Hanson hit number one for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 with “MMMBop” on this date in 1997, but the fact is, that “Ba du bop, ba duba dop” hasn’t left anyone’s head for the last 19 years. And speaking of “MMMBop’s” ability to live in the back of your mind for nearly two decades, a lot of music from the 90’s had a comparable smash hit, “it” factor quality. Here are 15 songs thatll give you flashbacks to rewinding your Titanic VHS tape for the thousandth time and talking to your girlfriends about the new Spice World movie while trying not to get tangled up in the cord of your landline.
Widely Hated 90s Icon ‘Hanson’ To Run For Senate
After numerous failed and embarrassing attempts at a comeback, anti-immigration campaigner and writer of smash hit ‘Mmmbop,” Hanson, is set to run as an independent candidate for the Queensland Senate.
Despite being widely viewed as a one-hit wonder who should stay in the 90s, Hanson’s focus on pressing issues such as Halal certification and the failure of multiculturalism has struck a chord both with those who are frightened of foreigners and those who just love remembering kitsch 90s culture.
“There’s never been a better social climate for Hanson to make a political comeback,” a spokesperson for One Nation explained to The Backburner. “The 90s are hella in, Pogs and Pokemon cards are selling for loads on eBay, and Australia still crawls with an underbelly of insidious racism and xenophobia.”
“Some say Hanson only appeals to a fanatical minority, but that’s absolutely ridiculous. The entire Middle of Nowhere album was an infectiously sunny pop-rock hit selling around 10 million copies worldwide.”
Hanson is reportedly bizarrely popular with particular sections of voters, with one man telling The Backburner “Mmmbop is an absolute banger, nobody can deny it. Who can resist Hanson’s knack for crafting uplifting pop-rock beats and protecting the white Australian way of life?”
A Buzzfeed listicle entitled “Only 90s Kids Will Remember Hanson!” has attracted more than 3 million views, featuring images of Hanson’s luscious, dreamy hair interspersed with nostalgia-inducing clips of Hanson’s 1996 maiden parliamentary speech stating “We are in danger of being swamped by Asians.”
Hanson’s senate campaign will reportedly be self-funded, with the money coming entirely from royalties from smooth, heartfelt holiday album Snowed In.
The Backburner is Australia’s most trusted news source, it is quite obviously satire and shouldn’t be taken seriously or before operating heavy machinery.
Hanson Reveals the Surprising Story Behind ‘MMMBop’
The 20-year anniversary of the mega pop hit also marks the day grunge died and pop music was re-embraced by teens round the world. And it was all thanks to a bunch of indie-rock hipsters.
Weary millennials, let me take you back to 1996. It was a simpler time, when Leonardo DiCaprio was our God, Jonathan Taylor Thomas our Jesus, and Tiger Beat our Bible. It was also the year that a little-known band called Hanson would record the original demo for “MMMBop”—a song that would eventually rule the radios and hearts of teens across the globe and become the final death rattle for grunge music. “MMMBop” ultimately served as the bridge from alternative music back to pure pop.
“MMMBop” became the defining pop anthem of the late 90s and the runaway hit of Hanson’s album Middle Of Nowhere. It reached #1 in 27 countries, earned three Grammy nominations, and led the band to massive success, with over 16 million records sold worldwide. While Hanson has often been dismissed as bubble gum bullshit for the grade-school demographic, their debut album’s pedigree was actually rooted in the alternative rock scene of 90s Los Angeles.
The Dust Brothers, who oversaw the Beastie Boys’ Paul‘s Boutique and Beck’s Odelay,produced Middle of Nowhere. Tamra Davis, who had directed videos for the Beastie Boys (her husband is band member Mike D), the Lemonheads, Veruca Salt, and Sonic Youth, helmed the “MMMBop” music video. David Campbell, a prolific composer who worked with Beck (his son), Green Day, Hole, Alanis Morrissette, laid down arrangements for the album.
But before all that, the Hanson boys were just three kid brothers making music in the garage of their family’s home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here, then, is the oral history of “MMMBop”— told by the brothers and those who engineered their iconic success.
