I finally gave a good listen to the lyrics of “nights that won’t happen.” That song certainly sounds like a suicide note... But the thing ends with “maybe i’m the only one for me” where he describes a future where he resigns himself to loneliness. (“I need to learn to love myself”)... is this just - very cruel kind of irony? And what does it say to his wife who apparently had left him?
As a sufferer of depression I recognize all the thought patterns in these lyrics, and why I loved that he could have such humor about it. The ugly feelings were transmuted into something rollicking and playful, which is really what a lot of American music is about. But like—i feel personally invested in finding hope in this record for some reason
― treeship., Thursday, 19 December 2019 21:39 (four years ago) link
Nice essay about David Berman in the NYT Lives They Lived:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/23/magazine/david-berman-death.html
― Lily Dale, Friday, 27 December 2019 03:38 (four years ago) link
NYC & Portland, Ore live music tributes looked nice
― curmudgeon, Monday, 6 January 2020 20:15 (four years ago) link
i've mulled that "songs build little rooms in time" verse over in my head so many times this year and i'm in awe at how perfect it is― Heez, Friday, November 15, 2019 10:47 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink
― Heez, Friday, November 15, 2019 10:47 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink
Lots of references to Berman's approaching demise throughout the album, but the third verse of "Snow" is absolutely the most spectral and most sublime of these. It's a little scary almost to contemplate how perfect all those verses are. "Snow" is probably song of the year imo
― PLEB AF (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 6 January 2020 20:33 (four years ago) link
This was probably my most played album of 2019 and, I think, has my favourite song of the year ... but I'm not really comfortable with the songs that clearly reference his partner, I don't think. Life/great records aren't necessarily about being comfortable but that isn't quite what I mean. Might come back and re-explain when not on wine.
― djh, Monday, 6 January 2020 22:36 (four years ago) link
Probably my my most played longplayer too.
Half of the PM album (Happiness, Darkness, Snow, Margaritas, Nights) was nominated for the 2019 tracks poll. Not undeservedly. Any interest in measures to overcome vote-splitting?
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Tuesday, 7 January 2020 01:08 (four years ago) link
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/watch-steve-malkmus-bob-nastanovich-rebecca-gates-more-play-david-berman-tribute-in-portland/
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 7 January 2020 04:28 (four years ago) link
Any interest in measures to overcome vote-splitting?
― enochroot, Wednesday, 8 January 2020 02:28 (four years ago) link
tbh I'm expecting ppl to gravitate towards "Nights" even without strategery
― bold caucasian eroticism (Simon H.), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 03:01 (four years ago) link
I think Snow vs Margaritas
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 03:02 (four years ago) link
I nominated and voted for “Snow.”
― Don’t yell ‘Judas!’ in a crowded theater (morrisp), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 03:13 (four years ago) link
I'll certainly vote for "Nights That Won't Happen" either way. Happy to add a further crowd-pleaser...
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, 8 January 2020 03:24 (four years ago) link
this is gonna be the ultimate vote splitter. my vote went to 'happiness'
― culture of mayordom (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 04:01 (four years ago) link
i think it'll get one or two songs on the countdown regardless
just voted for all of em!
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 10:10 (four years ago) link
Snow will definitely be high on my ballot. Margaritas will be on there somewhere too.
― Life is a meaningless nightmare of suffering...save string (Chinaski), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 16:48 (four years ago) link
'Snow' seems popular. I'll make that my second PM vote then!
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Thursday, 9 January 2020 11:23 (four years ago) link
See if you recognize the former ilxor as MC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHTXXzdbf6s
The surviving members perform:
Secret Knowledge of Back Roads (Pavement version)Buckingham RabbitAdvice to the GraduateRandom RulesWelcome To The House of the Bats*Trains Across the Sea
*post-song banter refers to SM wanting Bob to reprise the monologue that Bob did as his first performance on a Pavement record ("Sue Me Jack") in a tribute to his good friends Slint's then-newly-released Spiderland. The monologue lyrics iirc refer to Bob's mom finding a Frederic Remington painting on the cheap somehow. Yes, I know deep Pavement trivia in case you were wondering.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 9 January 2020 23:14 (four years ago) link
I can't decipher the "Sue Me Jack" monologue, but are you referring to the monologue on "Welcome to the House of the Bats"?
