Toxic Gibberish
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Artist:
Nonsense hits have plagued pop music for decades. I suppose some of them are cute in their way, but, seriously... No thanks. I'd rather pass on 'em, especially the ones built around gabble - from the Merry Macs' "Mairzy Doats" and Horace Heidt's "The Hut-Sut Song" to Sammy Kaye's "Chickery-Chick" and Daddy Dewdrop's "Chick-a-Boom," to The Archies' "Bang-Shang-a-Lang" and today's Toxic Tuesday target, "MmmBop" by Hanson.
I will cop to tolerating Manfred Mann's "Doo Wah Diddy," the Police's "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," Outkast's "Hey Ya," and The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" (written by Phil Spector back when he was alleged to be a genius instead of a murderer). But that's it when it comes to gibberish songs. Really.
Returning to our toxicity du jour, "MMMBop" was not only an annoyingly peppy/poppy prance into Tune Town that grew more wearisome with each listen. It was the first and biggest hit for the three tow-headed, underage, admittedly talented Hanson brothers. (At least, they were underage when this track was released in 1997.)
The eldest Hanson, Isaac, was born in 1980. Taylor and Zac followed thereafter. According to the standard accounts, the Tulsa, Oklahoma boys showed musical aptitude early on, learned instruments, and began performing in public as Hanson before they could even shave. Their major-label debut album Middle of Nowhere featured "MMMBop," which hit #1 on the U.S. singles charts and the rest is, well, you know. So far, that's been the pinnacle of their career. I guess there was nowhere for them to go but down-er.
Now, without further ado (and with a lot of a-don't), here's Hanson and the "vintage" promo clip for "MMMBop." (Awww! That little one was so adorable...not!)
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Comments (18)
And yet ... somehow they got the Dust Brothers to produce. Whaaaa?!?
One of the animal characters in the Disney film Bambi says that if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all, and normally, as a Mogger, I follow that rule, and I'll follow it here when I say that I can't think of anything bad to say about "MMMBop" musically; in fact I love it. Now I have say bad things: Fortunately I wasn't a rock radio listener when it was a hit; if I had been, I might have had enough of it forever. This video, like most rock videos, has so little confidence in our attention span toward its often wonderful images, and so little confidence in non-random editing, that if I were to have to watch it again, it might rob me forever of my MMMBop love.
When I worked in a record store our staff and I decided to..in a post-modern ironic sort of way..totally get behind Hanson. We figured it could be fun..we listened over and over, it was a gas. We rooted for the youths and they got a huge push, but it never really stuck. They paved the way for Silverchair in Kidrock and folks say they were talented. It was a catchy pop tune and at least you got the feeling they played it and it wasn't a complete studio thing. So nope..at least from my view..NOT TOXIC. Life affirming and brilliant for it's ilk.
Awesome! Dissenting opinions! I love America!
Who knew Hanson would get so much love..
Of course gibberish is like fine wine to these ears so I'm a little biased.
Mike! Are going soft on us? C'mon! You went easy on the boys. This doesn't rise to your usual heights of imaginative scorn. I strongly believe you held back.
...As to the song....i remember when it was popular. (I rember reading & hearing that it was popular) & knowing the demographic which was driving the sales....long story/short? I avoided the song ( i haven't been a radio listener in years)...so i played it here.......& though its not something I'll play again soon......it doesn't seem deserving of a toxic waste label
well Mike, guess u can't hit it outta the park every time :-)
Yeah Mike, you usually post such awful music..this is sooo disappointing.
Well I for one think it's awful. I can't stand that level of hyper happiness it grates against me like a thousand rusty files in a lemon juice rain! So this is definantely toxic in my book!
did any of you ever hear the original demo of the Hanson track? whether you love MMMBop or hate it, what you heard was much improved.
to quote Steam:
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye
Cody B: Perhaps wine is responsible for your embrace of gibberish. Then again, I know little of your drinking habits. Salut!
dmdm: Soft? Me? Pish and tosh! If I held back, it's because I didn't want to hurt the boys' feelings. They seem so wholesome and harmless and good-natured in that clip. Anyhow, it sounds like you're the one going soft: "...it doesn't seem deserving of a toxic waste label." Really? What a softie!
inrumford: I better use a bigger bat next time.
dansemcabre: I'd say that there are degrees of awfulness, and this one (despite its initial harmlessness) got on my nerves way quick.
Robin: So there, apologists!
tapping my boot heels as this plays! Great song. Thanks for giving it more exposure.
I heard Debbie Gibson and Tiffany are mounting a comeback tour and the Hansons are the opening act.
dermahrk: Just a reminder. You can die of exposure.
Ghost in You: True or not, sounds about right. (heh)
oh Mike, you old fuddyduddy. I love Mmmbop. But then again I also love rainbows and butterflies and melodrama. :)
Funny story regarding this cd, I actually found it in the woods when I was camping a few years back. About 5 years ago I was the assistant coach for a high school cross country team and we went on a weekend camping trip every fall. We headed to a place near Duluth, and once there spent the weekend running and getting ready for the upcomming season. I was training for a marathon so I set out on a 10 mile run through the woods. About 5 miles in I saw the cd, set upon a rock in the middle of nowhere. I guess someone thought they were getting rid of toxic material harmlessly, I took it and it is still in my collection to this date.
Celia: I'll have you know that I haven't fuddied my duddy in ages!
Rawk: A charming anecdote - with a tragic ending?