'Watch Me Now, Feel The Groove' - Breaking and Bambaataa in the Bronx

Love is the Message: Dance, Music and Counterculture

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

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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