Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

In this episode we conclude our survey of 1970s spiritual jazz with some lesser known cuts from the canon. Several of the tunes here were once hard-to-find collectors items, but the renewed interest in this body of work has led to reissues and an enlarged audience for these awesome pieces. Tim and Jeremy discuss the various religious sources on the practitioners of spiritual jazz, from Buddhism and Hinduism to African and Gospel influences. They unpack the problems with the term ‘spiritual’, consider this music’s utopian horizons and conduct a little reception history of how this sound lost and found an audience.

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Loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Produced by Matt Huxley

Tracklist:

Benny Maupin - The Jewel in the Lotus

Toudie Heath Kamili - Kuumba

The Pyramids - Birth / Speed / Merging pt.1

Shamek Farrah - The World of the Children

Alice Coltrane - Transfiguration

Sun Ra - Lanquidity

This is an excerpt of a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

In this patrons episode Tim concludes his two-parter on Boy George’s summertime single ‘We Will Dance Again’. Tim recounts George’s comments on the AI-assisted writing process, the visit to the Nova Exhibition that inspired the composition, and gives the lyrics a rigorous analysis. Elsewhere in the episode Tim unpacks the definition of genocide, looks at the international response to Gaza, shares Palestinian music old and new, and updates the show to include the fallout from the recent Ed Sheeran and Macklemore situation.

Tracklist:

Yampano - Kwibuka 31 (Twamaganye Abapfobya Genocide)

Kneecap (ft Fawzi) - Palestine

Fawzi - Castro

Atef Swaitat - Palestinian Bedouin Psychedelic Dabka Archive

Swarup - Live at Universo Paralello 2023

David Rovics - From Auschwitz To Gaza

John Jacobs - Instagram post

Macklemore - Hind’s Hall

Today we’re taking it back to the early 70s as we begin a mini-series on spiritual jazz. Psychedelic, cosmic, astral: all words associated with a set of releases somewhat maligned at the time but now firm favourites on our turntables and across the globe. Tim and Jeremy cue up Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, Lonnie Liston Smith and of course the great Alice Coltrane for a journey down the streams of consciousness. They examine the genealogy of the term spiritual jazz and the pre-history of some of its early progenitors, dig into the the various belief systems of universal love and peace, examine the Indian influences on both the music and the metaphysics, and give some time to the looming figure of Miles Davis in all this. Plus: an unexpected visit from Louis Armstrong.
Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

Loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Produced by Matt Huxley

Tracklist:

Pharaoh Sanders - The Creator Has a Master Plan

Louis Armstrong - The Creator Has a Master Plan

Louis Armstrong - Give Peace a Chance

Albert Ayler - Music is the Healing Force of the Universe

Ahmad Jamal - The Awakening

Gary Bartz NTU Troupe - Celestial Blues

Alice Coltrane - Galaxy in Turiya

Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echos - Astral Traveling

This is an excerpt from a patrons-only show. To hear the full thing, plus dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod to sign up.

In this episode Tim responds to Boy George’s recent musical offering, ‘We Will Dance Again’. To respect BDS, we won’t be playing this AI-generated apologia for the Gaza genocide, or anything else from George’s catalogue, but Tim does explore the British singer’s confused history of political pronouncements on this and other issues, alongside some contemporaneous synth-pop from his New Romantic heyday.
Elsewhere in the episode Tim talks about his own Jewish upbringing, the history of Israel, the nation’s participation in Eurovision, current reflections on the horrors being perpetrated in Palestine, and some modern and vintage Palestinian liberation music.

