David Berman

My faith was undermined by the same sort of things that make people skeptics of religion in general. Part of it was, there was no real place for me in Judaism. Maybe if there was I would've hung in there, but I was attracted to the social-justice aspects of Judaism, and I was attracted to the prophets.

I've never been a big movie person, but I used to watch movies regularly in my life, and sometime in the '90s I just stopped. I certainly never was an educated moviegover.

I try every day and every night to find a movie or a TV show that I can watch, but I just can't make it past ten minutes of anything.

I want so many artists that I care about to go away and grow up, and have been amazed at how hard that is for some people to do.

I'm not the type to demand affirmation or to worry that I'll be forgotten. I'm more the type to dare the world to forget me.

I don't have religion or culture. I don't have anything I can believe in when I'm really scared. When I play the songs, I feel the fear disappear.

I'm not a good singer.

All my songs were made at the end of the neck, 'farmer's corner' chords.

I made records for 20 years, I lived off it. But people would say I made so many mistakes, I did so many things you're not supposed to do. I had a band name nobody could say. I didn't play live. I never practiced, I never got better at my instrument.

My only advice would be to someone right now, is if you're in a position in your life where you need to make a change, this is the best time.

Nashville only thrives when talented people from out of town move here from somewhere else.

The greatest thing about Nashville is that it's welcoming.

I'm not convinced I have fans.

In my whole life, I've had maybe 10 people who have told me how much my music means to them.

I believe that intermittent live performance has cut short the writing lives of touring musicians.

I was not born to be the center of attention in a crowded room.

Intellectuals and creative people, once they start talking about God they get put into this other category: 'I don't go to people's music like that to understand my life.'

If I believed in fate I'd be very curious why I picked the name Silver Jews.

I was much further along as a poet than as a songwriter, but the songs were getting more attention. They were doing what art is supposed to do, mixing it up with people.

Piece by piece I sent my first book of poems to American Poetry Review and was rejected one by one.