February 1991: Age 22:

I was just a Metalhead
Listening to a new tape I’d bought
On headphones via Sony® Walkman and

This one song drew me into the music
And it felt like pure love—

The opening was a wall of distortion,
A solo of sorts. Simple and powerful.
David J’s distorted bass:
Five notes came in, owned the air repeatedly.
Kevin Haskins’ drumming:
Steady beats followed the tasty bass tone.
Daniel Ash’s guitar:
His chords added volume to a slow, gloomy rhythm.
Peter Murphy’s vocals:
Low, seductive croon morphed into
Screamed lyrics, direct challenge for me to
Speak up and speak out, no matter
How grave the situation is:

Don’t back away just yet
From destinations set
I dare you to be proud!
To dare to shout aloud!
For convictions that you feel
Like sound from bells to peal!

Musical melodrama
From 4 men called Bauhaus from England, around 1979.
Their style was nothing I could pin a name on.
It was passion released
Unlike any Soul/Rap/Punk/Heavy Metal track.
Sonic gateway
To other bands of their mysterious type:

Siouxsie And The Banshees, Joy Division, The Wake,
Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission, Sunshine Blind,
Nosferatu, Switchblade Symphony, Autumn,
The Shroud, Dead Can Dance, Christian Death—
The list
Remains endless—

This one song drew me into the music
And it felt like pure love—

This music dared me
Double dared me
Into the scene formed around it:
Darkly romantic, somber, elegant, clothed
In its own lacy, silken, velvet, khaki, stretch cotton
Dance floor-twirling

Deepest
Black.

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Dee Allen – African-Italian performance poet based in Oakland, California. Active on creative writing & Spoken Word since the early 1990s. Author of 8 books–Boneyard, Unwritten Law, Stormwater, Skeletal Black [ all from POOR Press ], Elohi Unitsi [ Conviction 2 Change Publishing ], Rusty Gallows: Passages Against Hate [ Vagabond Books ], Plans [ originally Nomadic Press, now re-issued from Black Lawrence Press ] and coming in February 2024, Crimson Stain [ EYEPUBLISHEWE ]–and 72 anthology appearances under his figurative belt so far.