The Self Portrait Gospel :: Podcast

There are several poetic pages, prolific profiles, sites, blogs, memorials based in the matrix, electric entries, and never-ending notes, and digital alters honoring everyone from Lou Reed to Britteny Spears, Jack Kerouac, and Walt Disney to Jesus Christ himself. But we're not here for any of those folks, with all due respect. Doug, not Douglas, established the "Secret Knowledge of Backroads" - David Berman Army page in Novemeber of 2019, just a few months after Berman had passed, and has been archiving all things related to the late legend since.  While efforlessly exploring the musician, writer, illustrator, and die-hard Tennessee Titans fan's life and career, we've learned a lot from the vaults and melodic mines where interviews, artistic ancedotes, magazine clippings, and intimate insights have been harvested over the years. Doug helps us close out the first season of the series by exploring the academic side of the account's social media page, and we couldn't be happier to end on a familiar note, as one fan to another.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, LA-based filmmaker Jed Rosenberg captured an incredibly intimate portrait of a true original whose art and poetic performances expressed the esoteric essence of the human spirit to its full potential. Gary Young (Garrit Allan Robertson Young) first appeared in the indie rock zeitgeist as Pavement's original drummer from 1989 till his departure in 1993. During this time in the band's harmonious history, he recorded, and sometimes produced, some of the group's earliest works, such as "Slay Tracks: 1933-1969," "Demolition Plot J-7," "Perfect Sound Forever," and the band's magnificent 1992 debut album "Slanted and Enchanted." Yes, that's Young playing those ritualistic rhythms on tracks like "Here," "Zurich Is Stained," "In The Mouth a Desert," "Frontwards," and "Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)" to name a few, and we couldn't be more thankful for his creative contribution. His psychedelic presence helped shape the band into the melodic monster they are today, as his sonic spirit continues to inspire and challenge the status quo of "what is, and what isn't suppoed to work." Gary Young was 70. (5.3.53-8.17.23)

"Mounting mileage on the dash - Double darkness falling fast - I keep stressng, pressing on - Way deep down at some substratum - Feels like something really wrong has happened - And I confess I'm barely hanging on" As we near the end of the first season of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too," we've finally arrived at the intimate intersection where you can see the poetic peaks of the purple hills, and the gorgeous glow of the melodic moon reflecting off the silver lake, quite and still. Christian Patterson is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York who works primarily with photography, books, and installation. In late 2018, Berman contacted Patterson about his most recent music project, Purple Mountains, and how to incorporate the photographer's work in some way, shape, or form. Initially meeting Berman in Memphis in 2003/3004, when he drove down from Music City with Harmony Korine, and Steve West in search of a William Eggleston photograph for the cover of the Joos' fifth studio album "Tanglewood Numbers," Patterson takes us down memory lane in this captivating episode, and what would eventually lead to the Purple Mountains collaboration over a decade later. 

On this very special episode of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too" - A Silver Jews Podcast, we have legendary drummer Steve West (Pavement, Silver Jews, Marble Valley) and Andra Sherman on the show to talk about their unique connection and deep-rooted love for their friend and poetic partner, David "Cloud" Berman. From West's formative years attending high school with future bandmate Bob Nastanovich in Charlottesville, VA, to relocating to NYC with Kevin Guthrie, the veteran musician tells us how he initially came into conatct with Berman and future Pavement leader Stephen Malkmus, going down to Memphis and recording the Joos' first studio album, "Starlite Walker," watching Berman's poetic pursuit and creative career flourish over the years, "Tanglewood Numbers," Pavements's recent two-night run at the Ryman in Nashville, and much more.

After relocating to the Bay Area in 1970, multi-instrumentalist, author, and sound artist Jim Nollman began his melodic practice in the avant-garde under the intense influence and surrealist spell of the late great John Cage. Eventually branching into the natural world of the animal kingdom after gaining wide attention and high praise for his 1982 debut on Folkways Records, "Playing Music With Animals: The Interspecies Communication of Jim Nollman with 300 Turkeys, 12 Wolves, 20 Orca Whales," the multi-disciplinary artist soon found himself occupying the unique universe where ancient creatures have roamed for millions of years across the salted soundscapes. Still, one in particular stands out: the Orca Whale (Orcinus Orca). Between 1985 and 2002, Nollman carefully collected over 60 hours of various revolutionary recordings that capture the aquatic alphabet of one of the ocean's most beloved animals. Nollman's story is fascinating, and one for the ages as we unpack the melodic mysteries and barnacled backdrops of this aquatic adventure.

