Love is the Message Podcast

Notting Hill Carnival Apple: tinyurl.com/wdbv9kpz Spotify: tinyurl.com/mrycm6sm Patreon: tinyurl.com/58dw6p96 It's almost Bank Holiday weekend, which in London means only one thing: Carnival. Tim and @jemgilbert.bsky.social look at the largest street party in Europe.../

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.

Johnny McBob (Maigret arc)

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.../

Love is the Message Podcast reposted

@wolfmanramirez.bsky.social

28 Apr

youtu.be/Ods7Y8arpXE?... Such a fun episode with this is for me the biggest musical surprise as not only do really early Talking Heads sound a bit Pere Ubu but Byrne's vocals are much more Television-y and I love it in very different way to the original

youtu.bePsycho Killer (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) (2024 Remaster)YouTube video by Talking Heads - Topic

Love is the Message Podcast@lovemessagepod.bsky.social

The Mudd Club Opens: Post Punk pt.4 Apple: tinyurl.com/yfw4arza Spotify: tinyurl.com/3a6fpfjk Patreon: tinyurl.com/3djaykc5 Tim and @jemgilbert.bsky.social turn their attention to the pre-history of a crucial NYC venue: The Mudd Club.../

LITM Extra - Instrumentals: Arthur Russell pt.4 Patreon: patreon.com/posts/litm-e... @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim have more on Arthur for this patrons episode, paying attention to his piece Instrumentals.../

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.

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.../

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.

Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

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.../

26 Mar

Do It Yourself!: POST-PUNK pt.3 Apple: tinyurl.com/2ra5wsrf Spotify: tinyurl.com/j6zb876a Patreon: tinyurl.com/ywwa9axj @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim are continuing our mini-series on post-punk with a healthy dollop of DIY culture.../

26 Mar

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.../

26 Mar

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.

LITM Extra - First Thought, Best Thought: Arthur Russell pt.1 Apple: tinyurl.com/3t3t32by Spotify: tinyurl.com/575endu8 Patreon: patreon.com/posts/litm-e... @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim Lawrence begin a patrons mini-series on Arthur Russell.../

Tim & Jem 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…

www.patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

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.../

'THE NEW MUSICK': POST-PUNK pt.1 Apple: tinyurl.com/5n85zx88 Spotify: tinyurl.com/bbzjcann Patreon: tinyurl.com/n9k5298b A historical period, an unhelpful genre descriptor, a structure of feeling? @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim Lawrence return to 78 to explore post-punk.../

Finally, we introduce a major character in out story over the coming months: Arthur Russell...

www.patreon.com/lovemessagepod

They discuss where the term came from, what exactly the ‘punk’ it was following was, and some the music’s early proponents. With reference to The Slits, Wire, Talking Heads and more, we hear about the Hacienda, John Peel, Modernism and Mark E Smith.../

The guys unpack how funk and reggae were influencing bands like The Contortions in their experimentation with rhythm, visit the CBGB club in New York, and dispute received ideas about the division between punk and disco.../

THE MUSIC OF NORTH EAST ENGLAND with Alex Niven Apple: tinyurl.com/28etdbax Spotify: tinyurl.com/46s8wfd4 Patreon: tinyurl.com/33ffu8dh @jemgilbert.bsky.social is joined by @alexniven.bsky.social to talk about the musical history of England’s North East.../

Jeremy and Alex discuss blues rock, ‘sophsti-pop’ and Sting, the folk club legacy of the North East, Prefab Sprout, the smallpipes and the Sultans of Swing.../

To hear an extended, almost 2hr version of this conversation, become a patron at patreon.com/lovemessagepod

Our interest in this subject was piqued by Sam Fender’s victory in last year’s Mercury Music Prize. Fender is himself an artist indebted to our recent subject, Bruce Springsteen.../

Alex talks us through the particulars of the region, one of Britain’s main post-industrial heartlands, exploring through music various expressions of white working class identity and a particular form of masculinity that artists have variously embodied or pushed against.../

LITM Extra - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Apple: tinyurl.com/bdh8d6xr Spotify: tinyurl.com/e3kkzy6f Patreon: patreon.com/posts/146133... @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim spend some time exploring the life and times of Bruce Springsteen.../

Jeremy describes how Springsteen’s songs of New Jersey post-industrialisation were heard in the cities of North West England, Tim interrogates his endorsement of Obama, and both try to understand his unique mass appeal in the USA.

