Which hatchet would that be? The Hanson one.
Yes, that Hanson. The Hanson that MMM-Bopped their way to the top of the charts multiple times circa 1997, then eased and seemingly dropped off the face of the music world. Well, they didn’t. They got royally screwed by the industry and their handlers, gave the whole studio system the middle finger, and started producing their own material (and made a revealing and educational documentary about it). They grew up, got married, had kids (yes, plural) all well before any of them turned thirty. As they evolved into adults, so did their music. They released an independent album, and another, and another, and slowly crept back into the ears of DJs and some mainstream marketers without ever breaking back into the limelight. Yet the general public still can’t shake the image of the golden-haired teens who (with a big helping hand from the Spice Girls) helped re-usher pop music into our lives.
Now, I could list the myriad of reasons why people resist listening to evolving and evolved Hanson, but it basically breaks down to this: those who secretly enjoyed ‘MMM-Bop’ back in the day are afraid they’ll like Hanson again and be ridiculed, and those who loathed ‘MMM-Bop’ and all it stood for cannot wrap their minds around the concept that musicians evolve. So let’s clear the air: anyone who makes fun of you for liking Hanson doesn’t understand the band and should be educated, and anyone who resists listening to Hanson because of pre-existing prejudice should pull their head out of their ass for a few minutes and give a listen to the evolution.
This brings us to the present state of Hanson and their new video which premiered on VH1 yesterday. It’s the second single off their new album (the first single/video kicks as much ass as any mainstream video out right now), and possibly my favorite track off the current album, Shout It Out. While the new CD isn’t my favorite of their work and I think could have used a bit more polishing (mostly in the lyric department), the tunes that work rank up there with the band’s best. The single ‘Give a Little’ is a peppy, catchy little number about losing one’s inhibitions and dancing with your girl because guess what fellas – she wants you to shake it with her because that’s hot. Truth. The mere fact that these young men understand a concept like this that continues to elude men the world over should be evidence enough that you should take a break from the new Radiohead album, ignore that product-placement-laden piece of garble Britney just released, stop comparing GaGa’s “Born This Way” to “Express Yourself,” remove your head from your sphincter for four minutes, give up your snobbish barriers and opinions and give a little open-eared (and open-minded) listen/viewing to this pop-rock gem
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