Multi-instrumentalist and melodic mind behind the crimson curtains of UK-based label Bella Union, SImon Raymonde is a household name in creative culture and poetic production. The veteran musician joined the unparalleled universe of Cocteau Twins in 1984 for the band's third album "Treasure," helping secure the iconic lineup we've come to love and wildly worship today. With the recent success of his meditative memoir "In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor, and Me," and his beloved imprint Bella Union nearing its 30th anniversary, Raymonde's legacy has become something purely poetic over the decades, with new generations dropping in at all hours of the night.  John Burroughs once said, "For anything worth having one must pay the price, and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice. No paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service." It's difficult, oftentimes delusional, being an artist, head of a label, or band, but someone has to do it, right? We'll answere that for you, yes, and Raymonde has given us all hope to keep pushing through the annoying algorithms and endless exhaustion of our creative climate.

Cincinnati, OH-based animator, illustrator, journalist, and longtime Aquarium Drunkard collaborator Mark Neeley has blessed viewers with iconic illustrations and awesome animations for several years. Having released his debut animated short "Fragments" (2020) and the minute-long masterpiece "Pure Animation For Now People" (2024), which featured sounds from the great Mark Mothersbaugh, Neeley returns to the drawing board with an aquatic adaptation of the 1964 underground classic "The Clambake Mutiny." Based on the children's book by Jerome Beatty Jr. and Tomi Ungerer, the salty scene takes place on Monhegan Island in Maine, where locals celebrate a car-free living lifestyle against the barnacled backdrop of 1604 as a designated lobster conservation area.  With music by Jim Putnam (Radar Brothers, Maids of Gravity), field recordings of the Atlantic by Nick Keeling, and a splendid narration by our mutual friend Spencer Cullum Jr., "The Clambake Mutiny" is Neeley's most ambitious work thus far in his career, but a peaceful picture that'll surely connect you with your innermost child charisma and fundamental fascination with the natural world. Set for release in mid-Novemeber.

I first became of aware of longtime Nashville artist Kevin Guthrie's work when Pavement played two sold-out shows at the Ryman in late July, and later realized how important his relationship not just with Berman, but with both bands and their close communtiy family and friends truly is. Guthrie relocated to NYC in 1990 with Steve West, where he soon met Berman, Nastanovich, and the rest of the gang before eventually planting roots in Nashville. Over the decades, Guthrie has toured with the Silver Jews, accompanying them on their legendary shows as a familiar face and helping hand, slinging merch. Guthrie stops by the podcast to talk about his unique relationship with this unparalleled universe of music, expression, and historical harmony that continues to ring out for other generations to hear.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, American film director, writer, producer and son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebaker who played for the Baltimore Colts, Mark Pellington crash-landed in the music industry as an MTV intern only a couple of years into its dynamic development in the early 1980s. The industrious artist began blending unused clips, bits, and lyrical leftovers from music videos for his experimental music series "BUZZ" in the spring of 1990, and would eventually venture into the weird and wonderful world of grunge and the alternative afterlife. Throughout his career, Pellington has directed music videos for Pearl Jam (including their groundbreaking single "Jeremy"). R.E.M., Jungle Brothers, U2, De La Soul, Foo Fighters, and Public Enemy, among several others. Eventually stepping into the directorial spotlight with films such as the 1997 cult classic "Going All The Way," "Arlington Road," and 2002's "The Mothman Prophecies," Pellington's career is as legendary as some of the folks he's worked with over the years.

Longtime member of Nashville's beloved Lambchop and Silver Jews, multi-instrumentalist, and southern gentleman Tony Crow has been sharpening his tonal tools and wild weapons of melodic magic for almost half a century. We could have talked to the veteran musician about Lambchop for an hour and a half; maybe one day we will, but we stayed the course as he pulled back the creative curtain to reveal his precious participation in the Joos from 2001-2009 on albums: "Bright Flight," "Tanglewood Numbers," and "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea." On this episode of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too," Crow stops by to talk about how he initially met Berman and the gang, the golden days of Nashville, Chattanooga, Lambchop, "Bright Flight" anecdotes, hot chicken, Titans, and much more.