Hangin Tough; the second album by the New Kids on the Block; has sold more than seventeen million copies worldwide since it was released in 1988. But the album and the band have also been dismissed; derided and deemed uncool by the music establishment. Almost thirty years later; the New Kids still perform the songs from Hangin Tough.Hundreds of thousands of grown women still flock to their concerts to hear-and go bat-shit crazy for-the songs they first heard when they were teenagers. Is this mere nostalgia or can the science of music help explain the enduring success of Hangin Tough? What is it about this album that made it so special? Is the music any good or are there other factors at play too?Journalist and New Kids fan Rebecca Wallwork sets out to analyze the quality of Hangin Tough with the help of music cognition experts; critics; producers and music industry pros. This is not a story about crazy fans; boy bands and truckloads of cheesy merchandise; it is an exploration of a watershed album and moment in pop culture history. It is a glimpse into the brain of not just New Kids fans; but into the minds and hearts of anyone who loves music.
#1983878 in eBooks 2016-02-10 2016-02-10File Name: B01BN3TW2E
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Nice Guide to Midland. MichiganBy Kevin KillianVirginia Florey has a nice; even style; and she provides some funny captions to the selection of photographs that her friend; Leora Seamster has provided. When she says that; as a girl; she thought Rossinis "William Tell Overture" was written just for her; you have to smile. The nostalgia she conveys is as inviting as a stack of pancackes on a Sunday morning; and as warm as the hearts of Midlanders Up Main and Down Main.Though I have never been to Michigan; I have some good friends who sent me this book for my birthday; knowing how I like books without a lot of unnecessary words in them. They must have picked it up at a fine book-store; for it is beautifully designed and printed. When I opened the package it came in; I muist confess that I frowned a little; because for a long time they have been trying to persuade me to leave what they consider to be a dangerous; immoral city (San Francisco) and to join them at Dow Chemical--headquartered in Midland. I remember protesting against Dow when it was revealed that they were marketers of napalm during the Viet Nam war; but that was before I saw how cute their factories are and according to the evidence in this book; the two rivers (the Chippewa; named after the Indian tribe; and the Tittabwassee; which I think means; "Good Country" in the Chippewa dialect) that border Midland are still filled with fresh trout so they cant be all that unhealthy; though very icy of course in winter.Anyway I put aside my preconceptions about Midland; and had myself a good read looking at all the "vintage pictures" in the book; looking at a way of life that never really existed except in photographs and except; perhaps; in that little corner of Heaven its natives call Home--Midland; Michigan. My friends also put in an arrowhead they said they found while planting zinnias in their backyard. Could be Chippewa manufacture? Anyway it is a delightful souvenir of a fine reading experience; one which I have bookmarked heavily.
