r/DavidBerman

Does this phrase continue to pop up in anybody else’s head besides mine? What a great tune, what a great album!

I mean his story is just so rich and interesting and I know there’s so much more to learn. I’d love to read a book on his life and career.

we all know that david used this word quite a lot, but i don't know why he used this exact word and how i should interpret it. he also said that cum is a 'private issue' and i don't know what he meant by that either.

that's what he said about 'cum bucket' line from 'dallas':

"Cum shows up three times on the record. When I was a kid people always used to say “cumbucket”. It made a picture in my mind, cum slopped over the edges. I forgot about the word for years until forming this album it came up again and kept sneaking into songs. Cum is a very private issue. The Natural Bridge has a lot of privacy issues going on inside."

(from https://genius.com/19957105/Silver-jews-dallas/Cum-buckets)

but i'm actually more curious about meaning of cum in song called 'the frontier index'.

"Time, cum, sand, and surf

These are the building, building blocks of life"

any thoughts? sorry if this is a dumb question or take was written poorly, im still studying english :3

No judgement here but was David always drunk or whatnot when he performed? I haven't seen a lot of his live performances but I've been drunk enough times to recognize when someone is drunk. I don't mean he sounded bad or anything like that because he played guitar perfectly in the videos that I've seen but I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

Hi all, I've recently begun the journey into the world of David Berman. I've been a Pavement fan for years and have recently been listening to them more. I always thought Silver Jews were a side-project of theirs or something but Spotify shuffle kept offering up things like Random Rules and I'd say this was the week I really started to get hooked. Listened to the first two albums all the way through today and have been doing the 'This is Silver Jews' playlist for the 'hits'. Then dug a bit deeper and read about purple mountains and it's very heart-breaking. Expect this is an obvious point but the lyrics are just wonderful. Funny, sad, poignant, funny and clever.

I've seen Actual Air on bookstores sites and wondered if it's worth it. Curious what people get from that book.

Favourite lyric so far is from the first record when he uses the line about drinking 50,000 beers that wash against him like the sea. Genius. And tragic that it was all too much for him.

Any other advice for things to watch/read to go deeper?

Thanks in advance.

I am arranging a meetup in Baltimore to discuss Actual Air at some point this year. If you are interested in joining please comment or DM

Wondering if any folks here are reading this and getting chills from the parallels between the primary subject and DCB’s dad. There’s also a thread involving a car accident that recalls a Menthol Mountains post about a long-ago crime in Virginia. Feels like a long shot to assume the echoes were deliberate, but I wonder if Saunders is a fan.

anyone with more perfect pitch than me who can tell me what the piano chords are? not the guitar chords, those are pretty straightforward. specifically the second chord in the first two four-chord riffs is kicking my ass