Three Kids, A Garage, and A Dream
Taylor Hanson: We grew up around music in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We got turned on to rock and roll and R&B, and very quickly that spark happened. Zac was really young when we first started.
Isaac Hanson: You were four, Zac!
Zac Hanson: I wasn’t that interested in making music when I was four. [laughter]
Taylor: We started officially playing together in 1992. We stood up there in our leather jackets like 1950s greasers and sang covers of 50s songs from Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Bobby Day.
Isaac: Our first proper gig was at this local music festival, when I was eleven, Taylor was nine, and Zac was six.
Taylor: We were building [our careers] from the ground up. We had several thousand fans on a mailing list. We’d send out mailings, literally licking stamps and sending out cards [that listed our] gigs over the next month.
Christopher Sabec [Hanson‘s first manager]: I was at SXSW [when I discovered Hanson]. These three kids had been going up to people in the crowd and asking to perform for them. Taylor asked if they could perform for me and I said, “Sure.” They sang “MMMBop” for me a capella. When I heard them sing that song, I knew they had huge potential. I pursued them to get a management contract.
Taylor: Over the five years before we [became famous], we made a couple of records locally. Our second independent record was called “MMMBop,” which got its name from that song. [The original, indie version of MMMBop] was a different tone when it first was released in 1996.
Sabec: [We used] that independent record, and shopped [the band] to at least 14 labels.
Taylor: We were turned down by everybody in the industry. But we’re stubborn.
An Empty Gig Leads to Surprise Success
Steve Greenberg [A&R for Mercury Records at the time]: By the point [I got their MMMBop demo], I think twelve labels had passed on it. I heard it and thought it was a great song. But often, when you get these demos from very young people, there’s something wrong with the picture. I was like, “OK, this was really good, but is this for real?” So I decided to go see them in April of 1996. I went to Coffeyville, Kansas, where they were playing at the Coffeyville New Beginnings Festival. There were very few people there.
Taylor: Steve Greenberg came to see us play that show in Coffeyville. We’d been trying for years to get record labels to come see us, and they kept turning us down. But then you go and have this small show that you don’t want anyone to see, and that’s the one they decide to come to.
Greenberg: The festival wasn’t well-attended, but they were really good. I went backstage and met them. I told them how much I liked them, and that I hoped [Mercury Records] could do something with them. I’d been looking for a “Hanson” before I knew that they were Hanson. In 1996, you were coming out of the grunge period. The world had been dominated by dark, alternative music. I had this notion that kids in America weren’t really as pessimistic as all that.
Photo via Getty
Danny Goldberg [CEO of Mercury Records at the time]: Steve Greenberg put them on my radar. I’d hired Steve to be head of A&R after I became president of Mercury Records. He played me the demo of “MMMBop,” and it was a one-minute decision-making process. A young band that looked great, with that song—it just made sense. We made that deal quickly.
Taylor: Surprisingly, that random concert turned into an offer from Mercury Records in 1996. We switched gears from trying to grow our local fan club into going to California and recording [an album] with a budget.
Building Indie Street Cred with Alt Elders
Steve Greenberg [Executive Producer of Middle of Nowhere]: The album took about six months to do. We were coming out of this alternative rock moment, and everything was about alternative cred. People were very skeptical that we could do a pop record. And, as it happened, somebody at the label had an advance cassette of the Beck album, Odelay, a couple of months before it came out. I heard the album, and arranged to get [Odelay producers] the Dust Brothers to produce Hanson. [Hanson] headed to California in June of 1996 and set up their equipment at the Dust Brothers’ studio, which was at this house in Silver Lake. It was the Dust Brothers’ involvement that helped us achieve alternative cred.
Taylor: I think one the biggest shifts for us was learning to let certain things go. We were kids, but we had really produced our music all ourselves [prior to that point]. To give credit to our partners, the shape of [the new version of] “MMMBop” came out of a conversation with the Dust Brothers, talking about the Jackson Five. They grew up listening to the Jackson Five.
Isaac: And we grew up listening to the Jackson Five!
Taylor: The definitive shift from a melancholy mid-tempo beat [in the demo “MMMBop”] to being a completely upbeat song came down to picking a Jackson Five-like rhythm.
