Books
Mentions
| There are so many books out there that briefly mention Hanson or their megahit MMMBop, it's hard to keep up with how many there are. Don't believe me.... See for yourself! |
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Six Steps to Songwriting Success by Jason Blume (1999) First published in 1999, author Jason Blume discusses how to write & market hit songs in six easy steps. MMMBop is mentioned in Step II: Writing Effective Lyrics. Excerpt: Occasionally, a series of nonsense syllables or a new word that the writer creates, like "Mmm-Bop" [sic] or "No Diggity," can provide a hit as well."
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Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love (1999) Taylor Hanson had a problem: his voice broke during the middle of recording Middle of Nowhere in 1996. Voice coach Roger Love spent some time with Taylor and helped him sing the notes no one thought he could sing again. Excerpt: That night I met Taylor Hanson, listened to his attempts to sing, and gave him specific exercises to put him back in control of his vocal chords and reestablish his connection to the high notes he thought he could never sing again. ...we successfully managed to tape nearly all the high parts of the song that had been so impossible for him before we met. The song, MMMBop, went on to ...
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Sing Like The Stars by Roger Love (2003) Roger Love mentions his work with Taylor & his vocal triumph in a different book called Sing Like The Stars. Excerpt: He [Taylor] went to sleep one night sounding like Minnie Mouse, and woke up the next morning sounding like Barry White. They'd been to just about every voice coach from Oklahoma to New York City, and no one could fix the problem. Before he gave up on the song altogether, he decided to take one more chance. He asked me to come to the studio that night and see if I could turn back the hands of time.
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Creating Geocities Websites by Ben Sawyer & Dave Greely (1999) This book has a really funny Hanson mention in its chapter on adding multimedia to GeoCities web sites...this is one of my favs :-P Excerpt: If you press your ear to this book, you still won't hear a MIDI version of "MMMBop", nor will you be able to see those adorable little Hanson brothers dancing around in RealVideo.
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Adam Sandler: America's Comedian by Bill Crawford (2000) Comedian Adam Sandler has something in common with Hanson - Tamra Davis. She directed his first movie, Billy Madison. Hanson fans know what else Tamra directed... Excerpt: Davis was also big in the music industry. She directed the music video for Hanson's big hit, MMMbop [sic].
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Double Trouble: Bill Clinton & Elvis Presley in a Land of No Alternatives (2001) This is a rather strange yet interesting book comparing Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley; it also discusses late 20th century culture. Hanson's infamous SNL skit is mentioned a little more than halfway through the book.
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Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock edited by Simon Frith, Will Straw, and John Street (2001) This book discusses the views of pop and rock through the years and analyzes 15 of the biggest pop/rock stars, including Elvis Presley and Nirvana. Hanson has a brief mention in the book's introduction. Excerpt: In such a history, what place is there even for a few sad deaths ... let alone Garry and the Pacemakers' 'How do You Do It?' or Hanson's 'MMMBop'? And yet, of course, those deaths and those songs do matter. They are part of an industry that in 1999 had a worldwide turnover of $38 billion ...
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When Surface was Depth by Michael Bracewall (2002) This book reflects on 1990s music and culture. The author mentions Hanson several times throughout the book, and even has a subsection called "Hanson, Children, and Pop", in which he interviews Hanson and talks about their music and their success. |
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Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot (2002) Meg Cabot wrote a very successful book-turned-movie called The Princess Diaries. The sequel, Princess in the Spotlight, mentions Hanson. Excerpt: ...I was so embarrassed about the whole thing, I am seriously considering never going back to school at all, let alone on Monday. I don't see why I can't be homeschooled, like the boys from Hanson. Look how they turned out.
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This Time Around by Mark A. Roeder (2003) This book is about two boys and their struggle a TV evangelist over the fate of gay youth centers. Oh, and did I mention that one of the boys is a world famous rock star? Hanson gets quite a few mentions in this interesting work of fiction.
Excerpt: It only took one word for me to realize that it was Ross who'd called my cell phone.
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Astrostyle: Star-studded Advice for Love, Life, and Looking Good by Tali Edut & Ophira Edut (2003) This astrology book, written by the official astrologers for Teen People magazine, mentions Taylor Hanson in a list of guys who are Pisces.
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Phantom World by Mark A. Roeder (2004) Another novel by Roeder. This book chronicles the lives of several teenage boys who work at an amusement park called Phantom World. One of the boys really loves boybands, including fictional band Phantom, and real life bands Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and...Hanson. There are several Hanson mentions in this book; one of them particularly positive. Excerpt: "...my point is, Phantom and Hanson aren't true boybands because they don't get up and dance around to music written and played by someone else. That's probably why they're still around, and the Backstreet Boys, N'SYNC, and a whole lot of others are history. ...Hanson are serious musicans and will probably be around as long as they like, but boybands--here today and gone tomorrow." ...I daresay that Roeder is a Hanson fan. Great mention!
