Hanson is “Indie”
Here at the Film and History, we conference-goers were treated to a plenary session featuring two members of Hanson and documentarian Ashley Greyson, who has completed Strong Enough to Break, a documentary about how the boys in the band got screwed by the recording industry.
For me, the event raised some significant issues about what “independent” means; having formed their own label, the guys behind Hanson are technically independent artists. However, they’re independent much as Joan Jett was independent after co-founding Blackheart Records. Personally, I’m not sure this “independence” really counts. In both cases, the musicians had substantial funds from previous commercial success which enabled them to fly solo.
All that being said, Underneath (handed out free to conference attendees — thanks, guys) is polished and poppy and lacking in irony, and while the former college radio DJ really wants to disown that as “indie,” it’s not bad. Hell, I’ll come right out and say it — it’s fun.