| « How Prohibition Shaped America | One-Shots: Michael Moreci » |
Events Tue May 04 2010
History of Hip Hop and Technology Marks Local Publisher's Debut Book
What do the Styx song "Mr. Roboto" and the Pentagon have in common? Why, use of the vocoder, of course. Invented by Bell Labs in 1928, the vocoder was originally designed to guard phones from eavesdroppers, and has expanded beyond its original purpose to become a widely used voice-altering tool for musicians.This Thursday, Stop Smiling magazine hosts Dave Tompkins, reading from his years-in-the-making book How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder From World War II To Hip-Hop, The Machine Speaks. Tompkins is hailed by American Book Award winners and NPR commentators as "one of the best hip hop writers ever born" and "one of the most bugged, brilliant guys I know." There will be a slide show and discussion moderated by editor James Hughes at Stop Smiling Storefront, 1371 N. Milwaukee Ave., Thursday, May 6, 7-9pm. Book release afterparty with DJ sets by Dante Carfagna, Courtland Green and Dave Tompkins at The Charleston, 2076 N. Hoyne. Both events are free. Books sold at a discount throughout the night.
