Fallece a los 52 años, David Berman, líder de Silver Jews y Purple Mountains

De manera inesperada, se dio a conocer el fallecimiento de David Berman, quien fuera líder de Silver Jews, con quienes estuviera en activo hasta 2009, y cuyo último proyecto, Purple Mountains, había lanzado su único álbum apenas en julio pasado.

La terrible noticia fue dada a conocer por su sello Drag City Records, mediante el siguiente mensaje:

No podríamos lamentar más decirles esto. david berman falleció este día. un gran amigo y uno de los tipos más inspiradores que hemos conocido se ha ido. descansa en paz, david.

We couldn't be more sorry to tell you this. David Berman passed away earlier today. A great friend and one of the most inspiring individuals we've ever known is gone. Rest easy, David. pic.twitter.com/5n5bctcu4j

— 𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖌 𝕮𝖎𝖙𝖞 (@dragcityrecords) August 7, 2019

La noticia realmente ha sido un shock para todos, pues, como mencionamos anteriormente, Berman acaba de lanzar su primer (y único) álbum bajo el nombre de Purple Mountains, con el que estaría por arrancar una gira norteamericana este fin de semana. Y, aunque no se ha hecho oficial, se ha dado a conocer que David Berman se habría suicidado, según un tuit emitido por Joe Pernice (aunque dicho post ya fue eliminado).

‘Purple Mountains‘ ha sido aclamado por la crítica; por ejemplo, la revista Pitchfork lo condecoró como ‘Best New Music‘ ‘Mejor Música Nueva’). Escúchenlo a continuación.

Obviamente, las muestras de respeto y consternación no se hicieron esperar, y gente de la escena alternativa ha emitido algunos mensajes de despedida para el músico y poeta norteamericano, tal es el caso de The Avalanches (con quienes ahora se sabe que colaboró en su próximo álbum), Kurt Vile, Deerhunter, Cat Power, Aaron Dessner de The National, Broken Social Scene, entre otros.

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So crushed. I grew up on David Berman and the Silver Jews catalogue in mostly real time… in such a way that his music and lyrics and vocals have touched me to this day and are still growing in significance (and of course a higher high of nostalgia on the side with each revisitation… and there has been so much revisiting these last few years I must say). I was so excited for these upcoming shows and how amazing the new Purple Mountains record is. I was so stoked and so proud of Jarvis and Jeremy and the @woodsist gang for knocking this album outta the park. David's music always hit on a basic human gut level just in the power of his lyrics and voice alone… in a way no other modern artist of my generation has been able to… We were friends but I was looking forward to hopefully becoming closer and was so excited to see him around with purple mountains and hopefully play on “trains across the sea” in philly. Speaking of that tune (and others)… I’ve been singing a few silver jews songs to my daughters at night before they go to bed… since they were little… (it was a no brainer in the dna of my upbringing…) they were always affected by Cassie’s beautiful voice in “Tennessee” and would wanna sing that part… to the extent the first song my oldest daughter Awilda sang from memory (and later we recorded a version of) was "trains across the sea" and she performed "new orleans" at her co-op talent show. When my family came thru Nashville David and Cassie took us in graciously and David bought the girls a Mr Games style trinket I guess you might call a diorama music box (?) either way it will be cherished always. Love forever to Cassie and David from Kurt, Suzanne, Awilda and Delphine. “Snow is falling in Manhattan…” “I loved being my mother’s son…” “when god was young… he made the wind and the sun. And since then it’s been a slow education. And you got that one idea again………” “oh… oh oh… I’m lightening. Oh… oh oh… I’m rain. Oh… oh oh… it’s frightening… I’m not the same. I’m not the same. I’m not the same.” ❤️ God bless @dragcityrecords for releasing so much (and all) of his material. R.I.P. David Berman. You will be missed.

A post shared by Kurt Vile (@kurtvile) on Aug 7, 2019 at 8:36pm PDT

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Words cannot begin to describe how well these words describe the sadness and beauty of the vacant lot called our world. Horrifying that such a clear view of the void can be fatal. Rest In Peace DB.

A post shared by Deerhunter (@deerhuntermusic) on Aug 7, 2019 at 4:50pm PDT

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When we were young with all that we knew. Time is here wishing it was with you. We all love you David🙏 We will cherish the days while we smile on those nights so long ago. 🌹❤️🌹 photo: Hunter Kennedy #TheNewOpenness

A post shared by CAT POWER (@catpowerofficial) on Aug 7, 2019 at 6:59pm PDT

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David Berman— such sad news. We loved this mans art. A definite wordsmith for the ages. Had the privilege of playing for him in Nashville a long time ago as he heckled us from the audience and to this day it’s still an honour. Love this mans words and love this man songs. A sad day.

A post shared by Broken Social Scene (@brokensocialscene) on Aug 7, 2019 at 6:41pm PDT

Very very sad to hear David Berman has passed away. A massive talent and a huge influence on us. RIP

— Aaron Dessner (@aaron_dessner) August 7, 2019