Random Rules

On the subject of Pet Politics, there's a very good interview over at Pitchfork with that particular song's composer, David Berman of the Silver Jews. The interview is almost shockingly candid, with Berman discussing everything from the details of his finances to the evolution of his drug problems to the reason why the second half of Bright Flight was kind of disappointing.

While the interview got me excited about the soon to be released Silver Jews album Tangelwood Numbers, I'm still waiting for a follow up to Berman's amazing first book of poetry, Actual Air, which is easily the best book of contemporary poetry that I've read in a long time. Supposedly, Jens Lekman seems to think so as well - enough to unconsciously lift an entire line from one of Berman's poems in his song "You are the Light". (See Lekman's journal entry for March 8, 2005.) You can't blame him, though. I usually find that all of my most original thoughts are already lines of Silver Jews songs. Elsewhere, Said the Gramophone recently had a good post on the phenomenon of bands named after Silver Jews lyrics (which is where I found the interesting tidbit about Lekman).

Anyway, enough rambling. Here's two spoken word versions of poems from Actual Air that I've borrowed from the unofficial Silver Jews website, the Corduroy Suit. (It's a great website, you should check it out.)

David Berman - Governors on Sominex

David Berman - My Life at Home During Banking Hours