So what is a "mullet"?

[avevale_intelligencer]

Someone on my flist was annoyed by neighbours playing what he described as "mullet-rock" quite loud. He apparently responded by playing "death metal" even louder, and thereby "won." Certainly over all the other people in earshot who didn't really want to listen to either. His flist duly applauded this act of compounded noise pollution.

Moving from the specific case to the general...I've seen various photos of people described as having "mullets," and one thing I notice is that they're all different. "Mullet" seems to be a generic term for "haircut I do not like" or possibly "haircut that in any way involves having hair." Now it also means "haircut as worn by people who enjoy music I do not like." How long till we start to hear about restaurants serving "mullet-food" and cinemas showing "mullet-movies"?

I'm concerned about this because I'm fairly sure some of the music I like--music with rhythmic and harmonic variety, a rich and diverse texture of sounds, and well-sung lyrics containing words of more than one syllable--falls within the bounds of "mullet-rock." As anyone who knows me will readily appreciate, I am deeply concerned about fitting into my preordained role in society and presenting a consistent outward persona, and the right haircut, the right food, and so on are very important in this area. I need advice.

Alternatively, of course, I could just be infuriated by the endless stream of new, manufactured prejudices that seem to spring up to replace the ones our consciences won't let us practice any more. There's a Law of Conservation of Bigotry at work here. Down with mulletism!

EDIT: telynor has done what I should have done and checked out Wikipedia, so I now know what a mullet is supposed to be. I don't actually find it particularly attractive myself, but since I'm not the one wearing it that doesn't matter.

I was also interested in this passage on one of the linked sites, which I assume is meant to be funny, but the humour of which rather eludes me:

"Research on the mullet phenomena, at this stage, is still in its infancy. However it is suggested by many top laboratories that the mullet, as it slowly reaches maturity, begins to grow tentacles into the brain of the victim. which affect several areas of the brain and fundamentally alter the candidate's actions and behavioural responses. Said behavioural changes mainly include extreme agression, the proclivity to consume large amounts of alcohol, pedophilia, lack of hygeine, dramatic reduction in inhibitions (often bolstered by the consumption of alcohol), sense of paranoia and distrust towards authority/governmental figures, and most importantly - steadily decreasing IQ levels."

My point is made.

Comments

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a kind of fish.

That's what being away from mainstream British culture for 13 years does for you. How I miss it.

The only time I ever did the competitive/abusive music thing was after several months of living next door to an elderly couple who hosted a small and inept brass band on Sunday mornings. We put up with several months of dismal awakenings, rounds of laughter and smug self-congratulation on the rare occasions they all managed to finish at approximately the same time, before the morning when they decided to start early and play worse than usual. That was when the stereo got turned round to face the (rather thin) wall, and Iron Maiden, I think it was, put on as loudly as possible. After that, they resumed their later starts.

[the-gwenzilliad.livejournal.com]

A mullet is a haircut that is short on the top, long in the back. Here's the Wikipedia entry, if you're interested.

They were very popular in the 80s. Lots of American 80s bands had them.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Thank you, my dear.

[the-gwenzilliad.livejournal.com]

I live to serve.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I thought a mullet was a star in heraldry, or a fish, so I looke it up. It is indeed both, the recent (1996, apparently) usage for the haircut may come from a 19th century pejorative term "mullet-head" (apparently derived from the shape of the fish) meaning a stupid person. Or maybe not, etymology not being an exact science. I wonder if I like mullet-rock? Or a fish called rock mullet?

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

I've seen "mullet-rock" used to describe some forms of what is also called "prog-rock," "pomp-rock" and "that stuff Zander likes," so quite possibly the former. I couldn't speak to the latter (it was out, so I left a message).

[keristor.livejournal.com]

OK, 'pomp-rock' is another term new to me. Wikipedia doesn't seem to know it (although my search-fu is not good so it may be there but I'm not looking in the right way). A Google search seems to imply that it is used about Yes and other bands of the era I like, though. "That stuff Zander likes" certainly overlaps a lot with "stuff Keris likes" (was it Zander who reminded me of The Enid a few months back?), although I suspect that Zander is more knowledgeable than me about much of the music of that era (I was only just coming out of my "hypercubical" period where I regarded everything written after about 1880 as "modern rubbish").

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

ROFL!

Add "that stuff Dicky likes" (though it's not the only studd Dicky likes)!

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Case in point (and here's where you turn away in horror): "You're The Voice," written by (I believe) Chris Thompson, recorded by Heart and more famously by John Farnham. This is one of my hundred or so favourite songs (and would I think make a great Uru video, but that's another subject entirely). I'm fairly sure the people who make these distinctions would class it as "mullet-rock" and therefore worthless. Which, of course, they have a perfect right to do, and it's their loss and all, but I'm not yet so cut off from common humanity as not to feel a smidgen of all-devouring incandescent rage when someone impugns my taste.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Yes, I immediately thought of the heraldry and fish too. If rock salmon, why not rock mullet?

This sort of thing reminds me of one of my favourite cartoons (from NME Circa 1976) of a be-badged rock fan in a record store demanding to hear "some Wagner played VERY LOUD".

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I found the term quite amusing :-) I was looking back through some photos of my college days a little while back, and noted that almost *everyone* had mullets. They were just fashionable then. They were also a bit silly - not brave enough to grow the hair all over, but still enough hassle to get the top-bit cut. I never saw the point myself, but I certainly remember giving my boyfriend of the time a mullet-trim :-) Having lived with it through it's heyday, I wouldn't find it anymore of a perjorative term than ... "rat-tail" (I had one of those - short all over, thin little padawan braid at the back) or "poodle-perm". They were all named haircuts of the day which brand us back to those times, as there is generally only a short time when anyone is vain enough to care about getting their hair cut in "the latest style" as opposed to "whatever suits you".

I would personally have knocked on the person's door and asked if they'd mind turning it down. But I've had to learn to be considerate - I play bagpipes :-)