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Tracklist:

The Equals - Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys

Visage - Fade to Grey

Heaven 17 - (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing

Kofia - Leve Palestina

Roger Waters - Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined

Love is the Message returns from our summer break just in time for the Bank Holiday Weekend, which in London means one thing: Carnival. In this episode Jeremy and Tim cover the history of Notting Hill Carnival, the largest such event in Europe. They discuss patterns of Caribbean migration to the UK, traditions of carnival from Ancient Greece to Trinidad and Rio, and the particular story of Notting Hill, with its steel bands, dub sound systems, parade and party. They return to Lovers Rock, consider legendary stages like Aba Shanti, Good Times and Saxon, and interrogate how Bakhtinian and Deleuzian ideas can be applied to this unique expression of Black British culture. Plus: David Mancuso in Trinidad, and a young Jeremy tries to buy Pass the Dutchie.

If you’re going to Carnival this weekend, enjoy yourself and take plenty of water!

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

Loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Produced by Matt Huxley

Tracklist:

Laurel Aitkin - Boogie in my Bones

Hells Gate Steel Orchestra - Ah Love It Here

Sir Coxson - King of the Dubb Rock

Louisa Mark - Caught You in a Lie

ASWAD - Concrete Slaveship

Smiley Culture - Cockney Translation

Papa Levi - Mi God Mi King

Ted Taylor - Ghetto Disco (Norman Jay Edit)

Cajmere - Brighter Days

Aba Shanti-I - Zulu Warrior

Moliy x Shenseea x Skillibeng - Shake It To The Max

We at LITM are still on our summer break, but while we’re away we wanted to share this interview on that most Northern of subjects, Mark E Smith of The Fall. Joining Jeremy for this discussion is Dr David Wilkinson. With reference to David’s essay ‘Mark E. Smith, Brexit Britain and the Aesthetics and Politics of the Working Class Weird’, the pair get into the weeds on Smith’s complicated politics, working class conservatism, the Weird, and the type of guy MES represents: autodidactic, contrarian, nostalgic, boozy. They relate The Fall’s work to pulp Modernism, loss and libertarianism, excavate the role of boredom in the development of the band’s sound, and ask: why should we care?

David Wilkinson is the author of the book ‘Post-Punk, Politics and Pleasure in Britain’. He is Senior Lecturer in English at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Thanks so much to David for sharing his time and thoughts. Tim and Jeremy will return together in the next few weeks.

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Produced by Matt Huxley

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!
http://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

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

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

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

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

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

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 http://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

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.

This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing, plus dozens more, become a patron from £3 a month at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

In this patrons episode we rejoin Arthur Russell in NYC as he takes up musical directorship of the supremely influential downtown arts centre The Kitchen. Jeremy and Tim discuss the Minimalist and Post-Minimalist stylings of the retinue of composer-performers in the area, including Christian Wolff and Rhys Chatham. We hear how Arthur - never a rock lover - became enamoured with the vernacular communication of the Modern Lovers, inviting them for a semi-legendary performance at his venue, and more broadly how their aesthetics of everydayness came to influence a slew of subsequent artists including Arthur himself.

Elsewhere in the episode the guys discuss the curious case of Frank Zappa, gong baths, and share some personal reflections on their experiences with Arthur's music.

Tracklist:
Christian Wolff - For 1,2 or 3 People
Rhys Chatham - Two Gongs
Arthur Russell - Eli
The Modern Lovers - Old World
Arthur Russell - I Forget and I Can’t Tell
The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner (Live at the Kitchen)
Frank Zappa - The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny
Peter Gordon - Machomusic

Grab your zines, dust off your stencils and customise your jackets because Jeremy and Tim are continuing our mini-series on post-punk with a healthy dollop of DIY culture. They discuss the infamous Sniffin’ Glue magazine, visit Dial House to ponder the ultimate UK DIY heroes Crass, and spin some of the most out-there No Wave cuts NYC had to offer. Elsewhere in the episode they dedicate time to outré post punk pioneers Devo, shout out the pipes on Lydia Lunch, dwell on punk’s dub and hip hop influences as expressed through a classic Clash track, and unpick the aesthetics of uptightness. Plus Glen Branca, Epping Forest and… Crosby Stills Nash & Young.

Produced by Matt Huxley.

