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Silver Jews
Silver Jews
Alternative Rock/Country band
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Purple Mountains
Purple Mountains
American indie rock band
2
Pavement
Pavement
American rock band
3
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
American musician
4
Bob Nastanovich
Bob Nastanovich
American musician
5
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
American rock band
6
MGMT
MGMT
American band
7
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
8
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
American alternative dance band
9
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire
indie rock band from Canada
10
Cassie Ventura
Cassie Ventura
American recording artist, dancer, actress and model
11
Kaytranada
Kaytranada
Haitian-Canadian DJ and record producer
12
Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood
British musician
13
Kieran Hebden
Kieran Hebden
English musician and DJ
14
Swell Maps
Swell Maps
band
15
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Canadian art rock band
16
Black Mountain
Black Mountain
Canadian rock band
17
The Middle East
The Middle East
Australian indie folk band
18
Beck
Beck
American musician
19
Pixies
Pixies
American alternative rock band
20
Angel Olsen
Angel Olsen
American musician
21
Wavves
Wavves
band
22
First Aid Kit
First Aid Kit
Swedish musical duo
23
The Strokes
The Strokes
American rock band
24
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Cymbals Eat Guitars
band
25
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
band
26
Local Natives
Local Natives
American indie rock band
27
St. Vincent
St. Vincent
American singer-songwriter
28
James Murphy
James Murphy
American musician
29
Kevin Drew
Kevin Drew
Canadian musician
30
Nigel Godrich
Nigel Godrich
English record producer and sound engineer
31
My Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine
Irish alternative rock band
32
Vivian Girls
Vivian Girls
American band from Brooklyn
33
Neon Indian
Neon Indian
American electronic music band
34
Steve Albini
Steve Albini
American record engineer and musician
35
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
american band
36
Craig Finn
Craig Finn
American musician
37
Wilco
Wilco
American alternative rock band
38
Built to Spill
Built to Spill
American indie rock band
39
Mac DeMarco
Mac DeMarco
Canadian musician
40
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
American indie rock band
41
Gary Young
Gary Young
American drummer
42
Grimes
Grimes
Canadian musician, singer, record producer and visual artist
43
Yonatan Gat
Yonatan Gat
musician
44
The 1975
The 1975
English pop and rock band
David Berman
American musician, singer, poet and cartoonist

David Berman

Intro
American musician, singer, poet and cartoonist
Record Labels

David Cloud Berman (David Craig Berman; January 4, 1967 – August 7, 2019) was an American musician, singer, poet and cartoonist. In 1989, he founded the indie rock band Silver Jews with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich, both of whom would later come to be known primarily for their work in the 1990s American indie rock band Pavement. He was the only constant member during the band's discography, which concluded in 2009, following the band's sixth and final album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea (2008). He provided the distinct lyricism and, alongside Malkmus, the sparsely simple country-rock sound—which developed from initial lo-fi recordings.

He released his only book of poetry, Actual Air, in 1999. Around this time Berman began to take hard drugs; struggling with substance abuse, depression and anxiety—the latter directly influencing his career decisions. In 2003, these factors culminated in a botched suicide attempt. He then undertook rehab, engaged with Judaism and embarked on the band's first tour with his wife, Cassie Berman.

Although Berman's music and poetry were relatively successful, he experienced financial difficulties. This, along with the dissolution of his marriage, caused his return to music in 2019. He adopted a new band name, Purple Mountains, and released an eponymous debut album in July. He then intended to tour the album and thus pay off his $100,000 credit card debt. He commited suicide in August.

Despite believing his music to be unappreciated, he had acquired a reputation of being "perhaps the finest lyricist of his generation". Berman's lyrics were his creative priority, labouring over them for extended periods of time. They were abstract in nature and had become autobiographical in his later career, sung in a deep and monotone manner.