For The Kids, By The Kids

04/30/1998 12:00 PM, LAUNCH
Lyndsey Parker

"The 'alternative' thing is fading. People don't hate their parents as much anymore." -- Zachary Hanson, Entertainment Weekly

Certainly, Zac and his two older brothers, Isaac and Taylor--who together make up the international kiddie-pop sensation Hanson--have no reason to hate their parents. After all, Diana and Walker Hanson have always encouraged their flaxen-haired, apple-cheeked offspring's musical interests, whether it was playing Time-Life compilations of '50s and '60s music for their listening enjoyment, or financing Hanson's self-released albums Boomerang and MMMBop. But Zac's straightforward quip reveals a wisdom and insight beyond his 12 years, for the golden boys' guileless, feel-good, teeny-bop pop marks a shiny happy new candy-colored, radio-ready era of bubblegum music. Hanson's fellow bubblegummers include Danish dollies Aqua, disco-billy pinup boy Jimmy Ray, Anglo pop tarts the Spice Girls, saucy Aussies Savage Garden, and cutie-pie crooners the Backstreet Boys, but none of those sugar-shocked artists' ditties have reached the full-blown phenomenon status of the frothiest, fluffiest confection of them all, "MMMBop."

Yes, Tulsa's boys-next-door have done away with the self-hating alterna-grunge of the past few Prozac-popping years, replacing "I hate myself and want to die, "Sometimes I give myself the creeps," "I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?" and "I wish I were special" with the simple, sing-songy refrain "MMMBop, ba-du-bop!" In a People magazine article, middle-kid Taylor summed up his bewilderment over sad-sack, angst-ridden alt-rockers with, "If music is what you do, and you love it, why would you be sad?"--thus expressing a youthful naiveté that explains why these spunky teens are such naturals when it comes to creating up-with-people pop. After all, they're just a bunch of snails 'n' puppy-tails boys, and as Zac has so savvily pointed out, their music's happy and giddy because they have "less problems than grow-ups." Hanson's music is for the kids, by the kids. (Not surprisingly, the trio enjoyed a clean sweep at the recent Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.) This is music by kids who like to Rollerblade, have pillow fights, spit off balconies, play ping-pong, hang out at the Laser Quest arcade and ride motorbikes--kids who have written songs about ants and frogs, have named a song after a Peanuts character ("Lucy"), and, when questioned about their love lives, shrug and say they've got a few years before they have to "worry about that slushy stuff" (that's Zac talking again--Taylor's actually declared a fondness for Pamela Anderson and Baby Spice).

However, if the most ardent Hanson-fan demographic (preteen girls) has its way, the beloved brothers won't be able to put off the "slushy stuff" for much longer. Underage Hanson groupies have singlehandedly revived the slumping newsstand sales of teen-idol magazines--snatching up every issue of 16, Tiger Beat, Bop and SuperStarz to feature the corn-fed, squeaky-clean cover boys or a "Which Hanson Is Right For You?" readers' poll--and their diehard devotion has turned the manufacturing of Hanson memorabilia and the publishing of some 100 Hanson websites into thriving cottage industries. But the, um, vocal fans have made themselves heard in other, louder ways: their shrill, Beatlemania-reminiscent screams have put Hanson in the Guinness Book Of World Records, under "Loudest Rock Concert" (as in loudest crowd screaming). Hanson fans' tinnitus-inducing 140 decibels is a whole 14 decibels louder than the screams elicited by the previous record-holders, the Who; Ike, Tay and Zac wisely wear extra-strength earplugs during all their shows to protect themselves from what Zac dubs "The Scream Squad."

Like the '60s' Ohio Express and Herman's Hermits, the '70s' light-hearted Bay City Rollers and party-hearty Kiss, and the '80s' colorful dance-club groups Information Society, the Thompson Twins and Bananarama, Hanson definitely have their place in pop music, not to mention pop culture. That's not a put-down, but a respectful acknowledgment of the public's need for harmless, escapist entertainment--a need demonstrated not only by the wealth of kid-friendly pop stars that have cropped up in Hanson's wake, but by the public's gleeful, immediate response to the brothers' bubbly, boppy music. Perhaps big bro Isaac best best explained Hanson's appeal when he told TEEN magazine, "There's enough stuff to get down about. Music is a way to get away from things." Kids say the darndest things.