Steve Greenberg: The vocals on “MMMBop” were recorded by a vocal coach named Roger Love. It was very unsteady with the vocals, because Taylor’s voice was changing. On that great demo version of “MMMBop,” it’s sung in a very exciting key. I really wanted to keep that key. But his voice was changing, and it was really difficult. We brought in Roger Love to coax him through the vocals. It’s a really high note, and we kept fighting and fighting and we finally nailed it right at the end of the project.
Danny Goldberg: Steve and I wanted to create a patina of hipness around a pop record. I think we picked exactly the right people. They didn’t try to make it like Nine Inch Nails or too hip. But they did add a hipness factor that smoothed the pathway to quick exposure in all aspects of the business.
The MMMBOP Music Video: Only Dorks Rollerblade
Danny Goldberg: The big thing at that time in breaking a record was MTV. MTV was still at its peak of influence. I had worked with [music video director] Tamra Davis when I was a manager of Sonic Youth and she had made a great video [for them]. So I suggested Tamra make the “MMMBop“ video.
Tamra Davis [director of the MMMBop video]: Danny [Goldberg] sent me the track for “MMMBop” and three passport photos of those kids. I looked at Taylor and I was like, “Oh my god, if I was a thirteen-year-old girl, I would be madly in love with that kid.” And the song was really cute and catchy. I had done music videos for a bunch of other stuff the Dust Brothers produced. So I was like, “Yeah, let me meet Hanson.”
Taylor: Tamra Davis was connected to that whole LA indie scene. We had a very specific idea of what we wanted the video to be, but we sat down with Tamra, and her vision was more organic. So it was this fusion of our ideas and hers.
Tamra Davis: We shot it over two days, trying to be spontaneous. We definitely had a concept, but a lot of it was like, “I want to go jump out of that trash can” or “Let’s run through the rocks and go through this cave.” All that stuff is a kid’s imagination. [The rollerblading] was totally spontaneous. They were like, “We like rollerblading!” At that time I was, like, too cool. I was like, “Rollerblading? Only dorks rollerblade.” Then I was like, “Alright, alright, let’s put some rollerblading in.” It’s that thing of encouraging people to be who they are. They just had so much fun doing it, and it worked.
Taylor: [The Dust Brothers’] studio at the time was a house they rented in Silver Lake, and they had a big living room that looks out on a swimming pool. That’s where we set up the drums. The performance in that music video is exactly in the spot where we sat and talked with [the Dust Brothers] to write the song.
Isaac: It’s also where we recorded the song!
Danny Goldberg: After it was finished, the video went to MTV’s heavy rotation.
Steve Greenberg: MTV totally helped make Hanson. Tamra Davis made a great video, and was a “cred” director. In all our decisions, we went the “cred way” as opposed to the obvious pop way. It took Hanson from boys who wouldn’t have been taken seriously—instead, they were taken very seriously.
Tamra Davis: What I loved about those Hanson kids was that their family was so close. In addition to doing the video, [their parents] had them write a report on their music video experience. That was part of their homeschool assignment, to write a paper on it!
The Squeal of Optimistic Youth Heard Round the World
Taylor: We made our first appearance to promote the album [and] it was supposed to be just us and a couple hundred fans…
Isaac: … In a record store.
Steve Greenberg: Z100 did an event at the Paramus Park Mall in New Jersey, and Hanson was gonna sell the [“MMMBop”] singles from the record store in the mall. We got to the mall and the whole mall had been shut down because 10,000 girls showed up. It was insane. There are thousands of girls screaming in this mall. I called Danny Goldberg on my cellphone, and he said, “What is that high-pitched squeal in the background?” I said, “That’s the fans.” He couldn’t believe it. Danny had managed Nirvana at their peak—and he said, “I’ve managed a lot of really big artists, and I’ve never heard that sound.” At that point we just knew.
Taylor: I remember sitting in our van that day, seeing the flashing lights of our police escort, and fans crowded around the car. The thought I had was not, “Oh my gosh, we’re gonna be famous.” It was, “This is extraordinary…” We’d always had a deep appreciation for the opportunity to do music.
