Stephen Malkmus, J Mascis, Red Sox Organist Mourn Silver Jews’ David Berman
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News of the sudden death of David Berman, of beloved indie rock band The Silver Jews and, more recently, Purple Mountains, hit the music community hard.
Berman started making music while living in Hoboken, N.J., with college friends Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Malkmus went on to form the indie rock group Pavement, but continued playing with Silver Jews, which had a number of different musicians over the years.
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While the noted poet and songwriter was notoriously elusive, rarely performed live or gave interviews, Berman’s music — and especially his lyrics — resonated with fans who first discovered him via Silver Jews. The band went on to release six studio albums between 1994 and 2008. After taking a break from music for several years, Berman’s latest project Purple Mountains released an album on July 12.
Chicago label Drag City called him “a great friend and one of the most inspiring individuals we’ve ever known.”
Among the admirers, fellow musicians and media personalities to express their grief in the hours after news of Berman’s death broke were J Mascis, Superchunk, Josh Ritter, El-P and Marc Maron. Also honoring Berman was Red Sox organist Josh Kantor, who tweeted that he played the Silver Jews’ “The Wild Kindness” at Boston’s Fenway during the 10th inning. Former bandmate Malkmus wrote, “He was a one of a kinder.”
John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats tweeted a brief message calling Berman “the best of … my generation of songwriters” and then tweeted a long string of lyrics.
On Thursday night in New York, filmmaker Lance Bangs will hold a “Permissionless reading of the work of David Berman” outside the Met Breuer Museum at 7 p.m. Described as “an informal memorial gesture,” attendees are encouraged to “spread the word, bring copies of David’s writing, let me know if you would like to read anything, let me know if there are people I should reach out to, and check on your friends.” The invite can be found on Facebook.
Read their messages below:
I didn’t know about my friend DCB when I wrote this must have been in the air .His death is fucking dark ..depression is crippling.. he was a one of a kinder the songs he wrote were his main passion esp at the end. Hope death equals peace cuz he could sure use it
— Stephen malkmus (@dronecoma) August 8, 2019
Of, loosely, my generation of songwriters, the best of us. This loss is devastating. Rest easy, fellow traveler. https://t.co/6EqPLrDpXM
— The Mountain Goats (@mountain_goats) August 7, 2019
A post shared by CAT POWER (@catpowerofficial) on Aug 7, 2019 at 6:59pm PDT
Hurts that David Berman was suffering so much. He brought me and I’m sure all of you so much joy. Twisted eccentricities of the suburbs were psychedelic cartoons in his lyrics. Sad day. It’s raining in NYC.
— Ryley walker (@ryleywalker) August 8, 2019
A post shared by Kurt Vile (@kurtvile) on Aug 7, 2019 at 8:36pm PDT
Fenway organ, 10th inning: Silver Jews, "The Wild Kindness."
— Josh Kantor (@jtkantor) August 8, 2019
Fuck. Goddamnit. RIP David Berman. One of the great tortured poetic souls is gone. A master of beautiful darkness.
— marc maron (@marcmaron) August 8, 2019
terrible terrible news about david berman. will honor him on the air tomorrow on xmu. my condolences to his extended musical family. 💔 #RIP
— Jenny Eliscu (@jennylsq) August 7, 2019
“I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence.” David Berman, you shocked me with the beauty of your language and vision. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
— Josh Ritter (@joshritter) August 7, 2019
If you are in distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to be connected to a certified crisis center near you.
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