Dave Tompkins presents "The Beat and Cheated Death" 
Wednesday, May 15, 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Cannonball
1035 N Miami Ave
Miami, FL 33136
Free and Open to the Public
Writer and cultural critic, Dave Tompkins, presents a free, public lecture on the cultural, geological, and political histories of Miami, propagating from Miami Bass: a hip-hop waveform that evolved into a way of life and made the air catch feelings–like low endless love. Based on research for a forthcoming book project Sustained Decay, Tompkins speaks to properties of 808 Bass through a sub-history of ossified invertebrates, man-made beaches, riots, skate rinks, cocaine, coral reefs, sea cucumbers, and a U-boat attack in 1942. This is beat who cheated death—the Bass that torpedoed its regenerative guts into the face of the world.
Tompkins’s illustrated talk will be followed by "sustenance decadence", a music and dance set featuring 12-inch vinyl records and 45s. Groove to bass, disco, electro-soul, and classy grown 80s synth Boogie in Cannonball’s lobby, which houses a site-specific installation by artist Bhakti Baxter.
Dave Tompkins’s first book, How To Wreck A Nice Beach: The Vocoder From World War II To Hip-Hop, which Amazon named entertainment book of the year in 2010, is now available in paperback. He has lectured in Poland, Norway, Germany, and at the NSA’s National Cryptology Symposium.
He has contributed to Slate, Grantland, Paris Review, Oxford American, Grand Royal, and The Wire, where he wrote a hip-hop column for eight years. Born in North Carolina, he currently lives in Brooklyn. For more crosstalk and mixes, go to howtowreckanicebeach.com.
