“J Mascis put this guitar into my hands. He went to some store and the guy was trying to peddle this Jazzmaster, and J has so many of ’em…” Kurt Vile on meeting Neil Young, his prized vintage offset and why he prefers dead strings

Kurt Vile of Kurt Vile and The Violators performs on stage at The Queen's Hall on June 21, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

It’s a dreary April afternoon, and we’re getting ready to talk to slacker indie hero Kurt Vile about his new record, Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me. The lead single, Chance to Bleed, begs to be blared from a car stereo at dusk on a humid August night.

Here in Michigan, a few 70-degree days in March had us hopeful we could place ourselves in Vile’s snapshot of Philly summers by taking the call from our back porch. But with grey skies and temperatures back in the mid-40s, we opt for the living room – a space mostly commandeered by this writer’s one-year-old daughter.