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Oh. So that's Harlan Ellison.
Jul. 30th, 2008 03:11 pmEver since the A.V. Club's fascinating two-part interview with the man, I decided to finally check out some Harlan Ellison. I remembered that my library had a collection of Ellison short stories read by the author himself, so I picked it up along with PARADISE LOST* and checked 'em out.
God damn.
Now, I'm sure the stories read on their own would still be great. I imagine I could have just read, say, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," and thinking, "I see why this is a classic, yeah," and I probably would have wrote "Laugh Track" off as amusing but lightweight and likely forgettable.
But Ellison isn't just reading these stories. He's performing them, and in a way no other writer I've ever heard has performed his or her work. He performs these like he knows every inch of them, inside and out, and stretches them to their limits with his energy and rhythm.
Have you ever listened to a piece of music that makes your body contort? More than bobbing your head to a beat, more than singing along, you find your head, neck, hands, etc, twisting and flying in an attempt to follow--to ride--the music. It's like composing a symphony, only backwards. Hopefully you know what I mean. I've had that happen before... but never with spoken word.
I've been describing Ellison's stories on tape as "Ray Bradbury as performed by George Carlin," and on "Laugh Track" especially, I'd throw a healthy dash of Denis Leary in there too. And it's music. It's pure music to my ears, head, neck, hands, wrists, fingers, every part that's as free as can be while I'm driving my car, listening to books on tape.
I'm almost done with "A Boy and His Dog," and while I'm fond of the movie (mainly for the ending), it doesn't quite capture the book's twisted metaphorical nature. Afterward, I'm gonna listen to these stories all over again, which I've never done with any book on tape before. Because seriously, as a performer and a storyteller, I could learn a hell of a lot from this man.
Between this, finishing Matheson's THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (incredible indeed!), and old-school EC Comics adaptations of Ray Bradbury short stories, I'm finally starting to catch up on my classic sci-fi. Definitely gonna get to Heinlein one of these days too.
*I figured listening to it would be easier than trying to read it. Ugh, barely got halfway through the first tape. Maybe next year. Maybe if it was actually performed, rather than dryly read. I wouldn't be able to get through even my favorite Shakespeare plays if it was read like this guy did.
... shit, to take it full circle, I'd pay good money to have Harlan Ellison read PARADISE LOST.
God damn.
Now, I'm sure the stories read on their own would still be great. I imagine I could have just read, say, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," and thinking, "I see why this is a classic, yeah," and I probably would have wrote "Laugh Track" off as amusing but lightweight and likely forgettable.
But Ellison isn't just reading these stories. He's performing them, and in a way no other writer I've ever heard has performed his or her work. He performs these like he knows every inch of them, inside and out, and stretches them to their limits with his energy and rhythm.
Have you ever listened to a piece of music that makes your body contort? More than bobbing your head to a beat, more than singing along, you find your head, neck, hands, etc, twisting and flying in an attempt to follow--to ride--the music. It's like composing a symphony, only backwards. Hopefully you know what I mean. I've had that happen before... but never with spoken word.
I've been describing Ellison's stories on tape as "Ray Bradbury as performed by George Carlin," and on "Laugh Track" especially, I'd throw a healthy dash of Denis Leary in there too. And it's music. It's pure music to my ears, head, neck, hands, wrists, fingers, every part that's as free as can be while I'm driving my car, listening to books on tape.
I'm almost done with "A Boy and His Dog," and while I'm fond of the movie (mainly for the ending), it doesn't quite capture the book's twisted metaphorical nature. Afterward, I'm gonna listen to these stories all over again, which I've never done with any book on tape before. Because seriously, as a performer and a storyteller, I could learn a hell of a lot from this man.
Between this, finishing Matheson's THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (incredible indeed!), and old-school EC Comics adaptations of Ray Bradbury short stories, I'm finally starting to catch up on my classic sci-fi. Definitely gonna get to Heinlein one of these days too.
*I figured listening to it would be easier than trying to read it. Ugh, barely got halfway through the first tape. Maybe next year. Maybe if it was actually performed, rather than dryly read. I wouldn't be able to get through even my favorite Shakespeare plays if it was read like this guy did.
... shit, to take it full circle, I'd pay good money to have Harlan Ellison read PARADISE LOST.
