Okay, so I was watching SETB yesterday, and I realized something about potential hit songs.  Now I could be wayyyyyyy off, but via my job, I'm forced to listen to the most mainstream radio stations in LA, and I think I realized something.

Well, most of the slosh in my ears, day in and out, seems to be incredibly "LITERAL" with a catchy, sometimes annoying beat.  (Hey, when you're in a song you're in it, and when you're not, you're not.)  I know Hanson is a "fan of vague" (or maybe only Taylor), but it seems that their songs, which were much more straight forward + a catchy chorus, did better than those without these ingredients.  PLUS the "gate keepers" of radio let them in, and actually gave them an unbiased chance!

Yeah, it's superficial but it just came to mind.  And I've been listening to their new material, it seems MUCH more straightforward than what they've been doing in the past.  The messages are coming from people who are living in the moment, and it seems they're now giving us plain/simple descriptions about what they mean in these songs.

Anyone think much of this???

Personally, I think that thier songs are described as the opposite...I think that thier lyrics are very deep and complex and convay alot of meaning, especially as they have gotten older.  I think that the reason that Hanson's music has been less popular then other bands and is not played on the radio much is exactly for that reason...usually most of the stuff that is played on the radio is streight forward so people don't have to inturpret the lyrics and meaning of the song as much.  However, with Hanson music, you have to intrupret the lyrics and meaning of the song.  I think that this is part of what makes Hanson's music so unqiue because people are able to relate to thier music on a deeper level.  I am not saying that you are wrong, this is just my personal opinion. 

I feel you. Like mmmbop is just a fun with no meaning really. I think Hanson needs to start making fun songs and thats how I got into them in the first place. They need to stop being so serious all the time.

i agree!

Granted I don't listen to much radio anymore, but judging from what I have heard and what Hanson has musically, I definately see a difference in meanings. Hanson I think personally has always had a more meaningful song writing style. By that I mean they make you think and the message while maybe not quite as clear as some in the past (MMMBop not overly withstanding because people still didn't get that message, even though it's written in the first few lines of the song), it seems to me most of the songs on the radio are about alot of the same stuff love, breakups, ect. plus alot of what i've heard is more background music without alot of meaning to the songs.  It's almost like in order to be played on radio the stuff has to be generic and just sort of blah (not all but some). It's those types of songs that don't do anything for me, because they all sound the same. People seem to want simple without having to think and I think that's what radio wants. It's almost like the simpler the better attitude works even with radio, and the fact that Hanson does convey so much deeper meaning in alot of their songs has something to do with it.

I think this is a really funny topic because when I watched SETB with my friend, every time a new song started playing she started raving about how it could have been a radio hit. And I think a lot of them could have been -- especially Crazy Beautiful and My Own Sweet Time.

I think what gets played on the radio is mostly about (ignoring all the illegal/immoral stuff that goes on to buy radio time) the sound. Something that sounds good or sounds okay, no matter what it says. It can have a really deep meaning or a really simple one, but it just needs to be catchy and easy to sing along with even if you don't think about the words you are singing. Hello, MMMBop.

And Hanson definitely has songs that could have and should have been on the radio. The problem, I think, is that Hanson has this stigma attached to it because of MMMBop. And like Zac said in the doc, radio guys don't want to admit they were wrong. They want to be right. Everyone wants to be right that Hanson are just hacks who played some stupid song in 1997. 90% of them will never admit they are wrong, and it's just stupid.

yeah that's because people don't want to admit that Hanson actually has talent and songs that are better than half the junk on the radio.

Mmmbop had no meaning?   Um...did you listen to the song?  The song has a meaning.  It's about Relationships you have in your life and to hold on the most important ones cause those are the ones that last.   I think that one kinda definds a Hanson fan. A Hanson fan is the relationship that last. 13 years or more depending when you became a fan.

Lost Without Each other is fun , Get Up and Go is fun  ( like you can dance to it) Tearin it Down is fun.

We have to remember that Hanson is independent and they fund everything they do now.  So we really got to push on requesting on College Radio and still requesting the older songs ( MMMBop, Where's The Love, Weird, I will Come to you, This Time Around, If Only, Penny & Me, Lost Without Each Other) Because if stop requesting the older songs then Hanson's not gonna have an outlet to put out a newer single to the station still playing the older songs.  We stop requesting ( well I didn't)  but Hanson fans as a whole just stop requesting. We gave up. We let the radio stations win.  As in one station played the song but then maybe made a comment and then Hanson fans got mad and stop requesting the song. That was their whole point. They like to make jokes so that we get mad because they know how devoted we are but if you makes us mad then we stop requesting on that station. We can't afford to do that. Hanson is not played on alot of stations. So we can't afford to loose any.  I know that Radio now is so messed up and it's really hard to get anything played. But if you don't try and request then you won't know what station will play them.

Real Example:

I contacted a Kentucky station WSTV.  I emailed the dj requesting Penny & Me by Hanson. DJ emailed me back said I don't have that song but I will looked up.  Since that day Penny & Me has been getting played on that station. All because I just emailed and asked. 

