold War pt.1 [excerpt]

  This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing, and dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod and become a patron from £3 a month.In this patrons episode we’re taking some time to explore some of the background to our recent main feed show about colonialism, jazz diplomacy and the documentary Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat with a bitesize primer on the origins of the Cold War. Jeremy and Tim run it all the way back to 1917 to unpack the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the subsequent years of communist rule leading into WW2, and the musical expressions of this historic period. Along the way they discuss Soviet Realism, Modernism, formal experimentation in the arts, Stalin, the Monro Doctrine and the CIA. Elsewhere in the episode we hear about George Formby, Peter and the Wolf, the Red Army Choir, and ask whether any of us really like orchestral music. Tracklist:The Red Army Choir - The Internationale Billy Bragg - The Internationale Shostakovich - Symphony No.2 (October)Books:William Blum - Killing Hope

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• Soundtrack to a Coup D'Etat pt.1

  Love is the Message is back! After last series’ mammoth 18-month excavation of the year 1977 we’re switching things up a bit. While we’ll continue to chart our rough way through the history explored in our work to date, for the moment we’re going to focus on a few smaller, more bite-size topics, starting with the 2024 film Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat. A natural partner piece to our beloved Summer of Soul, Johan Grimonprez’s documentary tracks in vivid and exhilarating style the Cold War episode that led American musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. On this show Tim and Jeremy discuss mid-Twentieth Century decolonialism, resistance and the activities of black jazz activists in America. We hear the history of the colonisation of Congo by Belgium, introduce Lumumba as a unique historical figure, and spend some time reflecting on how these imperial legacies resonate today. On the music front, we hear listen to Roach behind the kit, cue up a series of Congolese rhumbas and boleros, and close with seminal civil rights singer Nina Simone. Elsewhere in the episode we stop by Malcom X, Khrushchev, and Joseph Conrad. The horror, the horror…Edited by Matt Huxley.Tracklist:Max Roach - Freedom Day Ata Ndele - Adou Elenga Joseph Kabasele - Independence Cha-Cha O.K. Jazz - Pas Un Pas Sans… Nina Simone - Wild is the WindBooks:Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

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• LITM Extra - Kneecap's Antecedents [excerpt]

  This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode of the show. To hear the full episode and dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod and sign up from £3 a month.In this episode of LITM Extra, Jeremy takes the mic solo to expand a little on our recent patrons show on Kneecap, turning an eye specifically to musical and cultural antecedents of the Irish trio’s project. With reference to music both from the island of Ireland and abroad, Jeremy discusses Stiff Little Fingers, dancehall chatting, Scousers, and Welsh language punk bands. He introduces two Irish rap outfits - Marxman and Scary Eire - which clearly foreshadow Kneecap, alongside some mid-90s Irish techno and a classic slice of rave rap. Beyond the beats, Jeremy discusses Celtic language and culture, changing attitudes to Ireland in Britain, the ‘Celtic Tiger’, and even throws in  the Mushie Picker Boogie. The article about Papa Levi Jeremy mentions can be found here:https://uncarved.org/dub/papalevi.html Produced by Matt Huxley.Tracklist: Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster Papa Levi - Militancy Jegsy Dodd and the Sons of Harry Cross - Mushie Picker Boogie Yr Anhrefn - Rhedeg i Paris Marxman - Sad Affair Scary Eire - Howld yer Whist Scary Eire - The Dole Q Secret Weapon - Dream Lover (Sound Crowd Remix) 

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• The Night the Lights Went Out: 1977 Wrap-Up pt.2

  Here it is: our 18th and final episode of series 6. We’ve covered punk, Studio 54, the Warehouse, Black Disco, Eurodisco and Saturday Night Fever, but today Jeremy and Tim summarise some final reflections on the city of New York in the pivotal year of 1977. They discuss the early career of a businessman who liked to frequent the discotheques and would go on to become president of the USA, linking Mr Trump to a culture of corporate welfare and downtown development. We hear about the Son of Sam, the World Series, power cuts, looting, scratching, breaking, the Bronx and the beats that propelled the nascent Hip Hop culture. Thanks to everyone who’s joined us on our deep dive this series - we’ll be taking a short summer break and will be back some time in September with more music, dance floors, sound systems and counterculture. Produced by Matt Huxley.Do check out the podcasts Jem shouts out in end notes of this show. We're listing them here, you can find them wherever you find this:Pro Revolution SoccerRed MedicinePolitics Theory OtherWe are now on Youtube! Find series 6 here: https://www.youtube.com/@LITMPodcastRemember, we have a rolling playlist of all the tracks discussed over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZpKyqhvhOXfTuPMHCBkFsTracklist: Andrea True - What’s Your Name, What’s Your Number Ryan Harvey - Old Man Trump Philadelphia  All Stars - Let’s Clean Up the Ghetto The Trammps - The Night the Lights Went Out Parliament - Flashlight

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

  In response to the death of the Ozzy Osborne this week, we've unlocked this patrons episode from last year about heavy metal, Black Sabbath and the Prince of Darkness himself. If you like this you can hear a lot more like it by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.In this 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?Books and Films:Easy RiderRobert Walser - Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal MusicTracklist: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 

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