Shahbaz Khan

They were crazily verbal, crazily charismatic, crazy with talent. They sang songs that were parodic and brilliant, which they’d written themselves and which were like a private language: I memorized them, as I would a record by The Residents or Frank Zappa.

These girls blew hot, and were often mockingly affectionate or even briefly lusty in my direction, but in their willingness to show disdain, to crush unworthiness like a bug, they were fundamentally cool, cool, cool.

Words by Jonathan Lethem
Photo by James Ramos