Isaac: We were also excited to find ourselves in a spot like Michael Jackson when he was a kid in the Jackson Five. Maybe, just maybe, we could be like the Jackson Five.
Frenzied Fans Flock for Festival- Hop Jam 2016
This Week in Billboard Chart History: In 1997, Hanson Hit No. 1 With ‘MmmBop’
Hanson
Jiro Schneider
The brother trio topped the Hot 100 for the first of three weeks. Plus, remembering chart feats by Mariah Carey, Deniece Williams and Hootie & the Blowfish.
Your weekly recap celebrating significant milestones from more than seven decades of Billboard chart history.
May 23, 1998
Mariah Carey scores her lucky 13th Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with “My All.” She’s since upped her total to 18 leaders, the most among all solo artists in the chart’s history.
May 24, 1997
Its lyrics may have been somewhat nonsensical, but, thanks to its undeniable hook, Hanson‘s “MmmBop” became a smash. On this date in 1997, it began a three-week stay atop the Billboard Hot 100.
May 25, 1991
The Billboard 200 adopts Nielsen Music point-of-sale data, sparking, for the first time in the rock era, a chart ranking album sales not by retailer reports but electronically-scanned unit sales. No. 1 that week? Adult contemporary icon Michael Bolton‘s Time, Love and Tenderness.
May 26, 1984
Give it up for Deniece Williams! And, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” too. Her smash reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 32 years ago today.
May 27, 1995
Nowadays, Darius Rucker is racking up country hits like “Wagon Wheel,” “Radio” and “Homegrown Honey.” Twenty-one years ago, he was also tops with Hootie & the Blowfish. On this date in 1995, the act’s breakthrough album Cracked Rear View, featuring the monster hits “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry,” “Only Wanna Be With You” and “Time,” spent its first of eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
May 28, 1983
Irene Cara‘s ’80s classic “Flashdance… What a Feeling” began a six-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
May 29, 2004
Gretchen Wilson climbed to No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, for the first of five weeks on top, with the Southern pride anthem “Redneck Woman.”
What the Ale: Find out what beers were poured and watch the sights
Third annual Hop Jam helps raise money for Food Bank
http://ktul.com/embed/news/local/third-annual-hop-jam-helps-raise-money-for-food-bank
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) – Another year for the Hop Jam Craft Beer and Music Festival is in the books. The third annual event was held Sunday in the Brady Arts District, hosted by Tulsa’s own Hanson Brothers. Thousands of people made their way to the festival, some traveled as far as Belgium to enjoy the fun and see the famous brothers.
Some visitors paid extra cash for their shot at winning a customized Hop Jam guitar. It was raffled off by Hanson and all proceeds benefitted The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. This is the third year the event has raised money for the organization.
“It’s really a wonderful thing because we can do a lot with that money in terms of meals, but it’s also just so fun to be out here with everybody,” said Food Bank executive director Eileen Bradshaw.
Bradshaw explained the raffle money comes at a perfect time. She said summer is the most challenging season for their services to families in need.
“The average family’s grocery bill goes up over $300 when the kids are out of school. And if kids were eating their breakfast and lunch at school, where does that money come from?” said Bradshaw.
That is a question Bradshaw hopes to solve with the help of money raised at Hop Jam. She said the festival helps the Food Bank get one step closer towards their goal of ending child hunger.
“Our mobile eateries are going out, they’re doing two breakfasts and four lunches every single day then we’ll kick off our summer café site. So we have a lot going on and this help comes at a really perfect time,” said Bradshaw.
The Food Bank is accepting donations to help its fight against hunger. Donors are welcome to learn more information on the organizations website.
REVIEW: The Hop Jam
IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Alex Ebert, of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform on the Main Stage during The Hop Jam Beer and Music Festival in Tulsa on Sunday, May 22, 2016. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
T he wild party that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros brought to The Hop Jam Sunday evening was a fitting end to a day full of music, beer and fun.
Each band had a distinct sound, from the heartfelt melancholy of John Moreland to a raucous set by Albert Hammond Jr. Music fans found something to like throughout the day while sipping beers from all over the world. X Ambassadors, Chase Kerby + The Villains and RVRB all made the third Hop Jam a memorable one.
