isn't it weird? isn't it strange?

Opinions from May - August 1998:

Here are the glimpses of my feelings about some performances that span from May to August 1998:

VH1 Save the Music

As someone who has been a teacher, I confess, I envied the teachers at this performance. I had to chuckle though when I heard Taylor refer to a teacher as “an old guy” while selecting him to ask a question – the guy looked to be in his early thirties to me. (c; Incidentally, in answering this teacher’s question about their formal music training, home schooling comes up. As many of you know, I have a tendency to take note whenever one of his brothers interrupts Zac. And this time, Taylor not only interrupts his younger brother, but puts his hand up as if to gesture him to “hold on so I can answer this tricky question.” I just shook my head. That Taylor is something else . . . (grin) At one point, it almost looked like Zac was at a tennis match as he sat between his two brothers observing while they answered questions. Along the lines of the interview questions, the editing was clever. Each question seemed logically to lead to the next song. Example: What does MMMBop mean? Then, you hear this song. Who inspired you? And then, “Gimme Some Lovin’.”

I enjoyed watching those out-takes of the guys reporting the facts about music education enhancing overall academic performance . . . Whew. That sentence IS too long.

Some thoughts on the performance: It was fun to see Taylor having a good time just jamming on the bongos to illustrate the evolution of their #1 song. It seemed as though he was almost disappointed that it didn’t take Isaac longer to get ready to play MMMBop. Isaac, faithful to their collaborators, gives credit to the Dust Brothers’ influence in the up-tempo version. Isaac’s love of guitar playing was evident during “Minute Without You.” I love to hear Zac sing the opening notes to “Weird.” Very sweet. The funniest moment? At the end, when Taylor gives the audience a command to join him on “three” for “Gimme Some Lovin’.” He seems to have lost the beat for just an “mmmbop” . . . (That’s my attempt to use this Hanson vocabulary word in a sentence – smile). (gasp) The almighty Taylor – off-rhythm? It’s not possible!

The Magic Hour

What do “Oddsville,” “The Jenny McCarthy Show” and “The Magic Hour” have in common? Hanson has outlasted every one of these shows. And for good reason, in my humble opinion. First of all, the opening sketch where Magic’s “nephew” is dying to meet Hanson and even has their “lunchbox” is an attempt to make fun of devoted Hanson fans. This concept has already been done in a much better way by the band itself in the “River” video. Please! But the lame humor continues later with a spoof on the milk mustache advertisement with a long-haired Magic inserted among the Hansons. Again, echoes of “Saturday Night Live” with Helen Hunt where she says that she’s a 4th Hanson, of the “MTV Movie Awards” with David Spade where he claims to be a lost Hanson, of an early interview with Hanson where a t.v. personality plays tambourine with the band and says she could easily join the band since she’s a “natural blond.” It could be just me, but it almost feels as if this joke might be played out at this point.

Most readers to this page could probably predict that I would have something to say about a certain guest who appeared on this show with Hanson. I’m speaking, of course, about the appearance of and the discussion surrounding Downtown Julie Brown: Playboy cover girl. WHAT were the producers thinking?!! It’s not my place to judge, but they must have known that the entire Hanson family comes to the set with their brothers – not to mention the fact that the band members themselves are young men of honor going through adolescence. I mean, I appreciate the beauty of the human body as much as anybody else, but Julie refers to her own body with the initials, “T and A” and mentions that she had to get “lit up” in order to pose without her clothes on. I can only shudder or picture Mr. and Mrs. Hanson covering the girls’ ears or shutting off the set backstage. I did notice that although, Hanson does not disrespect Julie personally, during their interview, they are not too impressed by her suggestion that one day the band star in their own animation series or something.

During the “River” performance, it seemed to me that the band looked a little uncomfortable. I mention this in comparison to another appearance I’ll comment on next. Just one example of this feeling is that Isaac kept looking at Taylor for cues. He does this at other performances, but here, he just looks unsure.

