The Voices of the Evening News

On January 4, 2010 —  the first Monday of the new decade — Morgan Freeman became the voice of the CBS Evening News. The appointment of Mr. Freeman officially ushered in a new era of "familiar" and "reliable" names opening national newscasts. As observed by TV Newser, all three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) now use a celebrity to commence their evening news programs. Because we do a lot of auditory analysis around here, we've compiled each introduction for your listening and viewing enjoyment. So lean back on that swivel chair (but not too far, please), crank those speakers and press play — then let us know, which do you like best?

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Up in the Air's Quest for Coors

In less than a month — February 2 to be exact —  the nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be announced. This year’s competition is expected to be particularly intense, however some critics believe that the race for Best Picture will come down to James Cameron’s Avatar and Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. It’s the age-old "revolutionary technology" vs. “textured filmaking” battle to the death tale. 

I’ve seen each film and have my personal opinion but that’s not what this blog is about. In fairness to both, there is one crucial — and I’m willing to bet unnoticed — element that the Academy should consider before making a fully-informed Best Picture decision. It's for them I write this post to hopefully shed light moving forward on what I call Up in the Air's Budweiser Quest for Coors storyline.

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Guided by Subterranean Voices

It was 2AM on January 1st. I was speeding underground on the no. 2 subway line back from a party that said farewell to the year that was. As I struggled to keep myself awake, I suddenly heard a calming voice — two voices actually — that appeared to be guiding me home like a lighthouse or illuminated runway. 

These voices — a man’s and woman’s — seemed familiar but I wondered who they were or if they even existed. They usually said approximately the same phrases and used near perfect pronunciation with each sentence.

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Juke Vox Heroes: Neil Patrick Harris

Updated on Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 6:35PM by WViT

Welcome to the first post in what will be an occasional series called Juke Vox Heroes. This feature will identify an actor that has lent his or her vocal stylings to a surprising number of places and examine their vast canon of work.

I couldn’t think of a better actor to kick-off the series than the great Neil Patrick Harris. Born in Albuquerque NM, he burst on the scene in 1989 as the boy genius doctor Douglas “Doogie” Howser on the hit series Doogie Howser, MD. Now 36, Mr. Harris has since appeared in many film, television and Internet roles. Of course he can also be found weekly as as the dressed-to-the-nines womanizer Barney "Barnman" Stinson on CBS’ comedic tour-de-force, How I Met Your Mother.

Mr. Harris has conquered almost every medium imaginable (yes, even Twitter), this includes little known and extensive voice work in animated productions, video games and audio books.

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The Voices of Acura and Mercedes Duel on Broadway!

Last night I attended David Mamet’s fantastic play Race, staring David Alan Grier, James Spader, Richard Thomas and Kerry Washington. The show brought together four great actors in fiery production about race relations. The play is getting mixed reviews by critics but the "mainstream media" continues to leave out one astonishing detail: Race features the voices of two leading (and competing!) automobile manufacturers together on stage.

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Take the Celebrity Voiceover Quiz

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About this Site

Some people are born with natural talents like a photographic memory or an innate musical ability. Others are gifted in athletics, have brilliant minds in english, science, math or all of the above.

Early in life I learned that I had what seemed to be a completely random skill: the astute ability to identify voices in commercials, films, cartoons, narration, etc. While I would love to try and make a living using this talent, I've gradually come to grips with the fact that voice — let's call them "recognizers" — aren't really in demand these days (were they ever?). Regardless, I've decided to do something with this superpower — and maybe, just maybe, make the world a better place in the end.

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