A review by letters2vera
Who Killed Mister Moonlight?: Bauhaus, Black Magick, and Benediction by David J. Haskins

emotional funny informative reflective sad

5.0

probably the best autobiography you’ll ever read. david j haskins is a a highly intelligent, eloquent, and well-read man (ie his fervent mentions of william s burroughs) — all of this is palpable in the way he writes. and by that i mean, it’s all just so immersive, descriptive, but funny and authentic at the same time. he recounts thirty years of his career with absolute ease. by the end it almost feels like you were there, like you could easily engage in a conversation with the band members, and feel as if you’d known them for years (there definitely is a very parasocial prospect to reading this).

but honestly it’s a little hard to put to words how incredible and exclusive this book is. just the whole aspect of it is very personal. and by that i mean VERY personal. you get to know bauhaus itself from the absolute roots, from the very humble beginnings, and david does not shy away from the nasty details. whether they are the bad or the good, whether the band is at a high or at a low. ranging from decades-lasting drug addictions, through infidelity and bizarre black magick (still unsure of what that is?) rituals and superstitions, to peter’s egotistical narcissism — you’ll get to know it all. 

one more thing i very much appreciated was david offering the necessary background and meanings to the lyrics !! it’s all the little things you won’t find anywhere else on the internet. and sometimes you really need it, because most bauhaus songs read like actual poems, with profound messages and a ton of symbolism and metaphors (peter’s fishcake song on their first exquisite corpse being no exception. what a work of art.)

going through the entire discography i’d play the tracks into my headphones, while reading a specific part that mentioned them — it was a four dimensional, out of body experience.

and by the end, especially since the band ends on such bad terms, you’re reading about how they know it’s the very last time they’re playing together, and it leaves you with a profound and lingering feeling of something akin to grief. an impactful ending to an impactful journey. 

did i say i love bauhaus to death. . ?