and recorded discordant tapes in their living room – that same year, Malkmus's band Pavement released their debut extended play (EP), Slay Tracks: 1933–1969. The Whitney Museum of American Art – where Malkmus and Berman worked as security guards – and its contents (such as the art of Bruce Nauman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sherri Levine and Louise Lawler) was an influence to Berman. He wrote lyrics and poems while working shifts at the museum, occasionally in collaboration with Malkmus, who along with Berman would "get high" at Central Park on their lunch breaks. According to Berman's longtime friend Kevin Guthrie, Malkmus and Berman had a harmonious friendship, and Nastanovich revered both artists' creativity. "It was mostly drinking beer and seeing grunge bands" Malkmus said regarding this time period and recalled that Berman appeared as a somewhat "scary goth" but was kind and enthusiastic, strongly desiring to be involved with Jewish culture. Though Berman sometimes felt irritated by a common view that Silver Jews were merely a side project to Pavement, the connection led to his signing with indie label Drag City, which would later release all of his albums. The band's relation to Pavement was responsible for them amassing a "national audience", a notice great enough that the resulting sales meant Berman did not have to tour. The band's first extended-plays (EPs) Dime Map of the Reef and The Arizona Record were not commercially successful but gained them attention. Kim Gordon was an admirer and Will Oldham said Dime Map of the Reef inspired him to send recordings to Drag City. Following the EPs, Berman began studying for a master's degree in poetry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dubbing this time an "academic exile", Matthew Shaer, in a 2006 Boston Globe article, speculated that Berman's extended time studying may have been an attempt to distance himself from Pavement. Three years earlier, Berman reflected upon his time there: after "meet[ing] grown dignified men who play with fucking words all day," he felt he had "permission to believe that I could try for that life". He tried to get poems published in the American Poetry Review but was rejected, which increased his interest in music, "despite scarcely knowing how to sing or play guitar". As of 2005, Berman's public appearances mostly consisted of poetry readings. By October 1994, Silver Jews had enough material for their debut album Starlite Walker. The release established