The Haircut

22 August 2013

For men of a certain age, and with a certain quality of hair, there comes a time when going for a haircut takes on an additional level of seriousness.

You watch the barber intently. Look out for the “look”. The look that indicates precisely the same thing as that sharp intake of breath from a car mechanic: “I have news that you know is coming but you’re not going to like it”.

This time, maybe you’re fine.

You escape haircut intact, demeanour preserved. But you know one day, you’re going to get the look – or even make the look yourself for those of significant conviction – bite the bullet and accept that you have finally succumbed in the battle with your receding hairline.

It’s. All. Got. To. Go.

Your haircut is important, isn’t it? For something so easily changeable it becomes a persons signature, defining them in a multitude of differing ways. Even changes aid that definition; sticking with one style for a long time says as much about a person as changing it all the time. Conservative and comfortable, experimental and indecisive. Something in between.

For the record, this time: no look.

* * *

This is my last week working for Beggars Group.

It’s been a pretty amazing ride over the last 8 years. I’ve had the ridiculous fortune to work with some of my all time favourite artists like Radiohead, The White Stripes, Sonic Youth and Queens of the Stone Age and about a million more. And then there was that whole Adele thing as well.

You can’t rest on your laurels forever, though. More importantly, I think everyone needs a challenge; problems to solve, things to change.

Next week I start at Kobalt Label Services as Marketing Director. It’s a fascinating time for the industry, with digital having finally bedded in and revenue coming from all sorts of different places it seems like the perfect point to take a step back and reconceptualise what a label could and should be, which is exactly what KLS is doing.

It’s exciting.

Sometimes there comes a point where you have to give yourself “the look”.

From: Articles

22 August 2013