David Berman in Silver Jews

V DJ grafitih se bomo tokrat posvetili liku in delu pesnika in glasbenika Davida Bermana, ustanovitelju zasedb Silver Jews in Purple Mountains. 4. 1. 1967–7. 8. 2019.

Old San Francisco, San Francisco B.C
I lived with my true love and she lived with me
"Romance is the douche of the bourgeoisie"
Was the very first thing she imparted to me
We had sarcastic hair, we used lewd pseudonyms
We got a lot of stares on the street back then

Since her dad, a local barber, had been beaten to death
She had become a vocal martyr in the vegan press
The cops had failed, they couldn't catch a bus
They were looking for a male with a bad hair cut
Enter tumbleweed, exit love
And our affaire d'amour was set on self-destruct

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Half of my wardrobe has been provided by David. For someone who didn’t like to leave the house very much, he sure was a well-dressed man. I’ve got suits, boots, sweaters, T-shirts, Western shirts, dress shirts, sneakers and even his Pierre Cardin tuxedo in my closet. He had a good method of hair grooming I often put into practice today. It’s called “baking.” After you get out of the shower, comb your hair and put a tight-fitting baseball cap on and let it “bake” for 30 minutes until it’s dry. Remove cap and your hair will be done.

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Back in 2006, when my friends and I were running Grand Palace Records in Murfreesboro, Berman would come into the store. He was in the early stages of sobriety and had joined the Big Brothers program, mentoring some wayward kid from Rutherford County. It was an awkward pairing: David, tall and erudite; the kid short, scrappy and, well, very Rutherford County. David walked this young ruffian through our tiny store, explaining the history of rock ’n’ roll with more kindness and patience than anyone has ever used to explain anything in a record store. 

Eventually, he landed on Dinosaur Jr’s You’re Living All Over Me, explaining the record’s impact with elegance and affection. And then he bought the kid the record, even though the kid didn’t have a turntable. He said something to the effect of "You’ll have it when you need it." This is the David Berman that I hear when I listen to Purple Mountains: A kind, beautiful soul that had a lot of wisdom to share, a clever mind with humanity to spare. He will be missed.