Become a patron to hear the full episode and many more like it: Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

Tracing his life from his early career up to 1984, they unpack specificities of the Boss’s politics, his particular aesthetic, and the often confused reception of his repertoire.../

We hear about the sense of place in his music, the influence of Dylan on his writing, the iconography of the small town and the big car, and his various attempts to express a white vernacular working class experience.../

tinyurl.comZohran MamdaniPodcast Episode · Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture · 04/12/2025 · 1h 42m

4 Dec 2025

ZOHRAN MAMDANI Apple: tinyurl.com/yhk8u5td Spotify: tinyurl.com/5n85a3ts Patreon: tinyurl.com/5ftcxenz @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim Lawrence celebrate the election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of NYC.../

4 Dec 2025

Tim and Jeremy recount the emergence of Zohran as a political figure, his background and parents, his democratic socialist politics and what his election means for the Left and anti-imperialism more broadly.../

4 Dec 2025

We also hear a potted history of the DSA, consider the particularities of Left Populism as a contemporary political tendency, spend time with Bernie and de Blassio, and appraise a couple of the incoming mayor’s early rap tracks.

tinyurl.comSoundtrack for a Coup D'Etat pt.3: DRC TodayPodcast Episode · Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture · 20/11/2025 · 1h 28m

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT pt.3 : DRC Today Apple: tinyurl.com/5hc3h3sc Spotify: tinyurl.com/a9v8fvs2 Patreon: tinyurl.com/32d4p6k5 @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim Lawrence review the music and politics of DRC from 1960 to today.../

They also unpack the ‘resource curse’ of the DRC’s mineral stocks, the activities of companies like Apple and Tesla, and finish with a reflection from the great Franz Fanon.../

On the music side of things, we hear a potted history of the conga drum, some drum and bass, electric thumb pianos, handmade amplifiers and an African cousin to footwork./

tinyurl.comSoundtrack for a Coup D'Etat pt.3: DRC TodayPodcast Episode · Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture · 20/11/2025 · 1h 28m

Beginning with the overthrow of Lumumba, they discuss the colonial and imperialist dynamics that have buffeted the country for the last half century, cycles of violence this engenders and the role of nations like the US, China, Rwanda have played in destabilising the country.../

loveisthemessagepod.co.ukE01: Welcome — HomeTune in, turn on, get down!

If you want to take it right the way back to the beginning, here's our introductory episode...

Alasdair Pettinger@bulldozia.com

Just came across this podcast from @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim Lawrence. No indication of when it was made, but their discussion of the political nuances of the summer of love & the momentous influence of David Mancuso was excellent: www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/series1/welc...

LITM Extra - What We're Listening To, Nov '25 Apple: tinyurl.com/yxhsrbaa Spotify: tinyurl.com/mmmfpvpa Patreon: tinyurl.com/74dnnw7p For patrons, @jemgilbert.bsky.social and Tim Lawrence share what music's been on their turntables recently.../

Elsewhere in the show we hear a post-punk Fela cover, a classic piece of Sharon Jones funk soul, Highlife guitar, the price of vinyl, a shoutout for the humble 7”, Afrofuturist mythology and… Alan Partridge.../

patreon.comGet more from Love is the Message: Music, Dance & Counterculture on Patreoncreating Love is the Message Podcast

To hear the full episode and dozens more like it, visit patreon.com/LoveMessagePod and become a patron from £3 a month.