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U2 Live: A Concert Documentary by Pimm Jal De La Parra (2003) Hanson is mentioned briefly in this U2 book about their MTV Europe Music Award win for Best Song. U2 won an award for Best Live Act. |
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Band by Mark Bliesener & Steve Knopper (2004) In this "Idiots Guide", Ric Ocasek is mentioned in a section about producing. The Hanson mention is a little confusing because the author references Middle of Nowhere, aka Hanson's "popular" album, when he should have referenced This Time Around, the album that Ric actually worked on with Hanson. Excerpt: Five well-known musicians who've gone on to be reputable producers: Rick Ocasek, former Cars lead singer, produced many future stars, including...Hanson (Middle of Nowhere).
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting by Joel Hirschhorn (2004) In this "Idiots Guide", Hanson is mentioned in a section about songs with hooks...naturally ;-) Excerpt: Other songs with outstanding hooks include...Hanson's MMMBop...
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The New York Times Monday Through Friday Easy to Tough Crossword Puzzles edited by Will Shortz (2002) This book of 'easy to tough' crossword puzzles has a crossword about Hanson. Excerpt: 47 Down - Pop group with the 1997 hit "MMMBop" |
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Test Prep Your IQ with the Essentials of Music and Song by Arco (2003) This book is divided into chapters, or "tests", that contain a series of multiple choice questions. A question about Hanson is in "test" 12, called "Stuff Your Parents Don't Want You To Hear."
Excerpt: Question 32 - The group _________ , from Tulsa, Oklahoma, debuted with the album Middle of Nowhere, referring to the fact that they were neither from New York
City nor California. Their 1997 hit "MMMBop" attained the number-one position in twenty-seven countries. I choose...(d)! Oh wait...
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Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul IV by by Jack L. Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Kimberly Kirberger (2004) In the fourth edition of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Ann Parker talks about her crush in "Life is a Gift." Excerpt: ...I was in love. He was taller than all the other boys and shoulder-length blond hair just like Taylor Hanson, from my all-time favorite band, Hanson.
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New York Times Large-Print Big Book of Easy Crosswords edited by Will Shortz (2005) This book of crossword puzzles has a crossword about Hanson. Excerpt: 47 Down - Pop group with the 1997 hit "MMMBop" |
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Mensa Crosswords for the Super Smart by Frank Longo (2005) This book of crossword puzzles has a crossword about Hanson. Excerpt: 52 Across - "MMMBop" group |
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From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century by David Mansour (2005) The author spent over 18 years gathering an extensive collection of late 20th century memorabilia to write this book. (Cool!) There are over 3,000 late 20th century pop culture references. The Hanson mention is funny to me because the author describes Hanson as "folksy." Folksy?! Hmm. Excerpt: Folksy teen idol group of three blond brothers...from Tulsa Oklahoma, who had one major hit, the catchy "MMMBop" (1997), before getting walloped by the thundering bubblegum pop of those flashy boybands Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. |
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Maria Shaw's Book of Love by Maria Shaw(2005) This horoscope guidebook mentions Taylor in several of its compatability guides. Excerpt: Would Elizabeth Berkley ever date Taylor Hanson?
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Words And Music: A History Of Pop In The Shape Of A City by Paul Morely (2005)
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How The Left Lost Teen Spirit: And How They're Getting It Back! by Danny Goldberg (2005) Interesting book meshing politics and pop culture over the last several decades. Danny Goldberg was/is a huge force in the music industry. In relation to Hanson, he President of Mercury Records in 1996 and 1997 - Goldberg gave Hanson the break of a lifetime. Excerpt: Hanson was the first group I worked with that my kids personally appreciated. When Hanson played Saturday Night Live, both Lisa Marie Presley and Caroline Kennedy brought their kids to the rehearsal to get the group's autographs. I got a huge kick out of knowing that a group I helped launch meant something to the grandchildren of John F. Kennedy and Elvis Presley.
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Celebrity Birthday Directory (5th Edition) arranged by Rob Ten-Tronck (2006) This book is pretty straightforward - it is an alphabetical, 92 page list of celebrity names & birthdays. Isaac, Taylor, and Zac's birthdays are on page 38.
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TV Guide: Celebrating an Icon (2006) Hanson's TV Guide cover is pictured on page 176. Right below it, it says that there are 42 different variations of the issue. That number is a little different from TV Guide Specialists, who say that there are 64 different variations, but in either case...that's a lot of TV Guides.
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