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

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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