Middle of Nowhere Manifesto

You might need to sit down for this part: I didn’t own a copy of Middle of Nowhere till I was an adult. Look, I was busy in the 90’s spending an embarrassing about of time coming up with my own choreography to Paula Abdul songs. I know I’m not alone. Yet I somehow feel grateful for this record, in a time full of sound-a-like teen queens, Middle of Nowhere became something bigger to be part of, while bringing back bubblegum pop music in its purest form. It’s not exactly a deep record, but what did you expect from teen marketed pop music? 

For most Hanson music fans Middle Of Nowhere was the first album they bought. First concert. Mmmbop was the song you counted on to change your teenage headspace that now, as an adult is your patented karaoke got-to. 

Yet during the wait for a new Hanson record there is an internal struggle that seems to fester among fans with what kind of Hanson we really want. We aren’t the same music fans we once were and they aren’t the same band they once were. We want them to have mass appeal but don’t want them to sacrifice the artistically valid music we love either. We like the less commercial Hanson who caters to us and pretend that the idea of Hanson breaking record sales and selling out stadiums again doesn’t make our palms sweat. 

We defend our loyalty to Hanson by telling our friends, co-workers and the folks we go bowling with every Tuesday night “You just don’t get it” when they diss us asking when we are going to grow out of this Hanson thing or why Hanson? Listen up fellow Hanson fans, this is the single most important thing I will ever write in the pages of this blog (besides Underneath Taylor had the best hair) it’s not about “getting it” it’s about the experience. Music is personal like food, sex and the other great joys in life. Middle Of Nowhere is about the unique experience it created for those who really listened, not about getting it. Experience is why some of us find ourselves in tears in the middle of Target when some stupid song comes on. BTW totally normal. 

The non believers never scratch the surface, but we their fans, know to experience Hanson brings you right to the edge and justifies sitting on sidewalks with a number written in marker on your hand as a adult, who has a real job, for twelve hours. BTW totally not normal.   

There is an arguably important factor Hanson fans seem to still over look a decade later after Middle of Nowhere was released: if we stay, they’ll stay. Deep down, that’s all we really want.  

The W’s of MON:

-We will hold on to the ones who really care in the end they’ll be the only ones there
-We've got to change our point of view, if we want the sky blue
-We all get a little bit weird sometimes
-We all need somebody we can turn to someone who'll always understand
-We belong you know it in your heart
Verdict: As the music world continues to evolve, my hope is that we, the Hanson music enthusiasts, have the audacity to stay on their heels through the journey. Also, writing, “I love Taylor” on your face with a sharpie isn’t as cute on an adult like it was on a teenage girl standing in Time Square holding a puffy painted homemade sign. Lastly, the “where’s Johnny?” jokes weren’t funny in 1997 either. It needed to be said.