Hanson

Sorry I'm posting this a day late, but I was Up North yesterday morning-this afternoon at Higgins Lake with this year's Mercy Volunteers and two of the Cap volunteers. We had a wonderful time, so thankful they invited me to join on the mini vacay! We have had BEAUTIFUL weather here in Detroit this weekend. 70 degrees and sunny today!

I'm currently babysitting for a family of four. I got here 2pm this afternoon and leaving 9 am Tuesday morning. I've done overnight sitting before, but never for four kids. I was a little nervous, but as of right now, it is 8:15 pm, all the kids are fed, showered, and in bed! Score one for me. Next battle? Getting the two oldest ready for school in the morning. Wish me luck.

Anyways, my H post is...drum roll please...

HANSON.

During the "welcome home" ceremony for sorority recruitment in the fall of my sophomore year, my friend Betsy and I stood together in the bleachers, anxiously watching the potential new members. We were eager to see which girls were going to choose our house as their sorority. We particularly had our eyes on a girl named Sam. Sam was a transfer student, coming to WMU as a junior. We held each others hands tight when it was Sam's turn to "run home". And cheered-loudly- when she came running towards Delta Gamma. Later that night, in the comfort of our little sorority house, we played "get to know you games" and chatted up the new members. I will always remember someone asking Sam her favorite band/music, and Sam, boldly and proudly, answering "Hanson".

"HANSON? Like...MMMBOP?" We all asked. But Sam stood strong. She loved Hanson. I didn't even know they were still making music. I just assumed they disappeared sometime after 1998 and never came back. I was wrong. Sam constantly talked about them, and it peaked my interest. One day I went home and started looking up their music. I was literally amazed by what I found. They were indeed still making music- fantastic music. Genius music. Music with meaning, solid lyrics and beautiful harmonies. I would casually ask Sam questions about them, and she had all the answers.

Eventually, my friendship with Sam grew stronger. We ended up living together the next year and were pretty much inseparable. Our common love for Idol and music, among other things, made us two peas in a pod. She even showed me some documentaries Hanson had done, which were intriguing and impressive. We went to several concerts together that year, including a few Hanson shows. As if I was not already impressed, I became a loyal, dedicated fan after seeing the boys live. The passion that they put into their music and their fans was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Here's the special thing about Hanson. They are not just your typical indie band. They've been tossed around in the music business quite a few times, people trying to stop them from making true music. Their label refused over 80 songs from them before the band went Indie. Aside from their belief in honest songwriting and in themselves, they do an incredible amount of charity work. Their album "The Walk" signifies this. When they did "The Walk Tour", they organized fans, before every show, to walk one mile, barefoot, across the city they were performing. This was to signify the children in Africa and what they go through on a daily basis.

I can't force you to like this music, but I can suggest you listen to it, and give them a chance. I will post my favorite song from each studio album (excluding the Christmas album, even though that is my favorite Christmas album ever). I hope you listen, because this is some good, honest music with significant meaning and brilliant vocals and instruments to back it up.

My favorite song from "Middle of Nowhere" is "I Will Come To You". Here is a live version, from many, many years after MON was actually released. Enjoy.



My favorite song from "This Time Around" is "Can't Stop", because it is so fun to rock out to :)



From "Underneath", my favorite song is "Lost Without Each other"


The Walk is such an intriguing album. The songs are so unique. I'm posting two songs...Great Divide and Watch Over Me (probably my favorite Hanson song, ever).





And finally, Shout It Out. My FAVORITE Hanson album. It's a little tougher to pick a song for this one, but I decided on "Carry You There".



I hope you enjoyed. And Sam, thank you for reintroducing me to this incredibly talented musicians!