When J. K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone in 1995, no one, including her, could have imagined it would
become the phenomenon it is today. In a few short years, Harry
Potter mania swept the world so hard, even Mr. Miyagi would have found
it admirable. Conservative types were outraged that children were
reading about witchcraft, little kids were actually excited about
reading, and entertainment bigwigs were licking their chops at the
millions of dollars to be made.
In 2002, two brothers named Joe and Paul DeGeorge, also excited by
the fantasy world of magic and Hogwarts, started a band called Harry
and the Potters as a tribute to Rowling’s works. Over the past six
years, they have become an internationally known success, singing songs
based on the seven-book series to young Potter fans all over the
world.
Nothing about the music is very impressive. Listening to the songs,
there’s not one that stands out as more than pretty typical indie
rock. And yet the band are wildly popular. Kids flocked to buy the
books, they lined up for hours to see the movies, and I wouldn’t be
surprised if they pack Neumo’s when the band come to Seattle on
Wednesday, July 23, to see two geeky brothers dressed up as Harry
Potter, singing goofy songs about riding dragons and skipping
broom-flying practice.
I’m not hating on these dudes for being dorky. Plenty of
bands—Atom and His Package, Blöödhag, for
example—have embraced the geekier side of life, and that’s no
problem. I can fully support and relate when a band talk about how
sweet video games and reading are, but the concept that Harry and the
Potters have built themselves around seems more like leeching onto
someone else’s huge and successful idea, than a simple homage to
something the band really like a lot.
Harry Potter was great, deserving of all of its success, but it’s
safe to say it’s been exploited to the fullest. Hundreds of
young wizards and witches are sure to be lined up in front of the dark,
cavern-like club regardless, so I’m just gonna say it: Now that the
series is done, it might be time to put Harry and the Potters on the
“no longer relevant” shelf of pop culture’s library. 