Kevin and Vincent

The Met recorded Kevin Bacon reading Van Gogh's Letters, for an exhibit of Van Gogh's drawings that's on until December 31 . Very gimmicky, to have an actor reading (did they consider going meta with Kelso or Fez?). Thing is, Kevin Bacon has a sexy voice and it's not too identifiable--not the voice that starts the brain envisioning Bacon standing at a mike. If George Clooney had done the recordings, or Ralph Fiennes, forget it; it would be too difficult to divorce their voices from their looks. Somebody might get aroused and then distracted.

Bacon's delivery is steady and subdued; it conjures a little bit of his lawyerly role in A Few Good Men. His vocal presence doesn't overwhelm the reading material.

Voice packs as much memory blueprint as smell, I think.