The guys don’t look very relaxed in the interview either. First of all, in my opinion, the opening scene contains some bad, bad editing – I just don’t want to hear someone screaming, “Oh my God! Hanson! I love them so much!” (someone generally going berserk) as the camera pans in on the guys. This irritating introduction only leads to Magic virtually forcing a confession out of Zac about some backstage activity involving, oddly enough, Zac and Jenny McCarthy. After teasing Zac about kissing Jenny, he tells him he’s too young for girls. Very strange. Throughout the entire interview, Taylor seems to be nervously twisting a ring on his finger. In an attempt to move the conversation in a positive direction, Taylor reveals that he has done some homework on their host – He mentions that Magic himself came from a large family of 10 children. Then, Isaac does his Austin Powers impression. But it felt kind of like one of those things that you do at a party to keep up the appearance of having a good time. A highlight of the interview for me? Zac’s seated version of karate kicks when Magic mentions the next guest – 11 year old karate champion, Brandon Street.

Magic has a good heart, but this show was not a shining moment in a new career for this basketball legend.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

The Hanson family loves Jay and he seems to enjoy having them over whenever they’re in town promoting a new single. This unexpected camaraderie influences the guys’ interview, I believe. But more on that later.

I loved the splashy screens that hung behind the band while they played, “River.” Isaac looked very, very nice for this show. His ribbed shirt was extremely flattering – it has to be one of my favorites. I mention this, because it’s something that stuck out for me even though I don’t usually dwell on the guys’ clothes in these comments. Besides, he appeared to be in an especially good mood for this show – which probably factored into how great he looked. During the performance, I did not notice Isaac anticipating Taylor’s leads at all. Isaac looked relaxed and confident. In comparison to the “Magic Hour,” this was something that made an impression on me. All three guys looked like they enjoyed being back on “The Tonight Show.”

Taylor proved to truly be “the shy one” in this interview when he backed out of an offer to holler with the hollering champion who was also a guest on the show. Instead, in a moment of desperation to avoid having to actually holler on national television, he asks the fans if they want to scream. And, wouldn’t you know it? They do. (c: Zac, possibly following Taylor’s lead from the Magic interview, does homework on their host – he begins to tease Jay about not liking hot liquids. Now for Zac to initiate conversation during an interview is rare. However, Jay, apparently feeling somewhat exposed, looks for a way to retaliate in some small way. This leads to Jay asking the band, once again, if they have girlfriends . . . and when they give the predictable answer, Jay says, “And you say I’m odd.” The guys don’t know what to do, but grin foolishly. Jay is like a good-natured uncle who knows how to clown around by giving the guys a hard time. Can you blame the younger ones for liking Jay so much and painting him pictures?

FANatic

MTV chose Hanson’s #1 fan wisely and well – a male. And to top it all off, Aaron asked some good questions. The fact that the show was filmed at a venue I actually attended and one that I pass on my way to my parents’ house continues to be pretty thrilling for me – simple pleasures (grin).

My favorite parts? Oh my gosh! There are some pretty classic moments here.

1. “We’re Aaron’s biggest fans!” (Taylor pounding the bench) “Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous!” (Zac imitating a fan) “I knew him when he was this big.” (Isaac indicating a 6 inch space with his hands)
2. Zac running to meet Aaron with his arms flying wildly.
3. Taylor explaining that it’s not “us allowing you (to express music)” but it’s “you allowing us.”
4. Aaron saying, “You’re so smart.”
5. Taylor saying, “No, but it’s true.”

In the Hanson Scrapbook comments, I mention the guys interviewing style. It comes up again in this interview when Aaron asks the band to complete this sentence, “If it weren’t for (blank), we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Zac deflects the question by saying, “If it weren’t for YOU, the fans . . . “ (Which is actually very endearing since he has such a huge, goofy smile on his face when he says it.) Taylor agrees and tries to explain it even more. But Isaac has a “come on guys, we can’t forget” look in his eyes when he goes on to mention their parents’ role in the band’s success.

Speaking of Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, it was surprising to see Mrs. Hanson (I’m pretty sure that’s her.) stroll by very briefly near the end when the guys inform Aaron that he will be attending the concert that night. She is wearing a simple, but classy gray dress and sandals. Her hair is much shorter, in a nice wavy cut. She looks amazing – I mean, the woman has given birth to seven children!! You can see her again in the final scene in the bottom corner of the screen as the guys turn and wave good-bye.

There you have it! Am I up to date yet? Let me know if I’ve missed an appearance that you’re burning to hear my humble opinion of. (This comment is for the one or two people who stumble across this page. grin)