Advice To The Graduate: How I Found Myself In David Berman

 “Moments can be monuments to you if your life is interesting and true.” 

It was the fall of 2023. I was starting my senior year of college and begun the most pivotal year of my academic and personal life. Blinded by excitement, fear and the unanswered questions of life, I felt as though I was itching for a new band to dive deep into. Silver Jews fell right into my lap around this time in my life and I am forever grateful. I don’t remember how it happened it just did. I’ve been a fan of Pavement for years and had friends that sung the praises of Berman and it all finally culminated last fall. Immediately upon my cursory listen to the Silver Jews discography and I was stunned by how beautiful it all was; the music, the lyrics, the album art. It all felt so special. Weirdly enough I started off with Tanglewood Numbers, a later Silver Jews record. I loved this album and was lead into the fan favorites of Starlite Walker and American Water. Every album, every song, every lyric, I could not believe how great it all was. I spent the next few months immersing myself in his art and finding out everything I could about the brain behind Silver Jews, David Berman. I knew he had passed away a few years ago and I remembered hearing about it online but never thought about him too much after that. At first I cursed my past-self for not letting that be the gateway to his music but its ok, I'm grateful I found my way back to David Berman at the time I need him the most. I read his poetry, I read his interviews, I studied his lyrics, and I was fully in awe of the genius he was. I found myself connecting with so much of his work and overall world view; I could spend all day lost inside his words. His writing is so comforting but real and honest at the same time. These past few months I’ve immersed myself into the world of David Berman and I never want to get out. 

 

 If you’re not familiar with Berman’s writing, I’d recommend listening to American Water and reading some of his poetry. He was truly one of the best to ever do it and I will never shut up about it.