As we get ready to hit the road, I'm thinking about things that I'll miss about where we currently live. I am going to miss the Boston/NH accents that people have around here. Some people around here have incredible speaking voices, and I love listening to it. This got me thinking about an iconic New England voice that I love.
Anna and I recently watched The Majestic. We were both surprised when, towards the end of the film, a terrific voice begins to narrate the story. I recognized it immediately: Matt Damon. It was a great surprise.
A few years ago, I saw the book-on-tape version of The People's History of the United States. I had already read the book, so I wasn't going to pay the premium to have someone read it to me like some sort of yet-to-be-literate child. But I did because of the book's narrator: MD. Behold, Mr. Damon lends his voice to Howard Zinn's text, and he reads it masterfully. I still listen to this recording whenever I get the chance.
Why do I like Matt's voice? I'm not sure. I certainly like several of his movies, but that doesn't really factor into my analysis. Rather, I think it's his timbre and cadence. Without getting too flowery and abstract in my description, I think that his voice comes across as honest. It also conveys a reserved passion that mixes civility with a "fire in the belly." It's tough to describe.
Certainly I'm not alone! If you could have anyone come and read you a bedtime story (without the creepiness of an adult having a bedtime story), who would it be? Let's hear who you love to listen to. Post it in the comments, friends.
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6 comments:
Anna Padgett
Bob Dylan. No question. You should hear his rendition of "Froggy Went a Courtin'."
And by the way, I think Matt D. is an excellent actor, and I can see how his voice would be perfect for something like that. I especially like his delivery in Bourne Ultimatum:
"This is where it started. This is where it ends."
Hmm, probably someone with a foreign (to me) accent, like Penelope Cruz or Gwenyth Paltrow. I have to choose a woman because I can't get away from the creepiness of having a strange man in my bedroom (other than Mike, of course. Not implying he's strange though.)
Any of the golf announcers. I fall asleep all the time watching golf on Sunday afternoon. They are the perfect sleep aid.
-- Patrick
Hi Austin--I was born and raised in RI, my mom's family goes back to 1652 in NH and I've lived in NH/VT for many years, and my father was from the north end of Boston. That has given me a bizarre combination of three quite distinguishable New England accents: (1) the RI Dysfunctional R ("fatha" for "father" and "idear" for idea"); (2) the NH/VT Woodchuck ("tigh-yim" for "time"); (3) your beloved Matt Damon Bostonian ("Red Sawx" for "Red Sox"). I'll save for another time the effect on my accent of my three years in Scotland! There is, in fact, not a single New England accent, but many. I suspect that the same is true of the South.
Hi Austin--Oh yeah, that last comment was me, Dr.Bob
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