Alex Ebert, frontman for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, knows how to command a crowd during a show. His wild movement on stage brings the crowd to his level. Fans and families danced the night away in the area in front of the Main Stage at Archer and Main Streets.
Their style of energetic folk music lends itself to a wild night. Their sound, coming from a huge band playing a variety of instruments, was solid throughout. Ebert, while wildly jumping around the stage and down into the crowd, kept his voice appropriate for the songs, not losing control except for when it seemed like he meant to.
The group based their sets on suggestions from the crowd, with fans shouting songs and Ebert obliging. That back-and-forth brought the crowd into the show in a deeper way. And it led the band to play their big hits, like “Home,” “Man on Fire” and “40 Day Dream.”
Hanson, who organizes The Hop Jam, didn’t play the headlining slot this year, but they did hop on stage for the encore, along with most of the rest of the bands who played throughout the day. No “Mmmbop” though, but the musicians played a fun rendition of John Lennon’s “Instant Karma.”
The brothers were also visible throughout the day all over the festival, introducing the Main Stage bands and pouring beer from their tent set up near their studio in the Brady Arts District.
Opening the festival on the Main Stage was the winner of the Tulsa World Opening Band Contest, RVRB. Sunday was one of their very early shows, but they played it like professionals, one of the true highlights of the evening. Cameron Mitchell has a fire for the electronic indie rock sound that was a treat for the early crowd around the Main Stage.
RVRB, like many of the early bands and those at Guthrie Green, unfortunately had a short set. It seemed like as soon as they started they were winding down, and that was a shame. As strong as they sounded, they could have had a much later set and played all night.
Families and fans got the chance to stretch out and relax at the Guthrie Green stage and were treated with some of the finest music in Tulsa.
All runners up in the Tulsa World Opening Band Contest, the five bands who played at Guthrie Green, were each unique and displayed great talent. Performers there included Sam Westhoff, The Young Vines, Nicnos, Nightingale and Groucho.
Westhoff, who is only 20, showed strong skill with his soulful voice, bringing bluesy grit to a rocking folk sound from his backing band. The Young Vines (who won the first Opening Band Contest in 2014 as Capitol Cars) have grown stronger and tighter with strong indie rock chops. Nicnos brought a fiddle to their hard rocking sound for something wholly unique and fun to watch. Nightingale combines folk and soul in a magical way, led by lead singer Briana Wright’s incredibly strong and sweet voice. Groucho’s gritty rock brought a palpable energy to the stage, a perfect ending to a stage full of unique local music.
I talked to several people while walking around the festival Sunday, and each person was as happy and excited as the last. With the third Hop Jam wrapped, it’s easily solidified its place as a must for Oklahoma festivals. Next year, which also happens to be the 20th anniversary of Hanson releasing their enormous breakthrough album “Middle of Nowhere,” the next Hop Jam is a day I’m already looking forward to.
Brewmasters share philosophies as Hop Jam celebrates art of making beer
Colin Best and Taylor Gardener of Tulsa get a sample of beer during The Hop Jam in the Brady District. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
There’s more to making beer than grains, hops, yeast and water.
Give several breweries those same ingredients and chances are they’ll come up with a unique flavor.
“Something happens at a festival like this,” said Zac Hanson, one of the brothers who founded The Hop Jam beer and music festival. “There is a networking element to it. But it’s also a chance to build relationships so that one day, down the line, you might brew something together.”
On Sunday, more than 100 beers were flowing on Main Street in the Brady Arts District from 60 breweries featured at third annual festival.
Alongside free concerts, food trucks and family entertainment, a group of brewmasters were invited to speak in front of VIP and Hop Snob ticketholders during the Hop Talks, the newest activity added by the Hanson Brothers.
“It’s for that group of people who want to build a relationship beyond drinking beer. They can learn the history and the mindset behind the beer,” said Zac Hanson about the Hop Talks. “The brewing community isn’t so different from the band community, we like to share our process and learn from each other.”
The festival has grown each year to feature more breweries from Oklahoma, the United States and internationally. As the craft beer scene continues to evolve, many festivalgoers expressed an interest in learning more about their favorite brands and finding new brands to enjoy.
