David Berman (musician)
David Cloud Berman (born David Craig Berman; January 4, 1967 – August 7, 2019) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and poet. In 1989, he founded – and was the only constant member of – the indie rock band Silver Jews with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich.
David Berman
August 7, 2019 (aged 52)
- Musician
- singer
- cartoonist
- poet
- 1989–2009
- 2019
- Richard Berman (father)
Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
- Vocals
- guitar
With Malkmus he developed the simple country-rock sound that characterized the early lo-fi recordings of both Pavement and Silver Jews. He worked extensively on his abstract and autobiographical lyrics whose themes overlapped with his poetry, of which he only published one volume, Actual Air, in 1999, a period of significant substance abuse and emotional disorder that culminated in Berman attempting suicide in 2003. Afterward, he underwent rehabilitation, and engaged with Judaism. Alongside his wife Cassie Berman he toured for the first time, but soon dissolved the band.
He returned to music in the mid-2010s, in response to personal problems that occurred in his absence; he adopted a new stage name and released an eponymous album in July 2019, a month before he died by suicide. Purple Mountains was acclaimed by his dedicated following, whom Berman believed non-existent. He is regarded as a significant and influential indie rock cult figure.[1]
Artistry[edit]
Lyrics[edit]
Having given up on albums because he was unable to complete the lyrics, Berman spent most of his creative time working on the lyrics, to the point of obsession; Koretzky reportedly saw Berman spend months working on a single line.[127] Berman's process involved considering his audience's understanding; he juxtaposed his abstract lyrics with simple melodies and rhyme schemes.[128] He recalled a disconnect to his audience—"an indie rock crowd"—while writing Bright Flight due to the dysfunctional lives of his associates. Berman deemed all of this a "major problem".[129] He had a didactic approach with Tanglewood Numbers and Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, wanting to give "instructions" on forgoing depression with the former.[130] Mark Richardson, writing for Pitchfork, and Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times, noted Berman's proficiency for minimalist compression.[131]
Berman's songs often use country music tropes and his themes tend to focus on music, nature, beauty, disconnection, drugs, sports, America and god.[132] An influence on his writing, Berman thought highly of America although hoped for a "redemption".[133] His artistic perception of America has been noted as idiosyncratic, narrow and poignant,[134] while forlornness often arose as humor.[135] Religion is a recurring element in Silver Jews albums, while Purple Mountains evokes Jewish mysticism.[136]
From Bright Flight onwards, his lyrics became more autobiographical, in a dramatic framework, and he came to view the preceding works as "make-believe"; on Tanglewood Numbers he documented his struggle with substance abuse.[137] Roberts called Purple Mountains "nearly as autobiographical as a memoir".[138] Berman discussed his isolation, divorce—Silver Jews songs about Cassie having been plentiful—and death, which had a particular presence.[139] By this point, his music had less humor, misdirection, irony or embellishment; he was interested in being direct.[140]
On the Silver Jews albums, Berman represented his alienation via substitutes, his characters composed of traits originating from either real-life people, fictional characters or archetypes.[141] His fictional narratives often start relatively straightforwardly and then become bizarre; the songs of American Water conjure an "absurdist landscape" and "grow more obtuse in proportion to tunefulness".[142] His stories present a literary aesthetic that is "equal parts rural shack and gothic zen" and his characters often reside in "half-empty country-and-western bars and backwater burgs".[143]
Having found a wider audience with Actual Air, Berman's lyrics were held to a higher standard; and he has been praised for diverging from his peers.[144] His lyrics have been credited as being influential for indie rock and other musicians.[145] Pitchfork deemed him one of "the most influential" musicians of the quarter-century following the publication's launch in 1996.[146]
Sound[edit]
Silver Jews' early work is defined by an ultra lo-fi aesthetic, starting as ostensibly "avant-gardist" within the framework of "traditional" pop songs.[147] Their work before Starlite Walker is "regarded as the lowest fidelity recordings of the first lo-fi movement".[148] The changing line-up influenced the sound, Berman's musical approach became simplified and the band moved further towards a country sound; Purple Mountains eschewed the previous punk rock strand.[149] Purple Mountains is Berman's most direct, conventional album, said Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic, although all of Berman's discography is relatively conventional.[150] Berman's vocal delivery has been identified as brusque, dry and mostly uninflected—his register was described as baritone and he would concurrently sing and speak.[151] Reviewing Starlite Walker for The Guardian, Jonathan Romney described Berman's approach as "whiny, archetypally slackerish" with "vaguely country inflections"—the early country aspects being mostly humorous.[152]
Silver Jews' songs were often sparse, usually with three or four chords, of novice difficulty.[153] Berman understood his musical abilities were limited, the lo-fi sound initially obscuring his abilities.[154] For a while, he wondered as to why he was without natural talent, eventually renouncing his creative insecurity and becoming assertive in his design.[155]