All my favorite singers couldn’t sing. Now there’s one less of them still performing. We’ve seen musicians retire and unretire before, but unless David Berman is pulling our leg, Silver Jews are now no more. The band’s performance Saturday night at McMinnville, Tennessee’s Cumberland Caverns was their last, and included this emotional take on American Water’s indelible “We Are Real”. But first, Berman gives a brief introduction: “If you’re in a position in your life where you need to make a change, this is the best time,” he says, citing all the changes going on these days. One of the most recent historical changes, the inauguration of President Obama, flies in the face of the work of Berman’s father, whom the Silver Jews main guy recently revealed to be right-wing lobbyist Rick Berman. Strange victory, strange defeat.

Update: “Smith and Jones Forever” is now on YouTube as well.

via “Introduction / We Are Real” / “Smith and Jones Forever” (Live at Cumberland Caverns; final show) | Pitchfork.

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