mostly humorous. Silver Jews' songs were often sparse, usually with three or four chords, of novice difficulty. Berman understood his musical abilities were limited, the lo-fi sound initially obscuring his abilities. For a while, he wondered as to why he was without natural talent, eventually renouncing his creative insecurity and becoming assertive in his design. Berman spent significant time without playing his guitar and said his process of creating albums began with conceptualization and then daily refinement, typically writing the music first. For the first four Silver Jews albums, Berman wrote all the songs. Malkmus and Berman had differing approaches and were "longtime musical foil". With Tanglewood Numbers, Berman exercised greater care and control—Shaer observed soon after its release that the album "represents Berman's most comprehensive effort to focus his songwriting". Cassie and Berman "shared a brightening chemistry", the former's calm disposition onstage provided stability to Berman's electric presence. Everett True and Berman concurred that he was a natural performer. Berman also performed in a rigid manner, reading sheet music "like it's a literary reading"; Marc Hirsh of the Boston Globe said Berman used a music stand to create a barrier between himself and the audience. Cassie compared Berman's early showmanship to a child beginning to ride a bicycle. She did recall that their first performance belied his reluctance, as he was talkative to the extensive audience. Poetry Berman began to write poems in response to insecurites concering his musical abilites, the prospect arising from a competitive spirit. With regards to composition, he allocated the same time to both: two or three hours, in a daily manner, poetry being the more vigorous undertaking. His writings all saw extensive and meticulous rewriting, which he was initially averse to. He began to pursue the prospect of publication by age 22—two years before, by his judgement, his "first worthwhile song". Although his lyrics and poetry remain distinct from each other, critics have found they share certain defining characteristics, such as: Unlike his music, Berman's poetry did not feature rhyme and the poems in Actual Air were written in free verse—he composed his poems using written notes and disclosed that he "didn't know anything about form, rhythm or meter", surmising his structure to be accidental or instinctual. Berman has mentioned various poets as influences of his: James Tate—discernible via a similar and blunt approach to surrealism and, in Actual Air, per style and focus