Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

In this episode of Love is the Message Jeremy and Tim have packed a bag chock full of stone cold 1977 dance floor classics that share a Black Disco aesthetic. We hear a number of cuts from Tom Moulton and Walter Gibbons that can be pinpointed as some of the most important contributions to early remix culture (whilst still guaranteed to go off at a party). François K makes a fleeting appearance, alongside Boney M, Grace Jones, Miami, the SalSoul Orchestra and Henri Bergson. We close out the show with an all-timer in Lamont Dozier’s ‘Going Back to my Roots’. Enjoy this week listeners, as next time we’re taking on Euro Disco…  Due to licensing issues, we can only play short clips of the music discussed. If you’d like to listen along to the full tracks, we have an ever-expanding Spotify playlist hosting (most) of the tracks played in the show. You can find Series 6 here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZpKyqhvhOXfTuPMHCBkFs Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: CJ & Co - Devil’s Gun (Tom Moulton Mix) Elton John - Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance) (Tom Moulton Mix) First Choice - Dr Love (Tom Moulton Mix) Loleatta Holloway - Hit and Run (Walter Gibbons Mix) Rare Earth - Happy Song (François K Edit) T-Connection - Do What You Wanna Do Peter Brown - Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me? Sine - Keep It Coming Lamont Dozier - Going To My Roots

In this episode Tim and Jeremy continue the story of Frankie Knuckles first year at the controls of the seminal Chicago nightclub, the Warehouse. We hear an investigation of Frankie’s early musical aesthetic, how it would lend itself to the development of the House sound some years later, and whether stability or dynamism are better for a pumping dance floor. Elsewhere in the episode we hear about how Robert Williams came to know Frankie and Larry Levan, the experiences the two young club kids had at the Continental Baths, the understated role of social workers in the story of dance history, and what the PMC have to do with Afrika Bambaataa. Plus - stolen donuts, LSD in the fish tank, and Jeremy’s dreams of lamé… Produced by Matt Huxley. Due to licensing issues, we can only play short clips of the music discussed. If you’d like to listen along to the full tracks, we have an ever-expanding Spotify playlist hosting (most) of the tracks played in the show. You can find Series 6 here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZpKyqhvhOXfTuPMHCBkFs Tracklist: The Osmonds - One Bad Apple The Originals - Down to Love Town Roy Ayres - Running Away  Pam Todd & Love Exchange - Let’s Get Together First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder Made in USA - Melodies 

This is the first of two episodes on another seminal club in the history of dance culture: The Warehouse. Jeremy and Tim begin by spending some time discussing the city of Chicago, a place that despite its massive musical output hasn’t really featured in out story so far. A crucible of industrial modernity, they consider its unique historical position, the move from Delta to Chicago Blues, and how it linked to NYC in the mid-70s. We hear about the several early locations of the club that would become The Warehouse, revisit Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan, and give a shout out to another satellite of the US disco scene, Le Jock. Plus: singing bumblebees, Chaka Khan, and David Mancuso’s enduring love of Tescos. Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Muddy Waters - Trouble No More Rufus and Chaka Khan - Once You Get Started Titanic - Rain 2000 Bumblebee Unlimited - Love Bug 

We’re back from our summer break and getting straight back to business to examine what was going on in the Downtown party scene during the fabled year of 1977. We return to a favourite of the show - Nicky Siano - to hear how the Gallery wound down, check in on what’s happening back at the Loft, and unearth the very first iteration of the Paradise Garage. Also featured in this episode: a bit more Studio 54 wash-up, the decline of the New York Record Pool, Deleuzian sobriety and more on Jem’s breakdancing. Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Books:Jonathan Mahler - Ladies and Gentlemen the Bronx is Burnin Tracklist:Salsoul Orchestra ft. Loleatta Holloway - Runaway Teddy Pendergrass - The More I Get, The More I Want Grace Jones - I Need a Man Sylvester - Over and Over C.J. & Co. - We Got Our Own Thing Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame

In this episode Jeremy and Tim complete our mini-series on the opening of Studio 54. They discuss links between underground and mainstream both generally and specific to 1977 NYC, consider the importance of celebrities to the Studio project, and interrogate the velvet rope. We hear about Bianca Jagger’s birthday party, spend more time thinking about Richard Long and his sound system designs, and ask who really is a native New Yorker? We’ll be away for the summer holidays, but will be back with more music, sound systems and counterculture in September. For now, why not dig into our back archive of bonus episodes on by becoming a patron at patreon.com/LoveMessagePod Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Sweet Cream - I Don't Know What I'd Do  Olympic Runners - Keep It Up  Odyssey - Native New Yorker  Le Pamplemousse – Le Spank  The Trammps - The Night The Lights Went Out 

In this episode Jeremy and Tim walk us past the velvet rope and into opening night at Studio 54. They introduce us to Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the two businessmen who owned the club, as well as to the often overlooked Carmen D’Alessio, who’s taste and art world connections were crucial to the look and feel of the party. Through these characters and more we get to learn about the founding of Studio 54. We also hear discussions on Muzak, eclecticism, returning champion Nicky Siano, and the aesthetics of ‘smoothness’. Tim and Jeremy interrogate the surprising links between Downtown and Midtown, explore how journalists tried to understand the Studio 54 phenomenon, and contemplate whether they even like disco anymore. Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: The Ritchie Family - Brazil  Anthony Whyte - Block Party (A Walter Gibbons Mix)  Chic - Dance Dance Dance  Santa Esmeralda - Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood 

In this episode Jeremy and Tim discuss the economic and social setting into which Studio 54 opened in 1977. They talk about the differences between midtown and downtown scenes, the antagonism (or lack thereof) between punk and disco, subcultural theory and escapism.  How did disco become so popular so quickly? The guys explore the commercial phenomenon as it exploded after 1975, including the first Disco Convention in 1976 (with awards ceremony!), the in-crowd vs the suburbs, and an extended meditation on the history and value of gimmick records. Plus: has Jeremy done the Hustle? Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Books: Sarah Thornton - Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital Anthony Hayden-Guest - The Last Party Thomas Delany - Times Square Red, Times Square Blue Tracklist: Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots - Disco Ducks  Van McCoy - The Hustle  Carol Douglas - Midnight Love Affair  Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Cherchez La Femme 

In the final episode of our three-parter on punk, Jeremy and Tim stick a pin through their ears and make their way down the Kings Road for the release of Anarchy in the UK. We hear about the mercurial Malcolm McLaren, Situationism, Symbolism and SEX in discussion with the Pistols project. We uncover why John Lydon knows what he hates but not what he wants, how a prime-time curse word scandalised Britain, and ask who wasn’t at the Manchester Free Trade Hall the night the Sex Pistols played. Elsewhere in the episode we dig deeper into what constituted punk as a structure of feeling, contrasting authenticity with irony and asking: how serious really is all this? With Blondie, John Waters, Rimbaud, the Mercer Street Arts Center and Patti Smith. Never mine the bollocks, here’s Love is the Message… Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist:New York Dolls - Personality Crisis Patti Smith - Horses Blondie - X Offender Books:Frith & Hall - Art into Pop

In this episode we continue our trio of episodes on Punk by examining some crucial mid-70s proto-Punk antecedents. Via the lean funkiness of Dr Feelgood Jeremy and Tim explore the interesting British formation of pub rock, with its R’n’B roots and distinct danceability. This leads to a discussion on the slipperiness of Rock’n’Roll as a term and its tensions with ‘rock’ proper. We also hear an early influence on Post-Punk and meet the influential Stiff Records at its foundation. In the second half of the show we make a second encounter on the show with the Ramones, and ask: what were they really up to? Authenticity, performance, historiography and hagiography all come under the microscope as we lead to the first definitively British Punk record: New Rose by The Damned.Join us next time for Blondie and the Sex Pistols.Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tracklist:Dr Feelgood - She Does it RightDr Feelgood - Keep it Outta SightNick Lowe - So It GoesThe Ramones - Blitzkrieg BopThe Saints - (I’m) StrandedThe Damned - New Rose

Welcome to Series 6 of Love is the Message! We hope you enjoyed the series of conversations with writers and academics that comprised Series 5, but now we are returning to our usual format to examine a watershed year: 1977.  In this first episode we are unpacking Punk. What is it? A musical style, a subgenre of rock, a fashion sensibility, an attitude, a structure of feeling? In the first of three shows on Punk, Jeremy and Tim unfurl a general genealogy of the term as we build towards the release of Anarchy in the UK in two episodes’ time. They discuss where the term came from and how it was codified; the importance punk placed on realness and spontaneity; and contrast Punk’s nostalgic and avant garde modes.  Tim and Jeremy make reference to three bands not immediately thought of as Punk - The Seeds, The MC5 and The Stooges - to uncover what musical work was taking place in the late 60s and early 70s that could be viewed as proto-punk, and use these bands to show the problems of rock historiography in recounting the history of Punk. And, this being LITM, we of course spend some time untangling the Punk vs Disco dichotomy.  We hope you’ll join us as we continue our long march through the 1970s and beyond! Become a patron at patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: The Seeds - Pushin’ Too Hard The MC5 - Kick Out the Jams The Stooges - Funhouse

In this episode Jeremy and Tim are joined by writer, historian, and friend of the show Simon Reynolds to discuss British musical trends of the 1970s and his life as a music journalist. Simon is arguably the most important music critic writing today, having penned seminal books on post-punk, electronic dance music, feminist rock and much more. In this interview he mostly talks about his most recent book, ‘Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century’, sharing stories from his childhood interest in the decadent world of Glam. The three discuss how so many artists came to aestheticise a rejection of suburbia, the purply gauze of Top of the Pops, and thinking the Situationists were a band. They unpick how Punk is imagined and historicised versus how it was experienced, how Simon came to reappraise the 60s against a hostile critical culture, and consider the role of the music press historically and today. For patrons, our extended edition also includes a discussion around Simon’s 2011 book ‘Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to its Own Past’. Tim, Jeremy and Simon recount the particular conjuncture from which the book arose, tease out its key theses, and apply those to contemporary music culture. Simon Reynolds is the author of ‘Blissed Out: The Raptures of Rock’, ‘The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'N' Roll’ with Joy Press, ‘Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture’, ‘Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984’, ‘Bring The Noise: 20 Years of Writing About Hip Rock and Hip-Hop’, ‘Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past’ and ‘Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century’. His next book, ‘Futuromania: Electronic Dreams from Moroder to Migos’ is forthcoming. Tracklist: Scott Joplin - The Entertainer Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Plaistow Patricia The Rezillos - Top Of The Pops The Specials - Ghost Town Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love

To hear an extended version of this conversation, become a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. In this episode Jeremy and Tim are joined by historian and New Yorker Kim Phillips-Fein to discuss a crucial event in the Love is the Message story: the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis. Kim’s book ‘Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics’ is widely regarded as the definitive text on the matter, so she was the perfect person to talk to, and she brought some great music recommendations to boot. The three discuss both the long- and short-term backdrop to the crisis, charting how the city’s unique social democratic municipal system of rent controls, hospitals and education changed across the twentieth century, before examining how the centre of international capital came extremely close to bankruptcy. Kim explains the financial mechanisms which animated the crisis and the political choices that precipitated it. She elucidates President Ford’s predicament during the crisis, the effects of ‘white flight’, and reminds us that New York was itself an industrial city rapidly de-industrialising.  This being Love is the Message, naturally we also hear about the extraordinary cultural creativity of the time and examine its material causes, including changing democraphics and the transformation of Soho. Finally, Tim Jeremy and Kim consider what happened next, and how the fiscal crisis has been historicised to serve a particular ideology. Kim Phillips-Fein is the Gardiner-Kenneth T. Jackson Professor of History at Columbia University. Her book ‘Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics' was named a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for History. She is also the author of ‘Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan’. Tracklist: Television - Venus The Dils - Class War The Rolling Stones - Shattered Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message

In this week’s episode, Tim and Jeremy are joined by writer, critic and academic Emily J. Lordi to discuss her 2020 book The Meaning of Soul (and much more besides). Emily talks about how she got into writing about Black music and the particular status Soul held in academia at the start of her career. The three consider changing historiographies of Black culture, talk over some key canonical texts, and contrast Soul with scholarship on Blues and Jazz. Emily explains how her analysis looks beyond lyrics in its appraisal of the political content of Soul, and how through an evaluation of a shift between sacred and secularised notions of the genre, we can see an articulation of a collective subjectivity representative of the congregational traditions from which the music draws on. Elsewhere, Tim, Jeremy and Emily consider ‘the crew’ in Soul and Hip Hop, Disco’s relationship to Soul, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Minnie Ripperton. For patrons, the three dig into Emily’s concept of ‘Afro-Presentism’, Beyonce, Janelle Monáe, contemporary R’n’B, and the affect of resilience. Emily J. Lordi is a writer, professor, and cultural critic whose focus is African American literature and Black popular music. She is professor of English at Vanderbilt University and the author of three books: Black Resonance (2013), Donny Hathaway Live (2016), and The Meaning of Soul (2020). Produced by Matt Huxley. Check out the back catalog, reading lists, playlists and more at our website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/

In this week’s episode, Tim and Jeremy are joined by writer and scholar Mark Anthony Neal. Mark’s 1999 book ‘What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture’ is a crucial text for us here at Love is the Message, so it was fantastic to have him join the show to discuss his life and work in music. We discuss how the Black popular music of the past 60 years provides an insight into black socio-political life, via Gospel, Soul, Hip Hop and more. Mark explores how his upbringing in the South Bronx, from spending Sunday mornings with his parents to heading to the Apollo to see the Jackson 5 and Aretha, shaped his view of the Black public sphere. The interview provides Jem and Tim with the opportunity to trace their interest in the progressive potential of the 1970s back to the slave experience, the development of spirituals that became a channel for acts of resistance, the African American church’s reversioning of Christianity as a space of Black communion and expression, the importance of the jook and the rent party for expressions of Black pleasure. These spaces contributed to the shaping of an increasingly radical Black politics, from the burgeoning civil rights movement to Black Power, with rhythm and blues, soul and funk. We discuss the late-80s turn toward commodity culture within Hip Hop and consider what happened politically to black musicians into the 90s. For patrons, Mark, Tim and Jeremy also discuss early disco, Black dance music and Saturday Night Fever; consider the aspirational, entrepreneurial mindset of many of the 70s pioneers; and the role of sampling as an act of Black archival work undertaken by caretakers of Black musical lineage, bringing us right up to the listening practices of today. Mark Anthony Neal is the Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University host of the weekly webcast ‘Left of Black’ in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University. He is the author of ‘What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture’, ‘Soul Babies: Black Popular Culture and the Post-Soul Aesthetic’, ‘Songs in the Keys of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation’, ‘New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity’ and ‘Looking for Leroy: (Il)Legible Black Masculinities’. Produced by Matt Huxley. Become a patron to hear an extended version of this conversation by visiting patreon.com/LoveMessagePod. Check out the back catalog, reading lists, playlists and more at our website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ And listen along our Spotify playlist featuring music from the series at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZylmJYk5SxyyTI2OQp0iy Tracklist: The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight  The Jackson 5 - Dancing Machine Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes Eric B. And Rakim - Paid in Full Ray Charles - (Night time Is) The Right Time The Isley Brothers - Fight the Power Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On Sly & The Family Stone - Stand!  Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues LL Cool J - The Boomin' System

In this week’s episode, Tim and Jeremy welcome writer and academic Gayle Wald to the show to tell us about the life and times of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Christened on social media ‘the queer black woman who invented rock’n’roll’, yet derided in 1970 as ‘a blacked up Elvis in drag’, Sister Rosetta’s story disrupts the received narrative of rock history. We hear about her religious upbringing, hitting the road with her evangelist mother; playing in the Cotton Club, the Decca Records studios, and from the centre field of a football stadium (in her wedding dress!); and being feted by Johnny Cash at the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. Sister Rosetta’s story concerns misogyny, Pentecostalism, the evolution of the electric guitar, gossip, Little Richard and more, and Gayle is the perfect person to share it with us. This is an edited version of the full interview. To hear more about Sister Rosetta as well as about Gayle’s book on the television programme ‘Soul!’ - a groundbreaking piece of public broadcasting that brought black thinkers, activists and musicians to the TV screen - and her forthcoming work on the eminent children’s musician Ella Jenkins, become a patron. Gayle Wald  is a professor of English and American Studies at George Washington University and a Guggenheim Fellow. She is the author of 'Crossing the Line: Racial Passing in U.S. Literature and Culture’, ‘Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe’ and ‘It's Been Beautiful: Soul! and Black Power Television’. Produced by Matt Huxley.Become a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod Check out the back catalog, reading lists, playlists and more at our website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Rock MeSister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight - Didn’t It RainSister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happening Every DayMahalia Jackson - Move On Up a Little HigherSister Rosetta Tharpe - Move On Up a Little Higher

Love is the Message is back for Series 5! After a few weeks off for the summer holidays, Tim and Jeremy return to the show for more music, dancing, sound systems and counterculture. This time round, we’re changing things up. As you’ll hear, we’re taking a break from our chronological narrative to bring in scholars and writers for a series of guest interviews, allowing us to both deepen our understanding of the late 60s and early 70s, and move around a bit more to histories we haven’t got to yet. For patrons, we’ll also be recording a number of episodes on the European and British musical phenomena that were taking place at the same time as the Loft and its ecosystem, so hold tight for that. But for this introductory episode, we’re sharing a ‘What We’re Listening To’ show, featuring ten tracks that Jem and Tim have had on the turntables this year. We’ll hear a rare Northern Soul cut from Tim, driving Brazilian funk, Carol King at her grooviest, plus spiritual jazz, ambient DnB, a conversation about Burning Man, and a pledge from Jem to keep playing Max Romeo until the rents go down. Become a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod And check out the back catalog, reading lists, playlists and more at our website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Produced by Matt Huxley. Tracklist: The Flirtations - Nothing But a Heartache Antonio Carlos & Jocafi - Simbarere Carol King - Believe in Humanity Miriam Makeba - We Gotta Make It Max Romeo - Rent Crisis Universal Togetherness Band - Ain't Gonna Cry Pharaoh Sanders - Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong Underworld - Dark & Long (Spoon Deep Mix) Omni Trio - Higher Ground Brawther - Sundials Ft Nathan Haines

This is it - the final episode of series 4, New York City 1975-76. For this show Jeremy and Tim are staying in the Bronx for more discussion around the links between Downtown party culture and the port hip-hop scene. We hear about the very first B Boys, what their moves looked like, and what sort of music they were breaking to. We explore how important performing or being watched was to these dancers, and the similarities and differences with losing yourself on a disco dance floor. Tim and Jeremy unpack the class dimension of the early breaking scene, set against a backdrop of poverty and rising gang membership. They profile Africa Bambaataa, both as a DJ and an agent for social cohesion, and also introduce a young Grandmaster Flash - more on him to follow. Plus - Jeremy shares his own breaking experiences… We will take a short break (no pun intended) for summer, and will be back in the autumn for Series 5. Thanks to everyone for your continued support as we reach our 60th main episode of the podcast, closing in on 100 hours of music, dance floors, sound systems and counterculture. Love is the message… Become a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod And check out our new website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Books: Jeff Chang - Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Jonathan Mahler - Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City Philippe Bourgois - In Search of Respect Tracklist: The Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun Abaco Dream - Life & death in G & A Shirley Ellis - The Clapping Song Herman, Kelly & Life - Dance to the Drummer’s Beat The Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair  Grandmaster Flash - The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel

In the penultimate episode of our current series, Tim and Jeremy explore the earlier incarnations of what would become Hip-Hop. They begin by asking where the term comes from and interrogating the problematic historiography of the genre. The show then moves on to a detailed profile of the legendary DJ Cool Herc and his nascent rec room parties, alongside the contemporaneous mobile DJ culture, the Jazz poetry of Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets, the ‘merry-go-round’ mixing technique, and the historical and affective significance of the breakbeat for hip-hop and disco. Plus: the only evidence you’ll find of David Mancuso cutting breaks. Become a patron by visiting Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod And check out our new website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Books and Films: Wild Style (1982) Stan Cohen - Folk Devils and Moral Panics Tim Lawrence - Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor 1980-1983 Jeff Chang - Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation David Toop - The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip HopTracklist: Rare Earth - Get Ready Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised The Last Poets - When the Revolution Comes Incredible Bongo Band - Apache Benny Goodman Orchestra - Sing Sing Sing Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band - Scorpio

For this episode, Tim and Jeremy pull on their dancing shoes to explore why the Downtown dance floors of the early 1970s were such historically unique places. Situating the forms of dancing found at the Loft and the Sanctuary as part of a turn away from the forms of partner dancing covered in our previous episode, we hear how these new forms of dance deconstructed how people experienced their bodies socio-sexually and conceived of themselves as part of a newly self-conscious audience. Tim and Jeremy discuss how developments in both sound, DJ practice, lighting and the now famous mirror ball contributed to a ‘polymorphously perverse’ experience for dancers. We also try to understand how people were actually dancing, ‘freakout gestures’, ‘lofting’, and how the ‘hustle’ reterritorialised disco for a suburban market. Become a patron by visiting Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod And check out our new website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Tracklist: Earth, Wind & Fire - Power Lloyd Price - Bad Conditions James Brown - Cold Sweat (Live at the Apollo vol.2) Dinosaur L – Go Bang! #5 The Meters - Hand Clapping Song Tribe - Koke Van McCoy - The Hustle

In this episode Jeremy is reunited with Tim to explore the early life and times of the legendary DJ Larry Levan. We hear about his youthful friendship with fellow DJ (and future leading light of House) Frankie Knuckles as they embed themselves deep in early 70s dance floor culture, taking us not just to discos but to rent parties, drag balls and The Continental Baths.  Naturally, we look at the role David Mancuso played both in inspiring Larry and in advancing his career, and shout out one of his less well-known mentors, T Scott, alongside the ever-present Nicky Siano. Tim and Jeremy also discuss shame, the Hustle and Mick Jagger’s strut, and ask the question: should we all be playing more musical theatre records? Become a patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod And check out our new website: https://www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/ Produced and edited by Matt Huxley. Tune in, Turn on, Get Down! Tracklist:B.B. King - Philadelphia Shirley & Company - Shame Shame ShameConsumer Rapport - Ease On Down The RoadDonald Byrd - Change (Makes You Want To Hustle)Babe Ruth - Elusive