Jugendstil - De Stijl - Depeche Mode

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I got a haircut today. I don't care much what my hair looks like...I sorta go for the low-risk / low-reward do. But it's always a challenge to get a haircut in another language. So, now that I have short hair again, I thought I'd write about German/Berliner haircuts and style.

I guess the stereotypical German haircut is the mullet. "Business up front, party in the back," according to Ben Yoder. The female crewcut is another one that comes to mind. Finally, there's the central/eastern European tendency for some women to dye their hair red, purple, pink, blue, whatever. (Not that they're the only ones that do that...but a lot do!)

Well, let me tell you the score: In West Berlin, folks pretty much look like Americans, but more formal and less fat. The moustache is more popular, though. The faux-blonde look is big, but not as ubiquitous in the States. Folks seem well-dressed, but it's cold out so it's hard to really judge.

In East Berlin, however, the scene is much more counter-culture. Superfluous piercings, hair dyes, "punk" looks... In the hairdresser where I got my 10-euro schnitt, one girl got her hair dyed magenta, and a woman got a femmullet. I thought that was pretty typical. Also, the under-30 females tend to have long hair...like down to the middle of the back. I can only guess this a generational rebellion...

Young men have non-descript haircuts (excepting punks). I have noticed some "hip-hop" looks around town, but that's mostly manifest by impeckably(sp?)-trimmed facial hair and the ridiculously oversized clothes. On that tip, dancehall music is completely huge here, and I don't know why.

The punk scene is part-goth, part-socialist...but the one commonality is a blood-feud with skinheads. I've never seen a punk-vs-skinhead brawl, and I don't really want to, but I bet it involves a lot of broken beer bottles.

But punks and skinheads are only notable exceptions to the rule, which is unabashed hipsterism. I don't have the heart to tell them that hipsterism is dead, that it's okay to shower, that a collar isn't evil... The latest "indie rock" (whatever that means anymore) from America or Britain is THE THING. Not too many trucker caps, but that was soooo 2002, anyway.

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Photos

my new haircut
this is my "I'm from America" shirt

mullet
a roadie for a Poison cover band

punk
"i'm a firestartah!"

hipster
uniquely conformist

Comments

[david vaughan]

music
Rawley, Please give us more details about "dancehall music." What is it and what does it mean?? Dad

[Mom]

hair dye
That purple/red dye/reinse is called "henna" and E. Eur. women have been using it for decades. Even a few ladies here in Lburg with recent Eur. background/association like to get that color. Interesting.

[melissa]

dancehall
(IMHO) Dancehall is what happened to reggae when it stopped being about peace and love and justice and started being about sex and drugs and shooting cops (and a fair amount of homophobia). It basically is characterized by DJs singing and rapping over original reggae, but faster with other stuff mixed in (drums and bass, etc)... It is the music from Jamaica that made it big in clubs all over the world recently; some of the Jamaican dancehall musicians perform with American musicians now (e.g. Sean Paul), popular in the hiphop scene but fundamentally different than american hip hop. The rhythms are catchy (and familiar) in the same way reggae is because of those roots, but rasta or "consciousness" musicians sometimes resent the comparison. Hope that helps.

[Sam]

that punk guy
Try this: mentally subtract the gratuitous piercings and the dorsal/lateral hair fins from the "punk", and it kinda looks like you, Rawley.