hunter harris is waiting for you to bring up nicole kidman

Welcome to mixed feelings’ Hyperspecific, a profile series of increasingly intimate questions in which we ask our favorite artists, scientists, musicians, and the like to unveil their innermost selves — their weird existential musings.

If anyone excels at hyperspecificity, it’s Hunter Harris. Her head is so full of stray pop culture that I once wondered if she had used sonar on the depths of my brain when we ran into each other at a book party and quoted the exact same scene from You’ve Got Mail about caviar being a “garnish” to each other.

Hunter is a writer with many accolades, from profiling the endlessly quotable, world-famous musician, Usher, in Las Vegas, to the time she flew to Italy and bore witness to the taping (on film!) of the momentous season three finale of Succession. But, of them all, one piece in particular plays on a loop in my head — a highly-specific deep read of Taylor Swift’s song “Seven” from Folklore for her newsletter Hung Up.

Hunter notices things you don’t. It’s that plain and simple, which is why she makes for the perfect guest on Hyperspecific.

art by Logan Tsugita.

SET I

1. Something you’re always hoping people will bring up in conversation when you first meet. Nicole Kidman starred in two movies released in 2004: The Stepford Wives and Birth. Simply no one else was doing it like her.

2. A positive trait people always tell you you have. I’ve successfully convinced a lot of people that I am very patient, which means that I am good at hiding how incredibly impatient I am.

3. One destructive trait you know you possess and wish you didn’t. If I am hungry…ma’am…I will drown this room in negativity until I’m fed.

4. If a bodega were to name a dish after you, what would it be? (Be specific.) A special “Hunt Mix,” which would just be Gardettos without the brown chips.

5. One song that makes you feel understood. “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. 

6. Something you think is wildly underrated. Flo Milli raps circles around people in the industry — women and men — twice her age.

SET II

1. A movie you watch when you want to self-soothe. Postcards From The Edge if I’m in the right and Closer if I’m in the wrong.

2. Your problematic fave artist/actor/musician (and why). I do not claim th*t m*n in any way shape or form but Husbands and Wives for the Judy Davis scenes.

3. A line from a TV show/film that plays on a loop in your head. God, literally so many that I write a column about this. But right now, because it’s summertime, Scottie Pippen saying “I’m not gonna fuck my summer up.”

4. One time you laughed so hard you cried. The Bat Mitzvah episode of Pen15.

5. One time you cried so hard you laughed. At the afterparty of my friends’ wedding in Jackson Hole, I was singing along to “Whatever You Like” by T.I. … I don’t know how to explain it … the lyrics were just really beautiful and hitting for me after three drinks and two ring pops.

6. Random thing you hate so much for no apparent reason. Everything I hate is for good reason.

SET III

1. What’s an anecdote you usually tell to describe how you were as a kid? When I was little I’d perform Patti LaBelle songs on the fireplace for my parents. That honestly kinda says it all.

2. What is your low-key hell and actual heaven? Low-key hell is the way people crowd the flight gate just before their boarding group is being called. Am I cutting you or are you cutting me? Actual heaven is having my face massaged during a facial.

3. The age you most loved being and the age you’re most looking forward to. Being 17 was magic. I’m always dreading and looking forward to whatever age I’m turning in equal measure.

4. How you exit a party. With my phone in hand, figuring out how I’m getting home.

5. How you wanna go. Whatever happens happens, as long as it doesn’t make me the subject of a true crime podcast.