IVIV (0) Vicetube

[Dave Monroe]

Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon - 9781594202247

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWKPdDk0_U

Tuesday, Aug 04
Thomas Pynchon Speaks?

Penguin Press released a book trailer for Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent
Vice" today, a Los Angeles joyride narrated by a gruff private
detective character. Fans around the Internet have one question about
this mysterious reader: Did Pynchon narrate the video?

GalleyCat asked Penguin Press about the narrator, receiving a sly "no
comment" in response. We dug a little deeper, uncovering a
repeatedly-looped YouTube copy of the author's cameo on The Simpsons.
Click away and decide for yourself...

The novel has been burning up the Internets today--ranked #1 in the
"Mystery" category on the Amazon bestseller charts. Wired magazine
built an excellent map of Pynchon's Los Angeles and GalleyCat unveiled
a video essay about the novel, full of vintage video from 1970s
California.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/buzzpr/thomas_pynchon_speaks_123459.asp

The Wall Street Journal
August 11, 2009, 12:01 PM ET

Yup, It’s Him: A Pynchon Mystery Solved

Last Tuesday, long-suffering fans of the reclusive writer Thomas
Pynchon received a double gift. Pynchon’s latest book, “Inherent
Vice,” a stoned-out detective story set in early-‘70s L.A., was
released by Penguin Press (read the Journal’s review). And to promote
it, the publisher put out a cool video trailer featuring a narrator
whose slow, lazy cadence sounds suspiciously like that of Pynchon’s,
as evidenced by a guest appearance on “The Simpsons” and this clip
from what appears to be a German TV spot. Inquiries by GalleyCat and
others as to whether Pynchon is the guy channeling the novel’s main
character, beach bum private eye Doc Sportello, have been met with “no
comment” from Penguin Press and the video’s producers, Meerkat Media.
And, of course, the man himself is mum (Would Pynchon fans expect
anything else?).

In an effort to solve the mystery, Speakeasy did a little sleuthing
and called Ed Primeau, a Michigan-based sound engineer and voice
identification expert. Like handwriting analysis, voice identification
is an inexact science, often used by law enforcement to rule out a
suspect rather than to provide a 100% clear-cut ID. Still, people have
unique vocal timbres and deliveries, especially Pynchon, who sounds
like actor John Astin (i.e. Gomez Addams from the old TV show), mixed
with a Midwest corn farmer, with a dollop of aging stoner.

So is it possible to rule out the man in the “Inherent Vice” trailer
as being the same guy in the Simpsons episode and German TV clip? Not
at all, according to Primeau. In fact, he says, based on a preliminary
analysis the speech pattern and inflection is “virtually identical” in
all three clips. “It’s a very unique style of delivery,” Primeau says.
“It’s very up-and-down. He’ll hit these accented spots every few
words. You know the TV show “Dragnet,” how Joe Friday talked? It’s the
opposite of that.”

We should point out Primeau is an unbiased witness, having never read
Pynchon (“I don’t know this guy but it looks like he has some history
as an author,” he said). Nevertheless, if he hasn’t been taken by the
man’s work, Primeau is intrigued by his voice, which he describes as
“a tobacco-driven soft rasp.”

Primeau’s conclusion: “Beyond a reasonable degree of professional
certainty, I believe these voices were delivered by the same person.”
Confronted with Primeau’s findings, Tracy Locke, a publicist at
Penguin, came clean and admitted, “It is, in fact, Thomas Pynchon
doing the narration.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/08/11/pynchon-revealed/
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/authors/thomas_pynchon_confirmed_as_book_trailer_narrator_124073.asp?c=rss

Inherent Vice: A Teaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUKbA_PRmSc