Judge the Book By Its Sound

I spent 13 years in radio, off and on, at eight different stations. I was always amazed at the extent to which people almost never look like they sound.

The examples of people who don't look as "good" in person as they sound on the air are, of course, legion - the hunky-sounding morning guy who's really a 400-pound homunculus, the mid-day lady who sounds so hot but is, in fact, so not. Better example - Lorna Benson, much-lamented on the MPR's edition of "All Things Considered" after being kicked to the curb in favor of David "Audibly Volvo-driving" Molpus, who sounded like a 55-year-old prematurely gray spinster with an MA in Victimization Studies who wore all free-trade alpaca, but was in fact babe-o-licious.

There are, of course people who sound exactly like they look; Tim Russell, Garrison Keillor, Larry King, and Kris Adams (long-ago mid-day riot-grrl at KDWB).

However, as Fraters remind us, Terry Gross looks exactly as she sounds.

Which reminds me - I need to find the audio of Terry Gross' classic interview with KISS's bass player, frontman and famed sexual triathlete Gene Simmons, who spent the whole interview teasingly propositioning the relentlessly dry Gross:

Terry Gross: Um, just one more question before we wrap up.

Gene Simmons: As many as you want.

Terry Gross: I would like to think that the personality you've presented on our show today is a persona that you've affected as a member of KISS, something you do on stage, before the microphone, but that you're not nearly as obnoxious in the privacy of your own home or when you're having dinner with friends.

Gene Simmons: Fair enough. And I'd like to think that the boring lady who's talking to me now is a lot sexier and more interesting than the one who's doing NPR. You know, studious and reserved, and -- I bet you're a lot of fun at a party.

It was easily the best ten minutes I ever spent listening to Terry Gross. Read the whole transcript - it's hilarious.

Posted by Mitch at January 19, 2004 06:00 AM