The terrible news that David Berman, the man behind Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, has died has has been a real shock, and there have been an outpouring of tributes from fellow artists. Among them, former Silver Jews member Stephen Malkmus who wrote, "His death is fucking dark ..depression is crippling.. he was a one of a kinder the songs he wrote were his main passion esp at the end. Hope death equals peace cuz he could sure use it." Bob Nastanovich, who was also in Silver Jews (and Pavement), told Pitchfork:

I was saddened to hear that David died. Stephen called me to tell me this afternoon.

For most of my life, I was amazed by David as a person, a humorist and a writer. It was enlightening to have such a talented friend at a young age and realize that the talent wasn’t always a blessing.

David battled mental illness for nearly all of his life. He had professional help and the unyielding support of hundreds of good friends. He had many loving and devoted fans.

Please try to cherish your memories of him and his words and music including his last album Purple Mountains.

I know I will and I’m grateful that the list of good memories and stories is long.