January 31, 2009.
Cumberland Caverns.
The final Silver Jews performance.
Posts Tagged ‘David Berman’
Awesome Music Video Postings of 2009: #10
February 2, 2009“Hey boy, supper’s on me…our record just went aluminum”
January 28, 2009Just this last Friday, one of the most significant bands that played a major part in the shaping of my musical tastes as I grew older, Silver Jews, officially called it quits. David Berman is one of the few true poets among today’s songwriters, setting himself aside from the rest with a vision all his own. They spent a good fifteen years making terrific music, and only since 2006 had they played live and went on tours. Whatever they were doing, it was always different and worthy of anticipation. Silver Jews, you will be missed. At least you left us with three of the greatest albums of the last 20 years (The Natural Bridge, Bright Flight, and American Water, respectively).
I was lucky enough to see them not once – but twice – during their short time as a touring band. The most recent concert I attended from them was just this last October at Birdy’s in Indianapolis (which Berman proclaimed as their 101st live performance), this time as a more seasoned and comfortable rock outfit, settling into the new sounds of their latest record, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. However, I am posting a video from the very first time I saw them, on April 14, 2006, at The Bluebird in Bloomington. Toward the beginning of their set, Berman had asked the audience to forgive their faults, for it was only their 13th or 14th time playing together in front of a real crowd. It was about as real and flaw-filled as a concert could get, and it was such a time-capsuled moment to see a brilliant artist perform. I will never forget it.
My 50 Favorite Albums of 2008: #44
December 2, 2008Number 44
Cementing himself as one of my absolute favorite songwriters since first hearing his Silver Jews shortly after the 2001 release of their Bright Flight, David C. Berman and ever-shifting company have created some of the best, most pure music of the last 15 years (The Natural Bridge is in my 10 favorite records ever, period). Given the amount of time he makes his loyal fans wait between records – this time nearly 3 full years – it’s fair to say that it’s a time for celebration whenever the Silver Jews (or Joos, as the faithful so frequently call them) are set to unveil a new LP. Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is the title of the newest addition to their Drag City releases, and it continues to expand on new, more pristine avenues of production that they started to tinker with on 2005’s Tanglewood Numbers. I’ve never thought about the pro’s and con’s of a David Berman-created release so much like I have with Lookout Mountain, because there just wasn’t so much to fuss about on previous releases. Sure, Tanglewood Numbers had its less-than-outstanding moments, but that’s only because at first I was trying to make it live up to the brilliance of prior masterpieces in their canon. That album has stood the test of time and run-thru’s, coming out as a more than enjoyable stand-alone record. But there is something strangely off about bits and pieces of Lookout, and that’s almost solely due to the odd production choices on more than a couple of the tracks. Berman’s lyrics, along with his own singular way of telling them, calls for nothing too courageous when it comes to the thought into production, and it seems like a boundary was crossed a few times in the sharpening of this record’s edges. I don’t want to knock this album anymore, though, because it is ultimately one that I found myself listening to a lot in 2008, because in the end, it still remains a set of songs that are seeping with memorable line after memorable line. Plus, how could I not add the album that features Berman at his career-happiest, playing with a big lineup that seems to be a set band, including his wife Cassie, all with he found himself embarking on his first-ever worldwide tour with. Long live the Joos.
1.What Is Not But Could Be If
2.Aloyisius, Bluegrass Drummer
3.Suffering Jukebox
4.My Pillow Is the Threshold
5.Strange Victory, Strange Defeat
6.Open Field
7.San Francisco, B.C.
8.Candy Jail
9.Party Barge
10.We Could Be Looking For the Same Thing
14 Favorite SILVER JEWS Songs – A Comparison of Lists!
May 10, 2008Today I was thinking about David Berman and his incomparable writing, a lot. I remembered more than I have in a long time just how appreciative and lucky I have been to know of the Silver Jews for around 7 years now. I still remember it like it was yesterday, spending my Christmas money at the local Best Buy in 2001, not sure of what albums to nab, stumbling across an intriguing CD cover called Bright Flight. The name of the band caused me to chuckle a bit and I was interested enough to pick it up and take a look. When I saw some of the track names, including “Horseleg Swastikas” and “I Remember Me”, I literally burst out into laughter, people all around me leafing through the latest Nickelback CD’s that were popular at the time and staring at me. I had never heard of the band at the time, so I initially assumed the group was some sort of joke that made comedic recordings. I bought the album based on the design and names alone, listened to it through over the next couple of months, not digging into it as deep as I could, just laughing my ass off. I was 17 years old at the time so it would really be about six months to a full year before my music tastes made it to the true lyric appreciation stage. After that time had passed and I was viewing music in a different way, I revisited Silver Jews and the Bright Flight record which I owned, and fell in love with the genius of Berman’s words. “I wish they didn’t set mirrors behind a bar, because I can’t stand to look at my face when I don’t know where you are.” I love this band.
Earlier today I made it my personal mission to create my favorite songs from this band, but it couldn’t be the expected top 10 choices. I randomly decided on making a top 14, for some reason it felt right. I have asked other Jews lovers, my friends Corey and Elissa, to join in and add their lists. They humbly accepted my invitation. Without further ramblings from myself, here are our 14 favorite Silver Jews songs…
ELISSA’s 14 Favorite Silver Jews Songs
1.Pretty Eyes
2.Room Games and Diamond Rain
3.Pet Politics
4.The Frontier Index
5.Ballad of Reverend War Character
6.Horseleg Swastikas
7.Slow Education
8.Black and Brown Blues
9.Tennessee
10.Dallas
11.New Orleans
12.I Remember Me
13.I’m Gonna Love the Hell Out of You
14.Trains Across the Sea
COREY’s 14 Favorite Silver Jews Songs
1.Black and Brown Blues
2.Trains Across the Sea
3.How Can I Love You (If You Won’t Lie Down)
4.Pretty Eyes
5.Random Rules
6.I’m Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You
7.I Remember Me
8.Living Waters
9.Tennesse
10.Advice to the Graduate
11.Room Games and Diamond Rain
12.K-Hole
13.Blue Arrangements
14.Inside the Golden Days of Missing You
My 14 Favorite Silver Jews Songs
1.Death of an Heir of Sorrows
2.Pretty Eyes
3.Slow Education
4.Tennessee
5.How To Rent A Room
6.Dallas
7.Random Rules
8.Friday Night Fever
9.I Remember Me
10.Room Games and Diamond Rain
11.New Orleans
12.The Frontier Index
13.Long Long Gone
14.Sleeping is the Only Love
BONUS LIST
Our Favorite Silver Jews Albums
Elissa
1.The Natural Bridge
2.Bright Flight
3.American Water
4.Starlite Walker
5.Tanglewood Numbers
Corey
1.The Natural Bridge
2.American Water
3.Bright Flight
4.Tanglewood Numbers
5.Starlite Walker
Andy
1.The Natural Bridge
2.Bright Flight
3.American Water
4.Starlite Walker
5.Tanglewood Numbers
FERGUSON REVIEWS 