Kurt Vile and John Agnello

We return today with the second installment of the Matador Revisionist History podcast, which pairs artists and collaborators to discuss a Matador album celebrating a noteworthy anniversary. This episode honors Kurt Vile’s eternal and undeniable classic, Smoke Ring For My Halo (2011), which celebrated its 10th birthday back in March.

Here, Kurt and producer John Agnello reminisce on the making of the record — setting the scene (“We were like the suburban Ramones,” says Kurt), geeking out, and hinting at the moment’s make-it-or-break-it pressures (“Better not f*%$ it up,” Kim Gordon told Agnello). Kurt and John both wind up using the word “magic” a lot and not without reason.