Hanson fans have to work harder. We have always have since 1997. Why we gonna give up now. Hanson had the number 1 indie Album in 2004. Number 2 single in 2004. We did that. We did that for them. Why we gonna give up? that's not a Hanson fan.

Personally I think after This time around and Underneath Hanson went down hill. When I mean that the songs. To be honest I think The Walk is a very boring album. The only songs I listen to was Great Divide, Been there before and Georgia. Besides the Tom shoes and etc.. the cd is a blah to me. I think Stand Up Stand up is awesome. You can dance too it and everything.

I bought 2 different versions of underneath.

Everyone can vote for Hanson on these two stations:

www.eagle977.com  and www.wstw.com
Click on Air select Joe Show
Scroll down click on MY Pod Countdown
Vote for 5 songs
Then put  Hanson- Penny & Me in the my suggestion
* Both Stations Have Penny & Me*

If we all ( everyone on here) just take 5 minutes (if that) to go to both websites vote then we may see them on the list. Since they have a new rule on the countdown. Once the song is number 1 for 10 Consecutive days, it will retire from the countdown. So this is a better chance for us to get Penny & Me on the countdown since songs are being tooken off.

I totally agree with everything you said. I'm so glad someone defended "Mmmbop" because when I read the other comment I was like "Ummm no 'Mmmbop' is totally deep. Also, I feel like part of being a fan is supporting your artist no matter what so that they never lose the ability/drive to give the fans new material. It's fans that make things happen or not happen for artists a lot of times. Too many artist today seem to forget that and become big headed and disconnected. I think a band like Hanson who truly seems to understand that and goes out of their way to connect with their fans deserves all the support they can get. Come on fellow fansons let's unite and really make a difference for the boys and their music!!!! 

I_Love_CHI --- I think that you are absolutly right.  When I made the comment about having deeper lyrics especially as they have gotten older, I was not saying that MMMBOP was not meaningful...It is very meaningful.  All I was saying was that as they have gotten older the lyrics have become deeper and more complex.  I am saying that you are accusing me of saying that...I just wanted to clarify what I meant.

*I am not saying

It's pretty surprising to hear such a comment coming from a long time fan of Hanson! "No meaning really", wow. Will you please read the lyrics and think about it for a while?

Hanson has been no more serius on The Walk than on the other albums. All their albums have had fun, upbeat songs as well as more serious and sad ones. And,a s with MMMBop and Where's The Love, that fun upbeat song can be serious too.

The Walk has its fun moments too. You mentioned Been There before and a few others, but then there's also Running Man, Tearing It Down, Something Going Round, Blue Sky...I'd say very danceable if that's what you're looking for in music.

Oh, and for the person who started the thread, yes, it's usually about having catchiness, easy sing-along lyrics and melody, fashionable production - and loooots of money from the label! And it's always about what kind of music is fashionable at the moment. Today, all you need is Timbaland in the production credits and you have a hit song.

We don't want Hanson to follow that, do we?

It's funny when people are talking about Hanson having difficult, complex lyrics. Sure, they are usually somewhat metaphorical (as with any good lyricist) and have a message of some kind, but come on, they're not that hard to interpret. You hear it once or twice and you get what they're getting at. So that is no reason for them not getting on the radio. There are many hugely successful artists who use a lot of figurative language in their lyrics: Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, Coldplay, R.E.M..the list could go on and on. And it didn't stop people loving "Born In The USA" even if most people got the message wrong, you know. As with MMMBop.

I dont really like those songs.

Ok, each to their own taste. Glad you like the new ones on the EP, though.

I've said it before, alot of people want simple stuff it seems with radio nowadays, cause I feel that radio at times is more aimed towards a younger crowd like the teen stuff. I'm not going to turn this into an argument about which Hanson songs have meaning and which don't because I feel that they all do especially MMMBop even though alot of people that I stil play it for completely miss it. But I think people want alot almost fast pace, dance like, party sound music rather than stuff like Hanson's music. But also as I've said radio isn't what it used to be, it's changed alot with the years as well, and I think that has something to do with it also.

After reading all the post I admit that it's sad that Hanson's songs are not played often on the radio. I agree too that as fan we shouldn't stop requesting their song so we could listen to them at work or when we go shopping.

But we also need to think that the radio are playing the song that the label pay for. So for the whole week we have crapy song that have a repetitive beat that gets on my nervs and  well... a little bit like what said 3guineas.

I've tried lately to get 1 Hanson song in the radio station that i listen unwillingly at job and the dj said that she don't have ANY of their songs... not even MMM Bop. Well I still ask for their song but for the station around here they don't look up to try and find them 'cause 3car garage didn't pay to have it's artist (Hanson literally) to be played on the radio.

I don't think that Hanson wants to loose money on a lost cause like making the radio station playing great music. But we have the power to make it happen even if it's just MMM Bop or Penny and Me we can ask for those songs and after ask for the new ones and in the end have better music to listen to whe we're working or shopping.