June 15, 2026 Issue

Nick Paumgarten, in his “Talk” story “Fanboy,” in this week’s issue, describes the musician Kurt Vile:

He was sitting in a corner of Old Rabbit Club, a bar on MacDougal Street, drinking a non-alcoholic beer. He had on a Waylon Jennings T-shirt under a red plaid shirt, and an MF Doom baseball cap that contained a cascade of curly hair that Vile has a tendency to hide behind. A beer-menu lamplight suggested that the color of his Chuck Taylors was lavender. He was hanging out late (a) to make the trip down the turnpike at midnight (“Musicians know, it’s an easy shot late at night—it’s like teleportation”) and (b) to catch another band’s gig at Le Poisson Rouge.

That’s an inspired passage! Four swift, vivid, specific sentences and – voilà! – Vile springs to life. Paumgarten is a great writer.