LITM Extra - Decolonising Disco—Counterculture, Postindustrial Creativity, the 1970s Dance Floor and Disco pt.1 [excerpt]

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 episode Tim reads from his essay Decolonising Disco—Counterculture, Postindustrial Creativity, the 1970s Dance Floor and Disco, published recently in the collection Global Dance Cultures in the 1970s and 1980s : Disco Heterotopias, edited by Flora Pitrolo and Marko Zubak. Drawing together arguments from all three of Tim's books covering the party culture of the 1970s and early 1980s, the piece re-historises the so-called 'genre wars' of Disco, Punk and Hip Hop / Rap to better represent the fluidity between these scenes and musics as part of a city-wide music culture. Tim continues to assert this radical creative potential of  the post-Fordist conjuncture in '70s music culture, and concludes by asking: what happened to the influence of music from the Global South on Disco; how did Disco go from the fringes of US culture to becoming a colonializing force itself; and how might we begin decolonialising Disco? We've split the essay into two halves, with part two to follow in a fortnight. Edited and produced by Matt Huxley. Tune in, turn on, get down! Tracklist: Cristina - Disco Clone The Salsoul Orchestra - You're Just The Right Size The Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can Booker T and the MG's - Melting Pot James Brown - Give It Or Turn It Loose Dinosaur - Kiss Me Again The New York Dolls - Personality Crisis Books: Tim Lawrence - Love Saves The Day: A History of American Dance Culture, 1970-1979 Tim Lawrence - Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980-1983 Tim Lawrence - Hold on to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973-1992 David Harvey - A Brief History of Neoliberalism Anthony Haden-Guest - The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night Simon Reynolds - Rip It Up and Start Again Nelson George - The Death of Rhythm and Blues