The song Kurt Vile wrote as an ode to Philadelphia
Kurt Vile makes music steeped in nostalgia. His low-key indie folk guitars, comforting country vocals, and psychedelic influences evoke a meditative state, reminiscing on life in small-town Americana. Vile’s eighth studio album, Bottle It In, follows this formula. One track, in particular, stems from his own nostalgia, forming an ode to his youth in Pennsylvania. ‘Loading Zones’ layers soft strums with intricate fingerpicking moments.
Lyrically, the track follows Vile bragging about his free parking rights in the city, singing, “It’s all the same when I’m out there driving around, all from zone to loading zone of my beautiful town, I park for free”. He later shared with Mojo that the song took influence from how he “could go to different stores and park in the loading zone, and how you have half an hour, sometimes less, but 20 minutes, no problem. Get whatever you want and then get out.”
When he explained the meaning behind the song to Genius, Vile expanded upon the song’s connection to Philadelphia specifically, dubbing it “my beautiful town”. He continued, “It’s where I’m from, and I know it like the back of my hand, and the cops are rarely gonna catch me.”
This claim is reflected in the accompanying music video, which follows Vile driving around the city, evading the police as he parks his bright red car in a series of restricted zones. When a cop hands him a parking ticket, he simply signs it, “To my biggest fan, Kurt Vile”, dotting the “i” with a star.
But the song pushes further into nostalgia and love for the city than evading parking rules in loading zones. In his early 20s, Vile lived in Fishtown, a neighbourhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before he got a car, the artist recalls walking by the suburb’s derelict warehouses at sunset on his way to work. Since then, he has received a key to the city, an honour which recognised his accomplishments in music.
This honour spurred Vile on to write the track. He told Genius: “When they gave me the key to the city, it literally said at the top, ‘By mayoral decree, Kurt Vile receives the Liberty Bell Award. Come see him at City Hall’, which was the most ultimate publicity stunt I could have ever pulled off. Thanks to all the people backing me.” The song reflects his growth from who he was when he lived in Philadelphia and is a token of appreciation for its lasting impact on him.
The track also shouts out Vile’s family in Philadelphia, as he explained: “It’s beautiful how much my family craves taking a bite out of the world and going out to see the world… pulling out of the muck and the insanity that is the world we live in.”
As the name suggests, ‘Loading Zones’ is about evading parking laws, but it’s primarily his nostalgia-fuelled love letter to his hometown and the people in it, reflecting on his journey from everyday resident to city keyholder.
Watch Kurt Vile evade the police in the video for ‘Loading Zones’ below.
