Kurt’s a shoegazer. He hides behind his hair. He’s painfully modest and self-effacing. He’s not so much disaffected as simply shy, I think. Plus, he’s a Philly guy. You don’t walk around this city beaming at people. It’s not what’s done. So, he never cracks a smile in this video and looks like he’d rather be a million miles away. That’s his thing! He’s a musician, damnit. Not an entertainer. Besides, it’s fitting, as he’s performing the role of a decadent and bored king, surrounded by obsequious supplicants. It’s a funny commentary on the current state of rock stardom, such as it is, or at least as it is Philly style. Here’s the second video from his latest album. Lynn and I replied by text to be in the video but the KV parade had reached capacity. Have a look.

Bonus:  Seeking Kurt Vile!

E-Verser Martha writes in with a picture and a story of a man who may or may not be a young Kurt Vile. 

Back in 1997, I lived in a row-house at 42nd and Pine in West Philly for about five months.  My housemates were in assorted punk bands.  It was a wild house, and most of my memories from those days are a bit blurry.  One of my housemates was a guy named Andy who was from Landsdowne.  Sometimes on weekends, this young kid, who was friends with Andy, would hang out at our house.  I think he was still in high school, and I think his name was Kurt. I loved talking to him about music and life. Film (and getting it developed) was a little bit of a luxury back in those days, but I wanted to take a picture of him because he was one of those of those people I didn’t want to forget.  He was intelligent, witty, and kind of quiet, which was a breath of fresh air in a beer soaked punk rock house. Here is the comparison picture, then and now. Is it Kurt Vile?

I became a Kurt Vile fan the first time I heard one of his songs about two years ago.  The more I saw images of KV, I couldn’t help but think back to that kid. I rifled through my shoe box of old random photos to find the snapshot I took all those years ago. I don’t know if this is a young Kurt Vile, but the resemblance is striking. I hope it is, because the person I met rocked, and I always hoped he would have a great life.