{"id":631039,"date":"2024-08-15T18:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/david-bermans-purest-poetry\/"},"modified":"2024-08-15T18:00:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T15:00:23","slug":"david-bermans-purest-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/david-bermans-purest-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"#David Berman\u2019s purest poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ac8e8153ff\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ac8e8153ff\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/david-bermans-purest-poetry\/#%E2%80%9CLike_Like_the_the_the_Death%E2%80%9D_Silver_Jews_strangest_song_exists_between_the_indoors_and_the_outdoors_of_Bermans_mind\" >\u201cLike Like the the the Death,\u201d Silver Jews\u2019 strangest song, exists between the indoors and the outdoors of Berman\u2019s mind.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CLike_Like_the_the_the_Death%E2%80%9D_Silver_Jews_strangest_song_exists_between_the_indoors_and_the_outdoors_of_Bermans_mind\"><\/span>\u201cLike Like the the the Death,\u201d Silver Jews\u2019 strangest song, exists between the indoors and the outdoors of Berman\u2019s mind.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263373\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_yirwod\/david-berman-photo-by-david-berman.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"David Berman\u2019s purest poetry\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      David Berman. Photo by David Berman.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263404\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            \u201cAt night when I have dreams, I lose almost always,\u201d David Berman told The FADER in 2005, in his first ever extended interview. \u201cI\u2019m being betrayed, or left behind, or somehow losing the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>. One of the first things I do when I wake up every day is remember that I\u2019m not really losing.\u201d It was 2005, and he\u2019d been clean and sober for nearly two years after attempting suicide by overdosing on Xanax and crack in the Vanderbilt hotel suite where Al Gore watched his presidential candidacy crumble in 2000. A year after the attempt \u2014 h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y for the first time in years and connecting with Judaism in a way the Silver Jews frontman never had before \u2014 he decided he\u2019d died that night and was living in an imaginary future. <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263406\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263374\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            But Berman kept on living, releasing his fifth and sixth Silver Jews LPs before taking a decade-long hiatus from music. As he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/vishkhanna.com\/2019\/06\/12\/ep-481-david-berman\/\">related to Kreative Kontrol\u2019s Vish Khanna<\/a> in 2019, he initially felt compelled to pick up his guitar after all those years for financial reasons, but he soon found himself writing songs that were, by his own admission, some of his best. With his new band Purple Mountains, he released a gut-wrenching, im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely acclaimed collection of songs about ruined love, overwhelming grief, and unrelenting depression. He hanged himself in a Brooklyn apartment a month later.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263376\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 350px; height: 470px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2523026786\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/transparent=true\/\" seamless><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/purplemountains.bandcamp.com\/album\/purple-mountains\">Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains<\/a><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263375\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Despite the tragic circumstances of his life\u2019s conclusion, David Berman had been winning by everyone\u2019s yardstick but his own since the early \u201990s. Though he never achieved the commercial success of his original bandmates, Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich (Pavement\u2019s frontman and drummer, respectively), he developed a cult following that hung on his every word, sung or written. He was married, owned a home, had a dog, published a bestselling book of poetry, and recorded three or four of the best albums of all time.<\/p>\n<p>            Berman could write a catchy riff as well as anyone, but his lyrics are what place him in the pantheon of history\u2019s greatest songcrafters. Inspired to varying degrees by Jello Biafra and Emily Dickinson, whose poem \u201cTell all the truth but tell it slant\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slantmagazine.com\/music\/interview-david-berman\/\">became a mantra<\/a> that echoed across his music, he wrote with stunning wit and heartbreaking clarity. Many of his best lines are slant rhymes \u2014 \u201cAnd when I see her in the park, it barely merits a remark \/ How we stand the standard distant strangers stand apart,\u201d for instance \u2014 but the slant mentality cuts far deeper into the core of his work than that. It\u2019s the uneasy wisdom in his off-color jokes, the shaggy insights lingering at the edges of his simplest statements, the disarming despair of his upbeat marches toward the void.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263377\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Like like the the the Death\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gtnwFGaao0w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('263377');\n<\/script><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263407\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263378\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            However tilted their presentation, most of Berman\u2019s songs are self-contained stories, whether their premises are straightforward or absurd, their narratives linear or fragmented. But \u201cLike Like the the the Death,\u201d a late-album cut from Silver Jews\u2019 1998 masterpiece <i>American Water<\/i>, follows an internal logic that\u2019s invisible to anyone but its author.<\/p>\n<p>            \u201cLike like, the the the death,\u201d Berman begins. \u201cAir, crickets, air, crickets, air, crickets, air crickets, air.\u201d It\u2019s a stuttering start that resists meaning beyond direct association. If death is like air and crickets \u2014 or grass and rabbits, as he\u2019ll later intone in the same scansion and melody \u2014 it must be  a natural, peaceful state. <\/p>\n<p>            The verse continues to veer left, as fleeting images like \u201cmother and child with magazine\u201d are set against essential, unanswerable questions like \u201cWhy is there something instead of nothing?