{"id":798330,"date":"2019-08-07T17:14:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T23:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=868824"},"modified":"2019-08-07T17:14:33","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T23:14:33","slug":"silver-jews-david-berman-dead-at-52","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/silver-jews-david-berman-dead-at-52\/","title":{"rendered":"Silver Jews\u2019 David Berman Dead at 52"},"content":{"rendered":"
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David Berman, the singer-songwriter best known for leading the long-running band Silver Jews, died Wednesday at the age of 52. Drag City, the Chicago record label that has released all of the group\u2019s albums dating back to 1994\u2019s Starlite Walker<\/em>, confirmed the musician\u2019s death. The label did not immediately reveal the cause of death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more sorry to tell you this. David Berman passed away earlier today,\u201d the label wrote in a statement<\/a>. \u201cA great friend and one of the most inspiring individuals we\u2019ve ever known is gone. Rest easy, David.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berman formed Silver Jews in 1989 with Malkmus and another future Pavement member, Bob Nastanovich. Starting with Starlite Walker<\/em>, the group released six acclaimed albums, including 1996\u2019s The Natural Bridge,<\/em> 2001\u2019s Bright Flight, <\/em>and 2005\u2019s Tanglewood Numbers<\/em>. The band released their last album, 2008\u2019s Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, <\/em>before Berman retired from making music. Of 1998\u2019s American Water<\/em>, Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2018s Rob Sheffield wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s torture to pick just one highlight from such a flawless album.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or Muckraking,\u201d Berman wrote on Drag City\u2019s message board<\/a> before his final Silver Jews show in 2009. \u201cI\u2019ve got to move on. Can\u2019t be like all the careerists doncha know. I\u2019m forty two and I know what to do. I\u2019m a writer, see? \u2026 I always said we would stop before we got bad. If I continue to record I might accidentally write the answer song to [R.E.M.\u2019s] \u2018Shiny Happy People.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Berman also revealed \u201cmy gravest secret. Worse than suicide, worse than crack addiction\u201d: His father, former lobbyist Richard Berman. The two had been estranged for years over the elder\u2019s work with, in part, the gun and alcohol industry<\/p>\n

In July, Berman, called a \u201cliterary indie rock great\u201d by Rolling Stone<\/em>, released his first album in 11 years with the new project Purple Mountains. \u201cWhat follows is a uniquely grizzly breakup album, depressed but resiliently clinging to a desire to see what possibilities might lurk past the next heartache,\u201d wrote Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2018s Jon Dolan. \u201cIt\u2019s emotionally bare-knuckled.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cult hero due to his poetic lyrics and droll delivery, Berman was an early collaborator of future Pavement leader Stephen Malkmus and a fixture on Drag City as well as a published author.<\/p>\n

This story is developing<\/em><\/p>\n

Silver Jews \u2013 \u201cRandom Rules\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n