― Don’t yell ‘Judas!’ in a crowded theater (morrisp), Thursday, 9 January 2020 23:20 (four years ago) link
Thanks for sharing that video, btw. And yes, I recognize D. Wolk (I worked w/him a million years ago)
― Don’t yell ‘Judas!’ in a crowded theater (morrisp), Thursday, 9 January 2020 23:25 (four years ago) link
SM asked Bob to do a monologue referencing Remington (i.e. the "Sue Me Jack" bit) during the Bats coda, I'm just providing some trivial background on it.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 9 January 2020 23:44 (four years ago) link
Cool, I just got to that part in the video (and sorry if I sounded confused -- I was referring to the fact that the Remington monologue can be heard very clearing in the original recording of "House of the Bats"; I didn't realize that the "Sue Me Jack" bit had the same subject, as it's buried so deep in the mix.)
― Don’t yell ‘Judas!’ in a crowded theater (morrisp), Thursday, 9 January 2020 23:47 (four years ago) link
I attended the Portland thing. Was hoping Stephen and Bob would say a bit more about David, but there wasn't much. Ever-guarded Stephen - as you might guess - said basically nothing. Bob had an emotional moment you can watch in the 22nd minute of that video up there.
That pretty much sums the two of them up.
Their relationship and the way it benefitted both of them in Pavement really fascinates me.
― alpine static, Friday, 10 January 2020 05:51 (four years ago) link
That performance was rough.
― Duke, Friday, 10 January 2020 17:09 (four years ago) link
They didn't practice. The songs are super old and they haven't played them in years. What they did is exactly what I expected (and wanted).
― alpine static, Friday, 10 January 2020 19:29 (four years ago) link
it was great — sounded like early joos.
― tylerw, Friday, 10 January 2020 20:03 (four years ago) link
Another Titans tribute:https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ZWAIMF3Tr/?igshid=1ns9wfh71uam4
― dad genes (morrisp), Saturday, 25 January 2020 20:30 (four years ago) link
Mentioned it in another thread, but I’d like to hear Pet Shop Boys do “Margaritas at the Mall.”
― ... (Eazy), Monday, 27 January 2020 19:03 (four years ago) link
His passing has received more mention from a professional football team than from the Grammys
― chr1sb3singer, Monday, 27 January 2020 19:19 (four years ago) link
goes without saying but the grammys have virtually nothing to do with people who make music
― But guess what? Nobody gives a toot!😂 (Karl Malone), Monday, 27 January 2020 19:25 (four years ago) link
it's like an internal company end of year teambuilding award show that is for some reason televised and watched by millions of people
― But guess what? Nobody gives a toot!😂 (Karl Malone), Monday, 27 January 2020 19:26 (four years ago) link
No mention of Scott Walker, Bushwick Bill, or Mark Hollis on the Grammy memorial segment (and they misspelled Ric Ocasek's name)
Not that any of those people would give a shit, but fans of those people (like me) definitely did
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 27 January 2020 19:43 (four years ago) link
yeah that irked the fuck outta me
― I wanna publish memes and rage against machimes (rip van wanko), Monday, 27 January 2020 19:50 (four years ago) link
the grammies sucks ass and are run by scumbags, wouldn't want them to sully DCB's name by mentioning him
― frederik b. godt (jim in vancouver), Monday, 27 January 2020 19:52 (four years ago) link
"the grammies sucks ass and are..."
god i am illiterate
― frederik b. godt (jim in vancouver), Monday, 27 January 2020 19:53 (four years ago) link
"the grammies sucks ass" sounds better and rings truer.
― del griffith, Monday, 27 January 2020 21:01 (four years ago) link
It is one award show.
