I love this regular feature on NPR every time I happen to catch it. They play sound clips of various famous people and actors, and listeners write in to describe--creatively--what these voices sound like. Yesterday, I heard the responses for Henry Kissinger, Christopher Walken, Andy Devine, and Jeanette MacDonald.
This is a selection of how people described Henry Kissinger’s voice:
The old guy in the row behind you on an airplane dictating a letter for the entire flight [to hear] — Marty Combs
The love child of Marlene Dietrich and Elmer Fudd — Curtiss Clark
Pudding skin — John Peck
His tongue is the wrong size for his head — Lucie Shores
How the ticking might sound in Salvador Dali's paintings of melting clocks — Scott Olson
An old Chevy with a bad muffler idling inside an abandoned cave — Beth Bailey
Herman Munster after having bitten his own tongue — Patrick Gerrity
And here are some descriptions of actor Christopher Walken:
The car salesman who just quit smoking three days ago and has poison ivy on his arms — Charles Rajani
The nervous, shifting eyes of your neighbor's crazy dog — Marty Conboy
The cat that saunters by ignoring you, then suddenly turns around and smiles — Olivia Elisabeth Collins
The guy you change your mind about getting on the elevator with — John Harrison
Stoli served over cracked ice — Ginny McCaskey
The troubling dream you had and can't quite remember — Rhonda Broom
The cool uncle who snuck you a beer at the family barbecue when you were 13 — John Medici
There are others, found here. And you can participate in the next session; simply go here and listen to the voices up for next time: political activist Jesse Jackson, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Jefferson Airplane lead singer Grace Slick, and Paula Winslowe, better known as the voice of Bambi's mother.