Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff The Magic of the Broken: David J (Bauhaus / Love and Rockets)
Apr 29, 2026
David J, bassist for Bauhaus and Love and Rockets and author of poetry on magic and noir consciousness. He explores shamanic performance, radio as a medium, dreams and afterlife visitations, the poems in his new triptych, the beauty of brokenness, goth as prophecy, creative serendipity, and music as activism.
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Spontaneous Rhythm Echoed Timothy Leary's Last Word
- At a Love and Rockets show David J felt Timothy Leary's presence when the band embraced a spontaneous ricochet rhythm that culminated in the crowd chanting 'beautiful.'
- Howard Hallis later told him Leary's last words were 'beautiful,' tying the moment to Leary's farewell.
Triptych Frames A Four-Decade Poetic Arc
- David J grouped decades of poems into a triptych: Rhapsody (earthly rapture), Threnody (laments), and Prayer (sincere dedicatory vows).
- He imposed that structure after assembling work spanning 1977 to the present to create a dimensionalized object.
Goth Darkness Is A Path Toward Light
- David J argues the goth/noir engagement with darkness aims toward light: flirting with poetic darkness to emerge into transcendent beauty.
- He connects that aesthetic to compassion, tenderness, and a non‑toxic model of masculinity onstage.
