While I Wasn't Looking, Hanson Got Hot
by Lisa Turner, Groovalicious Editor
July 21, 2003 + Boston, MA
If Only Kilborn Had Guests Like These

I'm flipping through channels the other night, to see who the guests are on various talk shows. I get to Leno, who I don't always enjoy, and saw that alongside Bill Maher and Serena Williams, the musical guest was going to be Hanson. I tried to laugh at the cheese factor, but secretly, I was excited. I flipped around some more, pretending it wasn't a big deal to me, but knew I would come back to check them out.

You probably haven't heard from, or even thought about, the Hansons in a while. Their last new record, and accompanying tour, happened three years ago, an eternity in a business where many careers don't last more than a few months. Since then the biggest news to come from the Oklahoma boys was last year's wedding of Taylor Hanson (the middle one, age 19 at the time) to his high school sweetheart.

Now, before you start with the 'Hanson sucks!' chant, let's take a look at the boys' history. Yes, they brought us MMMBop. Some people will never forgive them for that, even though they poked fun at themselves for that song in an amusing SNL skit.

But compared to other boy bands (most of whom joined the scene after Hanson broke through the grunge wall of the mid 90's), Hanson has heart, and talent. They play their own instruments. They were not put together by a greasy fat man, a cable tv channel or by an elaborate mobile phone voting system. They have never gone into rehab, terrible reality TV hosting gigs, or the Russian space program.

Three Out of Four Tough Critics Say 'Hanson Rocks!'
I know you aren't going to take my word for it though, so have a look at what the highly critical Rob Sheffield had to say about Hanson's second album, back in 2000, in Rolling Stone:


"Even at its most automatic, the teen-pop La Machine can crank out great singles like the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" or LFO's "Summer Girls." But as sure as Michael J. Fox played Alex P. Keaton, none of these groups has the style, imagination or musicality of Hanson. Like a blond three-headed hydra, Hanson loom over the competition, making all other teen idols sound like Gerber-sucking clowns. And they've already made more good albums than the Bay City Rollers, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, Tony DeFranco and the DeFranco Family, and Kristy and Jimmy McNichol combined!"
Although I've never owned a Hanson album, I've always admired their talent and determination, and the way they seem to stay down-to-earth even through all the groupies and temptations of a rock and roll lifestyle. Don't think they're too bubblegum though. Taylor Hanson's marriage, although fairy-tale-esque-a-licious, took place just five months before the birth of his son. Do you need to borrow my calculator? They're nice guys, but they aren't the Osmonds.

Haircuts Worked for Metallica and Chris Cornell
Back to Leno. The boys went on last, promoting their upcoming tour and album, Underneath Acoustic. That means they performed stripped down: two guitars, a couple of percussiony shaky things and three voices. The voices are older, more mature and seasoned, and fittingly, so is their look.

That's right, not only has the music grown up, but gone are (most of) the flowing golden locks that cursed them with their pretty boy image. Maybe the boys got a stylist (and if so, Christina Aguilera should get his or her number, I mean really, the girl has become a mockery of a sham of a farce of her own fake image), or maybe their sense of cool has prevailed over their mid-western upbringing.

Isaac, age 22, has chopped off the curls and has gone short and spiky English punk, à la David Beckham, with a touch of Robbie Williams. I thought he was looking hot last year when I accidentally saw him on Sabrina the Teenaged Witch (the first and only time I ever saw that show, I swear), but this is an improvement even over that.

Taylor has kept his trademark flowing tresses (the better for baby to grab onto, I suppose), but young Zac, who was only 11 back in the Middle of Nowhere days, has shed the waist-length heavy metal look, and the baby fat, and has gone from goofy kid brother to jail bait. And don't think that I'm usually into that kind of thing. I'm the Dave Navarro freak, remember? I wonder if Zac ever paints his nails. Hmmm.

As far as celebrity-kids-who-I've-watched-grow-up-before-my-very-eyes, these three could easily blend right in with the tasty Lawrence brothers. I mean, have you seen little Andy on Oliver Beene? Or Matthew back on Boy Meets World? Now that's a family tree I'd like to climb, build a fort in, and have a picnic. Oh! And if the Hanson and Lawrence trees were close enough together, I could hang a hammock.

Oh Yeah, They Play Songs Too
Right, enough about their hair and sex appeal. Back to the music. Acoustic won't be available until next month, but if the Leno performance is any indication, it's going to be full of the energy and excitement that you feel as you finish your teenaged years and start the chaos of your early twenties. Having lived a little life now, the boys probably have more to say too. Probably.

And if name-dropping means anything to you, the brothers worked with Carole King, Michelle Branch, the Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson and Matthew Sweet on this effort.

The tour starts next month (as long as no one breaks a stupid finger in a stupid car accident). I think you'll want to catch them, this time around.

(Thanks to yatcaz for bringing this article to our attention)