Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

This is an excerpt of a full length episode currently only available to patrons. To become a patron and support what we're doing from £3 per month, head to www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

Via a brief refresher on Critical Theory and Continental Philosophy, Jeremy and Tim explore the tensions between the musical performance and its recording, the power of repetition, and why dub's self-conscious experimentation with studio production makes it the most innovative medium of twentieth century music. We also get a healthy dose of Hauntology, '90s electronica and Socrates to complete the picture.

We'll be back in a fortnight with the next iteration of Heavy Dub Theory.

Books:

LITM returns with the second half of our examination of the life and work of Bob Marley and the Wailers. Jeremy and Tim pick up the story in 1973, with the release of Burnin', the band's split, and the launch of Marley in the rock star mode. A discussion on the strange case of Eric Clapton's cover of I Shot the Sheriff follows, along with Marley's first international smash, No Woman, No Cry.

Tim and Jeremy proceed to the release of Exodus in 1977 - also the year of an assassination attempt on Marley - and dig into the politics of a turbulant late '70s Jamaica, the Socialist PM Michael Manley, and the complexities of Marley's own political appeal to love and peace in the face of extreme political violence. The episode concludes with the singer's cancer diagnosis, a late return to explicit radical anti-colonialism, and eventual death in 1981, with time given to parsing his singular posthumous legacy. 

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley.  

Tracklist:

Bob Marley & the Wailers - Burnin' and Lootin'

Books:

Lloyd Bradley - Bass Culture: When Reggae was King

Unlocked - for a number of personal reasons, we've been unable to record the episode on Bob Marley and the Wailers. In its stead, we've taken this opportunity to unlocked both parts of our interview with Daphne A. Brooks, previously only available to patrons. Become a patron from £3pcm to access much more of this material at www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. We'll be back to pick up with Afro-Psychedelia very soon.

In this episode Daphne talks with Tim and Jeremy about the writers, practitioners and 'organic intellectuals' who have created a new discourse around Black female sound, taking in figures such as the writer and collector of field recordings Zora Neale Hurston, the writer, journalist and singer Pauline Hopkins, and the writer and playwright Lorraine Hansberry. They dig into what it means to hold precious these forgotten figures, affectionate writing praxis, and the relationship between curatorial or archival work and contemporary music making. In part 2, coming in a fortnight, we will hear about some of the contemporary artists featured in the book, including Janelle Monáe and Beyonce.

Daphne A. Brooks is William R. Kenan, Jr. professor of African American studies, American Studies, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Music at Yale University; she is also director of graduate studies.She specializes in African American literary cultural performance studies, especially 19th century and trans-Atlantic culture. She is a rock music lover and has attributed her research interests in black performance to being a fan of rock music since a very young age.

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley.

Tracklist:

Zora Neale Hurston - Wake Up Jacob (trad. recorded 1928 in the field)

Books:

Unlocked - for a number of personal reasons, we've been unable to record the episode on Bob Marley and the Wailers. In its stead, we've taken this opportunity to unlocked both parts of our interview with Daphne A. Brooks, previously only available to patrons. Become a patron from £3pcm to access much more of this material. We'll be back to pick up with Afro-Psychedelia very soon.

We also took advantage of speaking with Daphne to ask her about the Harlem Cultural Festival, the so-called 'Black Woodstock' which the excellent new film and firm LITM favourite Summer of Soul documents, as well as to commemorate the recent passing of two titans of Black cultural writing, Greg Tate and bell hooks. We are so grateful to Daphne for being so generous with her time, insight and humour.

Daphne A. Brooks is William R. Kenan, Jr. professor of African American studies, American Studies, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Music at Yale University; she is also director of graduate studies.She specializes in African American literary cultural performance studies, especially 19th century and trans-Atlantic culture. She is a rock music lover and has attributed her research interests in black performance to being a fan of rock music since a very young age.

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley.

Tracklist:

Janelle Monáe - Make Me Feel

This is an excerpt of a full length episode currently only available to patrons. To become a patron and support what we're doing from £3 per month, head to www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

We also talked about how strongly subcultural affiliation and music are linked in the 2020s, the perils of (sub)genrification, pluralistic listening, and whether dance music culture is - or has ever been - politicised.

We intend to hold these events semi-regularly, so do come along to the next one if you can.

In this week's episode Tim and Jeremy focus on the early life and work of Bob Marley & The Wailers. They explore the role Marley and the group played in bringing Reggae to the world, with the singer becoming a singular and ubiquitous figure in culture in the process. Beginning with their first Ska singles from the mid-'60s, we hear how the original 1965 recording of One Love articulated a nascent form of philosophical universalism, with love as a political virtue to overcome difference. We also follow Marley on his journey towards Rastafarianism, and reintroduce Island Records' Chris Blackwell to the show.

Tim and Jeremy discuss the powerful, dub-inflected production of the Wailers' second album Soul Rebels, consider the anti-imperialism of rootsyness, and explore the recording and marketing of their follow up, Catch A Fire.

We'll be back in a fortnight with part two of our deep dive on Marley. One Love.

Books:

This is an excerpt of a full length episode currently only available to patrons. To become a patron and support what we're doing from £3 per month, head to www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

A Tribe Called Quest - Vibes and Stuff

In this week's episode Jeremy and Tim move through the late 20th century to trace dub's echoing influence on Disco, Post-Punk, early House and the music of the British Rave scene. Dub's aesthetics of space, minimalism, and bass-centric production are revealed on the New York dancefloor through the early remix experiments of Walter Gibbons and the studio work of Francois K, as well as in the punk clubs of London and the after-party living rooms of late '80s ravers.

Tim Lawrence and Jeremy Gilbert are authors, academics, DJs and audiophile dance party organisers. They’ve been friends and collaborators since 1997, teaching together and running parties since 2003. With clubs closed and half their jobs lost to university cuts, they’re inevitably launching a podcast.

Become a patron from just £3 per month by visiting www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

Books:

This is an excerpt of a full length episode currently only available to patrons. To become a patron and support what we're doing from £3 per month, head to www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

In this patrons-only bonus episode, Jeremy and Tim have a conversation about what music has been on their turntables recently.

Also in this episode we hear a Brazilian Tropicalia tune about the apparent founder of a universal mystic gnostic philosophy, contemplate the religion and theology of Late Antiquity, enjoy an exciting spurt of post-Jungle energy from contemporary London, and end with a playful and trippy dub remix fresh from a party.

This is part of a rough series of more conversational, unplanned episodes reflecting on what's been on our record players recently and what we've been up to that we'll be releasing to patrons to say thank you for your support.

In this week's episode Tim and Jeremy dive headlong into Dub. They discuss the changing meaning of the term, the difficulties in charting the history of the music, and explore the work of two of the pioneers of the sound, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and King Tubby. Jeremy and Tim discuss the sonic properties of dub, including the innovative use of reverb and delay, as well as the distinctive vocal practice of toasting and the starring role performed by the bass in this new musical form.

Tim and Jeremy also talk about why the innovations of Dub took place in Jamaica, the importance of addition and subtraction to the dub producers, and the persistent dialectic between seriousness and playfulness out of which so much Dub emerges. In this spirit, we also hope you enjoy the special LITM theme music version. Back in a fortnight with more - stay dubwise. 

Tracklist:

Les Paul & Mary Ford - How High The Moon

Books: