Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

Latest Episodes:

‘The New Musick’: Post Punk pt.1 Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode we return to 70s for the first of a mini-series on post-punk. A historical period, an unhelpful genre descriptor, a structure of feeling? Whatever it is, the guitar bands of the UK and NYC in 1978 were creating some serious music. Jeremy and Tim 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. Finally, we introduce a major character in out story over the coming months: Arthur Russell.

Tracklist:

The Slits - New Town (John Peel Session)

Wire - I Am the Fly

The Fall - Stepping Out

Talking Heads - Tentative Decisions

The Contortions - I Can’t Stand Myself

Books:

Simon Reynolds - Rip It Up and Start Again

John Savage - ‘The New Musick’ in Time Travel

The Music of North East England with Alex Niven [7" Edition] Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

To hear the extended, 12", almost-2-hour version of this conversation, including discussion on Maximo Park, Kenickie and Bob Davenport, visit Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod and become a patron from just £3 a month.

In this episode of LITM Jeremy is joined by writer and editor of Tribune magazine Alex Niven to talk about the musical history of England’s North East. 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. Jeremy and Alex discuss blues rock, ‘sophsti-pop’ and Sting, the folk club legacy of the North East, Richard Dawson, the smallpipes and the Sultans of Swing.

Alex Niven is the author of Folk Opposition, Definitely Maybe for 33 1/3, New Model Island: How to Build a Radical Culture Beyond the Idea of England and The North Will Rise Again: In Search of the Future in Northern Heartlands.

Tracklist:

Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under

The Animals - House of the Rising Sun

The Animals - We Gotta Get Outta This Place

Eric Burdon and War - Spill the Wine

Lindisfarne - Clear White Light

Alan Hull - I Hate to See You Cry

Lindisfarne - Fog on the Tyne

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring

Sting - All This Time

Richard Dawson - The Vile Stuff

Sam Fender - People Watching

Kathryn Tickell - Bone Music

LITM Extra - Bruce Springsteen [excerpt] Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

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 our final episode of 2025, Jeremy and Tim spend some time exploring the life and times of Bruce Springsteen. 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. 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, with callbacks to Zohran and our recent Dylanology episode.

This is our last show of the year - thank you everyone for coming with us on this long strange trip. We return in early 2026 for more music, dance floors, sound systems and counter culture.

www.LoveistheMessagePod.co.uk

You can read Tom Williams’ article on Springsteen, ‘The Only Boss We Listen To’, on Tribune at: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/11/the-only-boss-we-listen-to

Tracklist:
Bruce Springsteen - Blinded by the Light
Bruce Springsteen - 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Patti Smith - Because the Night
Bruce Springsteen - Badlands
Bruce Springsteen - The River
Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City

Zohran Mamdani Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

It’s Mamdani time! On this episode of the show we’re bringing things right up to the here and now to celebrate New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani. 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. 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.

Edited by Matt Huxley.

Become a Patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod

www.loveisthemessagepod.co.uk/

Tracklist:

Sunidhi Chauhan - Dhoom Machale

Young Cardamom, HAB - #1 Spice

Mr. Cardamom - Nani

Lil Wayne - Right Above It

Das Racist - Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell

The Temptations - Smiling Faces Sometimes

Books:

David Harvey - A Brief History of Neoliberalism
Barbara Ehrenreich - Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy

Soundtrack for a Coup D'Etat pt.3: DRC Today Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

In this episode we conclude our look at the Democratic Republic of Congo with an exploration of the music and politics of the country from 1960 to the present day. Beginning with the overthrow of Patrice Lumumba, Jeremy and Tim discuss the colonial and imperialist dynamics that have buffeted the country for the last half century, the cycles of violence this engenders and the role of nations like the US, China and Rwanda have played in destabilising the country. 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.

Edited by Matt Huxley.

Become a Patron at patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

www.LoveistheMessagePod.com

Tracklist:

Zaiko Langa Langa - Femme Ne Pleure Pas

Papa Wemba - La Vie Comme Elle Va Bola

Grooverider - Rivers of Congo

Konono No.1 - Lufuala Ndonga

Khalab - Chitita

Kokoko! - Malembe

Jupiter & Okwess - Na Kozonga

Fulu Kolektiv - Lualaba

Fulu Kolektiv - Nfuka

LITM Extra - What We're Listening To, Nov '25 [excerpt] Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

This is an excerpt from a patrons 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-only episode Jeremy and Tim revive the long-dormant ‘What We’re Listening To’ format for an exploration of what’s been on their turntables recently. Tim pulls extensively from the bag he packed for a recent Lucky Cloud party, including selections from SAULT and Cotontete, while Jeremy shares a modern slice of Bukem-esque DnB and an end-of-the-night dreamy deep cut. Elsewhere in the show we hear a post-punk Fela cover, a classic piece of Sharon Jones funk soul, Highlife guitar, a shoutout for the humble 7”, Afrofuturist mythology and… Alan Partridge.

Tracklist:

Miguel ‘Anga’ Dias - A Love Supreme

Evolução Africa - Liberdade

SAULT - Let Me Go

Cotonete feat. Leron Thomas - Day In Day Out

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - What If We All Stopped Playing Taxes

Vital Disorders - Zombie

Underground System - 95 South

The Earons - Land of Hunger

Big Bud - Lucky7

Rubies feat. Feist - I Feel Electric (TieDye Remix)

Soundtrack to a Coup D'Etat pt.2: The Jazz Ambassadors Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

We’re continuing our series of episodes inspired by the 2024 documentary Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat with an examination of some of the film’s key characters: the so-called ‘Jazz Ambassadors’, a group of mostly black US musicians sent around the world to (unwittingly) promote American soft power during the Cold War. Tim and Jeremy give a brief history of the emergence of the CIA in the post-war USA, explain the role of NATO, and detail a few of the great many instances of US interference in newly decolonised states around the globe. We hear about Louis Armstrong in Ghana, Dizzy Gillespie’s tours to West Asia and revisit Max Roach from our previous show, alongside Brubeck, Stravinsky and… Bing Crosby. The guys discuss these various attempts to portray America as a haven of free self expression at home while it repeatedly violated sovereignty and democracy abroad. Also included in this show: Fantasia, the Military Industrial Complex, the Kennedy assassination and some speculative White House tripping.

Edited by Matt Huxley.

Become a Patron at Patreon.com/LoveMessagePod.

www.LoveistheMessagePod.com

Tracklist:

Aaron Copeland - Fanfare for the Common Man
Bing Crosby - The Isle of Innisfree
Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Louis Armstrong - (What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue
Louis Armstrong - Spooks
Dizzy Gillespie - Tour de Force
Dave Brubeck - Take Five
Max Roach - Triptych: Prayer / Protest / Peace
The Byrds - He Was a Friend of Mine
Books:
William Blum - Killing Hope
Susan Williams - White Malice

LITM Extra - Music in the Cold War pt.1 [excerpt] Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

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

Soundtrack to a Coup D'Etat pt.1 Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

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 Wind

Books:
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

LITM Extra - Kneecap's Antecedents [excerpt] Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

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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