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Tracklist:

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio

Devo - Satisfaction

Theoretical Girls - You Got Me

Alternative TV - Action Time Vision

The Clash - White Man in Hammersmith Palais

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks - Orphans

Crass - Sucks

This is an excerpt of a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing, and dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod to sign up from just £3 a month.

In this patrons episode we continue to unspool our mini-series on the great Arthur Russell. We rejoin the composer on the West Coast in the early 1970s, leaving him a few years later at the Manhattan School of Music as he prepares to move downtown. Along the way Tim and Jeremy discuss Arthur’s friendship with Allen Ginsberg, his experiences of Buddhism, and an early recording session with the poet and one Bob Dylan. Elsewhere we hear about William Blake, ‘beginner’s mind’, Ginsberg’s devotional music, hippie cowboys and Indian influences, and take a trip to Wales. In addition to his playing on the Ginsberg recordings, we also hear some of the first music composed by our subject.

Tracklist:
Allen Ginsberg - Wales Visitation
Allen Ginsberg - Pacific High Studio Mantras - Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum
Allen Ginsberg - A Dream
Arthur Russell - Goodbye Old Paint

Jeremy and Tim continue our mini-series on post-punk with a bit of 1978 scene-setting. Describing the inflationary crises, militant shop stewards and series of strikes in the UK and US, Jeremy paints a picture of the historic moment out of which a series of self-consciously anti-bourgeois bands were emerging. We hear about Jonny Rotten’s metamorphosis into John Lydon, take a moment to reflect on some of Leeds’ favourite sons the Gang of Four, and cross over to the Rust Belt to listen to an early track by Ohio’s own Pere Ubu. Sticking in the States, Tim spends time talking about Talking Heads’ second album More Songs About Buildings and Food, unleashes the Disco Clone, and enjoys the B52s Rock Lobster. Plus: Eno, Feminism, and the first ever thrift shop in NYC.

Edited by Matt Huxley.

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/

Tracklist:

Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance

Public Image Ltd - Public Image

Gang of Four - Damaged Goods

Al Green - Take Me to the River

Cristina - Disco Clone

B52s - Rock Lobster

Books:

Bernard Gendron - Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club

UNLOCKED: we've decided to share this interview with writer Toby Manning that we originally distributed to patrons in May 2025. To hear dozen more bonus episodes on a vast array of topics, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod to become a patron.

In this episode we welcome writer Toby Manning to the show to discuss his recent book Mixing Pop and Politics: A Marxist History of Popular Music. Toby's book offers a political reading of popular music, taking as its methodological starting point the songs found in the charts from the 1950s to the present day, to explore how the music people listen to reflects and resists the politics of their time in fascinating ways.

In this show Jeremy, Tim and Toby discuss the charts themselves, how we think of 'popular music', and discuss lyrics as a tool for analysis. This being LITM, we of course spend some time on the hits of the 1970s, but we hear also about '80s synth pop and yacht rock, Annie Lennox, MJ, and contemporary artists like FKA Twigs and Little Sims. Also found inside: the GLC, the High Sixties and Kneecap.

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

This is an excerpt from a patrons-only episode. To hear the full thing and dozens more like it, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod to sign up.

In this episode we begin a patrons mini-series on one of the most unique and beloved characters of the LITM story, Arthur Russell. Given Tim literally wrote the book on the singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist, you’re in good hands. We begin with the story of Arthur’s early life in Iowa and his move to San Francisco, including experiences with Buddhism and drugs, alongside musical instruction from the great Ali Akbar Khan. Tim and Jeremy paint a picture of Arthur’s explorations in countercultural living, refute the idea that he simply wasn’t good at finishing things, and introduce the musician as an avatar for the particular melting pot of NYC music and art culture. Join us next time to see us go bang…

Produced by Matt Huxley.

www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk

Tracklist:

Arthur Russell - This Time Dad You’re Wrong

Arthur Russell - That’s Us / Wild Combination

Ali Akbar Khan - Shri Rag

Terry Riley - In C