Silver Jews: All My Favorite Singers Couldn't Sing

New To Me

David Berman of Silver Jews.

I didn't really discover Silver Jews; I more or less devoured them over 48 hours one cold winter weekend in '05. Feasted on 3 albums in one sitting and have been hooked ever since. It was no one's fault but mine that I was late to the game as I had heard their name bantered about in knowing circles for a few years but sometimes we have to get to things in our own time.

My delay in discovery was based on stereotypes (which hold us back from all kinds of things!). Human nature often leads us to pre-judge that which is new or foreign to us and I had a whole list going.  First, the name put me off and conjured up sounds in my head that scared me. Second, whenever their name came up there were instant high fives  by the guys followed by a ferocious level of  banter about the merits of every album, song, and lyric. It was clearly a boys club I didn't belong to.Too inside for me...too much testosterone.

But then I got a few kicks in the butt that pushed me over the edge. The first came when I mistakenly credited Dean Wareham of Luna for the killer lyrics on "Random Rules" which he covers on L'Adventura. Wrong. Written by David Berman from Silver Jews. The second came after listening to a friend's playlist that had this amazing instrumental track that I must have played 10 times in a row. The Track was "Night Society" but there was no band name listed. I called. Silver Jews. Damn.

Go immediately to Tower Records and buy 3 albums at once as your penance and begin to feast on one of the coolest bands in the known universe.

Vitals:

Band Members:

Silver Jews were originally mis-dubbed a side project of Pavement, based on the inclusion of Stephen Malkmus but the band actually pre dates Pavement and originally inlcuded Berman, Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Malkmus has come in and out of the band over the years and their latest effort, Tanglewood Numbers includes all three and also features Berman's wife Cassie on vocals and guitar and Will Oldham, among others.

Conceived:

The band was originally concieved in 1989 as Ectoslavia when the three played together while attending The University of Virginia. After moving to New York, they changed their name to Silver Jews based on the slang term for blond-haired Jewish People.

Roots:

Berman was born in Williamsburg, Va but grew up in Ohio and Dallas, Tx. He's lived in Nashville since 1999 after several years in Louisville, KY where he met his wife, singer/songwriter/guitarist Cassie Marrett.

Sound & Sounds Like:

Actually, they sound like your favorite dive bar: dark, intimate, and contained but with the feeling that at any minute, things could get really out of hand; just as they have in Berman's own life.

The music itself straddles the line between alternative country and the Velvet Underground but with a decidedly American twist. Think Lou Reed meets Nick Cave somewhere deep down in the rabbit hole. When it veres into country, it's country as a parody of country  as in the hilarious song, "Honk If you're Lonely Tonight".  

And then there is Berman's voice!  There's a line from the song "We Are Real" from American Water: "Like a message broadcast from an overpass, all my favorite singers couldn't sing."

And David Berman almost certainly fits that bill. His voice can sound flat and droning in the most delightfully infectious way but like Dylan and Waits, the voice is the instrument of the sound.  And on the Silver Jews albums where Malkmus plays lead guitar, the sound is as tight and compelling as any band out there.

But it is Berman's ability to turn a poetic phrase that will suck you in as a life long fan. His lyrics are pure magic as in this gem from "People" on American Water:

People ask people to watch their scotch.
People send people up to the moon.
When they return, well there isn't much.
People be careful not to crest too soon.

Nonsequitors buoyed up by brilliant sounds that somehow fit precisely together, or as Berman himself said, "I see the music as a pedestal for the stories in the songs."  And what stories they are!!

Bar Talk:

Bar talk is supposed to provide fun little tidbits about bands and artists that you can throw around at cocktail parties so we are going to stay away from some of the more intense points of interest regarding David Beman's life and demons. If you are into that kind of thing, I'm sure you can hunt it down on your own. So here's the cool stuff:

•He has a master's degree in creative writing
•He has a very well regarded book of poetry called Thin Air
•Berman and Malkmus used to work as security guards at The Whitney Museum in New York to pay the rent in the early years.
•Malkmus reportedly broke up Pavement after he finished recording American Water with Silver Jews because he thought it was so much better than Pavement's recent efforts.
•The trio of Berman, Malkmus and Nastanovich used to write songs and then  play them as messages on the phone machines of friends.
•Silver Jews has never toured...until NOW. They just completed their first ever US tour with 14 cities in the U.S. as well as London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. They are also scheduled to play the Pitchfork Music festival in Chicago on July 29th, '06

Essential:

In my opinion American Water is a masterpiece so start there. However, there are six Silver Jews albums and all are worth your $10.00.

The latest, Tanglewood Numbers  is a bit of a departure but a welcome one. Some say that it is more of a rock album but I think it sounds different because there are so many more people involved- more guitars, more instruments and many more interesting musical layers.

This album has grown on me with every listen and includes traditional Joos sounds like "I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You"  and devilishly fun rockers like "Sometimes A Pony Gets Depressed".

I tend to be drawn to Berman's songs about places, whether it be the bar in "Buckingham Palace",  the city of "Dallas" ,  or the decidedly creepy "Farmer's Hotel". His ability to conjure up such a sharp image of "place" in so few words actually pisses me off.

LINKS: Siver Jews Official site | Unofficial Cool site