Feels Like a Change Is Gonna Come

Full disclosure, this post went a little darker and more personal than I intended when I sat down to write it. It's the kind of thing I'd typically leave to a private chat with friends rather than sharing with the class because I'm all for speculating and having a passionate conversation about something you care about, but I don't like to stir the pot when I don't actually know anything. That being said, this blog has always been about sharing my experience as a fan and documenting that journey for myself as well. Even if I end up cringing over it later, this feels like a part of it.

So let's talk about that newsletter. Here's a copy of it for quick reference:

I probably don't need to tell you that a lot of big feelings were felt in the Hanson fan community yesterday. Maybe you had them, maybe you didn't, but there's no denying that yesterday's newsletter shook some of us. I've refrained from saying much while I try to wrap my mind around it and figure out what exactly it's saying and maybe also what it isn't saying.

One thing I know is there is a lot of speculation happening right now, and if you've read some of the hundreds of fan comments out there, you'll know there's a massive range of feelings from "I hope they bring back painting next year" to "Hanson just broke up." After having a day to process some of this, I wanted to share some of my own thoughts as I try to make sense of things. Words always help me do that, so first I'd like to share some of Hansons' own words to help navigate that newsletter and what I got out of it.

Things the newsletter says:
-The hanson.net fan club membership as we know it will end on March 31, 2026.
-They have put "months of consideration" into this decision.
-They will be using this year "to determine if there is a new model for hanson.net which aligns with [their] plans for the future."

Things the newsletter does not say:
-If hanson.net will continue existing in some capacity after this date in the event that they do not identify a new model that aligns with their future.
-That the band broke up.
-That the band didn't break up.
-That they are taking a break or hiatus.
-What their plans are for the future. 

That's it. Those are the facts. Everything else is fan interpretation, reading between the lines, and plenty of observation and intuition, any of which could be dead-on or totally off the mark. No matter how plausible any of our speculation may sound, we're simply not going to know what's going on until they choose to share more with us. I hope they will choose to trust us with more when they are ready.

What I think:
As for my own interpretation, I think it's all left very open-ended for a reason. I don't think Hanson is necessarily withholding all the answers from us; I think maybe they genuinely don't know yet themselves. As terrifying as that may be to some of us, I imagine it must also be scary territory for the band. It sounds like they've identified a need for a change and are giving themselves a year to re-evaluate, well, maybe everything? Certainly the fan club, at a minimum. But as a band that has largely considered the fan club to be their bread and butter and their target audience for the last quarter century, I don't take it lightly that we've been stamped with an official expiration date. They might be directly referring to the website, but this feels bigger than just a site revamp decision to me.

The profuse level of gratitude and thanks for our support as fan club members throughout the newsletter feels sincere, but ironically, I think it's the wording of that gratitude that leads to the overall ominous vibe that so many of us got out of it. "Thank you for sticking with us through so many seasons." "We have been so blessed." "What a gift it has been." Are you picking up on this English lesson I never wanted to be teaching? It's all past tense. There's no "thanks for sticking by us this year and onward as we figure out how we're evolving together," it's just...thanks for the memories. Maybe that wasn't their intent, but those are the words on the page. 

Believe it or not, I didn't set out to scare anyone with this post. I mostly wanted to draw attention to the fact that within the huge range between apathy and total devastation, there are a lot of conclusions being drawn, both good and bad, that aren't really supported by what the newsletter actually says. I'm someone that looks to words for comfort and clarity whether I'm analyzing them, writing them, or both, and I'm not sure I got either from this newsletter or from this rambling mess I've written. I hope in a year or a month or even a week I will be laughing at how intense things felt the day I opened that newsletter, and how putting an expiration date on a 25-year relationship with an invitation to re-evaluate it on April Fools' Day should've been the first red flag. The more I stare at the words on the page, the more I wonder if maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe my gut instinct is a little off on this one. I don't know what's next, and I'm not sure Hanson knows either, but for now I'll try to just let that door remain open and hope that when they choose to walk through it, the sign above it will say "sold out" and not "exit."