"Purple Mountains is..." would also work fine.
― pplains, Monday, 27 January 2020 21:16 (four years ago) link
the more appropriate test of industry integrity will be seeing whether or not DCB gets his three second salute within the obit montage at this November's 54th Annual CMA Awards.
or wait, I guess it's just The CMAs. or maybe just CMA. it's definitely not CMA's, that I know for sure.
― del griffith, Monday, 27 January 2020 23:28 (four years ago) link
actually I think the apostrophe is acceptable in that case, lol
― I wanna publish memes and rage against machimes (rip van wanko), Monday, 27 January 2020 23:41 (four years ago) link
I dunno if we're doing Chicago or APA style but to me it seems more intuitive to use the apostrophe like "Dierk's Bentley was not welcome at the CMAs so the CMA's valet requested he arrive in a muddy pickup truck instead."
― del griffith, Monday, 27 January 2020 23:47 (four years ago) link
long interview from 2018:
https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-david-berman/
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 31 January 2020 16:28 (four years ago) link
That piece is a) brilliant and ii) costing me a bloody fortune (it's FULL of reading recommendations). Along with everything else about Berman, he was a nexus for so much interesting stuff. I wish someone could/would aggregate all of his recommendations.
― Ngolo Cantwell (Chinaski), Sunday, 2 February 2020 17:39 (four years ago) link
That interview sure doesn’t make the album (or any of its songs) sound like they were intended as a “suicide note.”
― dad genes (morrisp), Sunday, 2 February 2020 18:21 (four years ago) link
I read https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Turning-American-Prophecy-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464 [The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy—What the Cycles of History Tell Us about America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny] in the nineties.It really influenced my picture of what 2020 would look like, and 25 years later it looks to me like it’s still on course. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theoryIt makes a really incredible claim, that four generational types go round and round every hundred years. That one of these types shows up every 80 years: glorious rev —-> American revolution —-> Civil War —-> Depression —-> WWII —-> today (these are all roughly 80 years apart). In conjunction with a major crisis/meltdown to rebuild society on new terms. So generation Z, in this case, grow up in chaos and develop the characteristics that the WWII generation had—the world conquering abilities. The children of the WWII generation—the silent generation, the baby boomers—grew up coddled in the new regime, and started to tear it down, initiating another meltdown. Any serious person would laugh at this book. Take a look.
It really influenced my picture of what 2020 would look like, and 25 years later it looks to me like it’s still on course.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory
It makes a really incredible claim, that four generational
types go round and round every hundred years. That one of these types shows up every 80 years: glorious rev —-> American revolution —-> Civil War —-> Depression —-> WWII —-> today (these are all roughly 80 years apart). In conjunction with a major crisis/meltdown to rebuild society on new terms. So generation Z, in this case, grow up in chaos and develop the characteristics that the WWII generation had—the world conquering abilities. The children of the WWII generation—the silent generation, the baby boomers—grew up coddled in the new regime, and started to tear it down, initiating another meltdown. Any serious person would laugh at this book. Take a look.
nooooooooo david!
― But guess what? Nobody gives a toot!😂 (Karl Malone), Sunday, 2 February 2020 20:45 (four years ago) link
it's a great interview, btw (still reading). this just jumped out to me because nooooo
btw the vinyl is back in stock at Drag City for $22 so you don't have to go to scumbag eBay vultures, free shipping even!
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 2 February 2020 21:18 (four years ago) link
It's available again in the UK, too - a bunch of places have it. Norman Records have it's for £20.
― Ngolo Cantwell (Chinaski), Sunday, 2 February 2020 21:52 (four years ago) link
how well known would he have been without the pavement connection? i think he may have been virtually unknown
― otm into winter (rip van wanko), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 17:52 (four years ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/af/Slidingdoors.jpg/220px-Slidingdoors.jpg
― na (NA), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 18:00 (four years ago) link
*look of consternation*
― otm into winter (rip van wanko), Tuesday, 4 February 2020 18:04 (four years ago) link