Immediately I was shocked by the tone of the audio recording. When I originally read it, I read it in a matter-of-fact tone, but the audio version is much more ominous thanks to the gravely, deep sound of the speakers voice combined with the repetitive beat and melancholy trumpet sounds. With this difference in tone, I also notice specific details more. The specific imagery, like chickens, burning leaves, erotic glances, and black stockings, are emphasized by the silences the speaker leaves and the accent sounds that either overlapped or followed the words. Near the end when he says the paragraphs about being a victim of his own manhood, the lack of background sound makes the paragraph seem incredibly long even though it is just a small portion of the work. I got such a different sense of this work through the audio than through reading it. And I must say, I enjoyed listening to it much more. I was more engaged and intrigued by the story as a whole and almost concerned with what would happen next.
Also, I love Ira Glass's voice.