\u201d Existential inquiries like these exist elsewhere in Berman\u2019s catalog, but rarely are they presented so starkly, without gnarled tufts of references and iconography (\u201cBut there\u2019s an altar in the valley \/ For the things in themselves as they are \/ And the triumph of the obstacle \/ And horseleg swastikas\u201d) or self-deprecation (\u201cShe\u2019s making friends, I\u2019m turning stranger\u201d).<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263379\" class=\"content_block diptych triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper half_gutter_right gutter_btm\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph13_1_gb4zsz\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw\" alt=\"David Berman\u2019s purest poetry\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      Photos by Cassie Berman.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"media_wrapper half_gutter_left\" style=\"\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/dc358ph03_mr4xbg\/photos-by-cassie-berman.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 50vw\" alt=\"David Berman\u2019s purest poetry\"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263380\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            \u201cFolks who\u2019ve watched their mother kill an animal know that their home is surrounded by places to go,\u201d Berman sings in the track\u2019s first chorus, \u201cAnd the west has made a deal with the sun.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>            His affinity for the great outdoors \u2014 if not always for the people who occupy it \u2014 is on display in <i>American Water<\/i> more than almost anywhere else in his oeuvre. The notable exception is <i>Actual Air<\/i>, his only book of poetry, published less than a year after that album. There, he describes the \u201cwind in the tension of the blown trees,\u201d the \u201cenameled moon,\u201d a \u201cPennsylvania sunset back[ing] down the local mountain,\u201d a \u201cwhite horse breaking across a white wine-colored clearing,\u201d and \u201cthe ideal of Virginia \/ brochured with goldenrod and loblolly.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>            His poems resist easy interpretation, blurring the accessible signifiers in his songs with turns of phrase that upend the meanings of words we thought we knew. \u201cLike Like the the the Death\u201d achieves the same ambiguity by omitting these signifiers altogether.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263381\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph08_1_qkjeer\/from-left-william-tyler-david-berman-and-cassie-berman-photo-by-pylon-shadow.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"David Berman\u2019s purest poetry\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      From left: William Tyler, David Berman, and Cassie Berman. Photo by Pylon Shadow.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263382\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            \u201cMy life, at home every day \/ Drinking coke in a kitchen with a dog who doesn\u2019t know his name,\u201d Berman sings in the song\u2019s second verse. It\u2019s one of my favorite lines ever. In \u201cSelf-Portrait at 28,\u201d a poem from <i>Actual Air<\/i>, he imagines his dog having a nightmare about \u201cthe part of me that would beat a dog \/ for no good reason \/ no reason that a dog could see.\u201d Near the end of that poem, he postulates that the dog can only hold one thought in his mind at a time, \u201cand when he finally hears me call his name\u2026 my voice is everything.\u201d The dog in the poem is given substance, if only as a blank canvas for Berman\u2019s neurotic imagination. The dog in the song is a vacant, translucent thing.<\/p>\n<p>            The verse\u2019s second half grows bleaker, zooming out once more on a world where \u201cNobody cares about a dead hooker \/ Looking like one, standing for many,\u201d where \u201cLife finds a limit at the edge of our bodies\u201d and \u201cA stranger begins wherever I see \u2019em.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>            The indoor, depressive Berman sees humanity in the darker regions of grayscale. The outdoor Berman sees bursts of vivid color in the most microscopic of details. In the song\u2019s final chorus, he makes a rare attempt to bridge the two. \u201cLet\u2019s live where the indoors and the outdoors meet,\u201d he sings. <\/p>\n<p>            In his poem \u201cIf There Was a Book About This Hallway,\u201d the hallway is \u201can outdoors that is somehow indoors.\u201d Maybe this song is a hallway \u2014 from track eight on <i>American Water<\/i> to track 10; from the world of the mind to the world of crickets, rabbits, grass, and air; from life to death.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263383\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/dc358ph09_1_lbchhm\/david-and-cassie-berman-with-their-dog-miles-photo-by-brent-stewart.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"David Berman\u2019s purest poetry\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      David and Cassie Berman with their dog, Miles. Photo by Brent Stewart.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-263384\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            There\u2019s hope to be found in the final lines of \u201cLike Like the the the Death\u201d: \u201cEvery morning you forgive me, every evening you relive me \/ And the thing itself is what you give me,\u201d Berman sings, unsure why someone would extend their repeated kindness to him but appreciative nonetheless, \u201cAnd the morning has cut a deal with the east.\u201d In 1998, and in 2005, Berman still had thousands of mornings left to wake up and struggle with, finding strength and guilt in the forgiveness of his loved ones, surrounded by the air and the crickets. <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Raphael Helfand<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2024\/08\/15\/david-bermans-purest-poetry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cLike Like the the the Death,\u201d Silver Jews\u2019 strangest song, exists between the indoors and the outdoors of Berman\u2019s mind. David Berman. Photo by David Berman. \u00a0 \u201cAt night when I have dreams, I lose almost always,\u201d David Berman told The FADER in 2005, in his first ever extended interview. \u201cI\u2019m being betrayed, or left&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":631040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_533,w_1024,x_0,y_86,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_jhvifs\/PurpleMountains_byDCBerman_0212_jhvifs.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[151283,151284,87510,151285],"class_list":["post-631039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-david-berman","tag-purple-mountains","tag-rock","tag-silver-jews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}