During the first Hop Talk session, Norman-based 405 Brewing Co. brewer, Trae Carson shared his philosophy to brewing beer.
“So many breweries are hop-driven, but we approach it a little different,” he said from the stage at The Vanguard. “We like to say, ‘We should just try this.’ “
He was one of three brewers on stage invited to talk about beer alongside Taylor Hanson. Other companies included Tulsa’s Dead Armadillo Craft Brewing and Moonlight Meadery of New Hampshire. Carson talked about their FDR Imperial Stout, which is a malt heavy beer brewed with four varieties and roasted coffee.
“This is something I am very passionate about,” he said. “And there is so much enthusiasm between the different brewers here. We’re just feeding off each other to make a better product.”
Three Hop Talks were scheduled on Sunday with different brewers speaking at each session.
During the first session, festivalgoers Alicia Martens and Megan Laney, both from Orange County, Calif., sat near the stage to hear from the different brewmasters. Martens, who had seen the Hanson Brothers talk about their beer company before, was happy to learn more about the other brands at The Hop Jam.
“It was really cool to hear from them and what went into their beers,” Martens said. “This is the highlight of our weekend.”
Carson told the Hop Talks crowd he believes Oklahoma is ahead of the curve in terms of bringing great beers to the state.
“We’re behind in some ways, like our laws… but we’re second to none in the amount of great beer you can find here,” he said.
The Hop Jam brings thousands to Brady District
John Moreland performs Sunday on the Main Stage during The Hop Jam Beer and Music Festival in Tulsa. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Photo gallery: The Hop Jam Beer and Music Festival 2016
Related story: Hanson gives back with The Hop Jam
The Hop Jam on Sunday in the Brady Arts District was the first time Hanson did not play, stepping back the third year of the band’s beer and music festival from headliner to host.
That doesn’t mean the brothers lounged around all day.
Busy pouring beers and taking selfies with fans, Isaac Hanson said the weekend was a perfect way to celebrate Oklahoma beer, music, family and friends.
“I think it’s harder not playing,” Hanson joked. “It’s as much as we could hope for.”
Tens of thousands of people streamed in to the free downtown festival all day as beer flowed and music played. A dozen bands, more than half of them from Oklahoma and Tulsa, started playing early in the afternoon, culminating with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros headlining the night.
Families laid out blankets and played on the splash pad of Guthrie Green while listening to the music, including Janelle Weaver, who was watching her 2-year-old son, Carl Weaver, play in the water.
“It’s a mix of craft beer and music,” she said. “Can’t go wrong with that.”
Many of those taking part in The Hop Jam also participated in the weekend-long Hanson Day, a variety of events put on by the band for fans. The annual event draws thousands of people from around the world.
Sarah Dwyer has attended every Hop Jam and has attended the last three Hanson Day weekends. From Cincinnati, she said the event is a great chance to connect with fellow fans from around the world and the chance to explore Tulsa again.
“It’s crazy to think what they’re capable of and what we as a fan base are capable of when we come together,” Dwyer said.
Her friend, Sarah LaBarre, from Columbus, Ohio, said Hanson Day and The Hop Jam are opportunities for fans of Hanson, music and beer to come together for the same reason: A fun Sunday afternoon in Tulsa.
“A lot of the fans I don’t know, but when I come here, they treat me like family,” LaBarre said.
This is the first year for Suzany Mota, who made the trip to Tulsa for Hanson Day for the first time this year. And she is in the early running for the fan who traveled the farthest, coming with her husband from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
She’s a Hanson superfan, while her husband, Hanrique Lamtin, really enjoys beer. The Hop Jam gives them both a great day to take in a nice afternoon in downtown Tulsa.
“It’s like a little town, but very, very beautiful,” Mota said. (Sao Paulo has a population of around 11 million.)
“The people are amazing and so nice,” Mota added.
The Hop Jam was the culmination of a busy weekend in downtown Tulsa, which included Blue Dome Arts Festival and Tulsa International Mayfest.
“Tulsa is just hopping this weekend, for sure,” Weaver said.
Sunday sights during The Hop Jam in the Brady District. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
A beer is poured Sunday during The Hop Jam in the Brady District. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World