“I made records for 20 years, I lived off it. But people would say I made so many mistakes, I did so many things you're not supposed to do. I had a band name nobody could say. I didn't play live. I never practiced, I never got better at my instrument.”

American musician, singer-songwriter and poet

David Cloud Berman was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and poet. He founded the indie rock band Silver Jews and remained its only constant member, alongside Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman worked across music and poetry, and Silver Jews became the project most closely associated with his name. His writing and lyrics are linked to the same dry, observant sensibility that shaped his work as a poet and songwriter.