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. 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.