Tuesday, September 2, 2008

R. Kelly sings Kathy Acker




I watched R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" for the first time on Saturday night at BB and AW's house and now a strange thing is happening:  when I sit down to read, and last night it was Kathy Acker's Great Expectations, the usual reading voice that resounds in my head and makes me a slow reader has been replaced by R. Kelly singing the text to the tune of "Trapped in the Closet".  Imagine:

This:  "I knew there could be no way I would live with a man because, while I desperately needed total affection, I wasn't willing to give up my desires which is what men want and I couldn't trust.  The men who were part of my life weren't really part of my life:  Clifford who I hated and the delivery boys who were weaklings..."

or even better:  "Author:  Huh?  What rare discourse are you fall'n upon, ha?  Ha' you found any friend here, that you are so free?  Away rogue, it's come to a fine degree in these spectacles when such a youth as you pretend to a judgement."

Unlikely pairing or genius mash-up?  You decide.

5 comments:

JC said...

R.'s voice is to'ally the narrator of my thoughts.

I'm always like,
"I'm-gonna-be-all-up-in-dat-busted-ass-kitchen-with-dat-peanut-butter-and-jelly-and-i'm-gonna-make-a sand-WICH!"

I'm cool with it until at the sight of 12 year old girls my brain starts singing, "Come-over-here-girl-I-gots-ta-pee-pee-all-over-you-bay-bay!"

Then I'll be sorta bummed. Sorta.

Maxwell said...

midget midget midget (echo)

Stanley Bishop Burhans said...

If only you could reproduce this effect for the rest of us. I want to hear it. Unfortunately, I'm betting you can't actually sing like R. Kelly; how does that man make a falsetto so macho?

Ridiculous Human Things said...

Next time I see you, I'll give it a shot. In the meantime, try watching Trapped in the Closet and experimenting with different texts. I bet you the voice will come spontaneously.

On another note, has anyone had the experience of various other voices popping into your head while reading? I think the typical voice-over is that of a British man's. That guy has been reading Moby Dick over my shoulder lately. I think my British man wears a bushy mustache, tweed and has a bit of a belly.

JC said...

when I read Chaucer I hear the voice of Scrooge McDuck from Ducktales reading aloud.