Nice is a facade grown from habit while kindness is a genuine act — It was a late winter afternoon. I sat, back rigid and upright, on a half-moon-shaped waiting room couch. It was a little before dusk and work hours for some had just come to a close. I yawned as I stared into the changing skyline from the 22nd-story view. It was…

Silver Jews frontman and poet extraordinaire, David Berman, dies at the age of 52 just days before his Purple Mountains tour was set to begin — Yesterday, the world lost one of its greatest poets-cum-musicians you’ve never heard of. Around 4 pm, Drag City announced that David Berman, frontman of The Silver Jews, died on August 7, 2019, just 5 days shy of when his new band, Purple Mountains, was set to play in Philly. At…