♫ Is it yacht or is it nyacht? / I don’t know, but let’s find out ♬
August 26, 2023 8:27 PM Subscribe
Creators of the 2005 web series Yacht Rock and the subsequent podcast Beyond Yacht Rock, JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, “Hollywood” Steve Huey, and David B. Lyons are returning Labor Day Weekend with two new podcasts: The Yacht or Nyacht Podcast, in which they'll pick up where they left off in the Yacht or Nyacht “minisodes” of BYR in 2019, rating songs on the Yachtski Scale, where songs 50 and above are yacht rock* and those below 50 are nyacht rock; and Billion Dollar Record Club, where they'll “listen to an underloved album every week and cause its value to soar”.
* “Yacht rock was a smooth, polished blend of pop, rock, R&B and jazz, which originated in the Southern California session musician scene of 1976-1984. The sound of yacht rock is the sound of the extended Steely Dan family tree.”
* “Yacht rock was a smooth, polished blend of pop, rock, R&B and jazz, which originated in the Southern California session musician scene of 1976-1984. The sound of yacht rock is the sound of the extended Steely Dan family tree.”
Is this some kind of sped-up vaporwave music?
posted by swift at 8:54 PM on August 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by swift at 8:54 PM on August 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yacht Rock (the original series) is so damned good it almost makes up for having had to live through that ridiculous fucking zeitgeist in the first place.
Almost.
posted by philip-random at 9:52 PM on August 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
Almost.
posted by philip-random at 9:52 PM on August 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
I love the way this 21st-century label for a 20th-century phenomenon captures it so well that it's shown us a genre we didn't even notice was one while living through it.
posted by rory at 12:05 AM on August 27, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by rory at 12:05 AM on August 27, 2023 [14 favorites]
What!?! No "Harbor Lights" by Boz Scaggs? It's as if the term "yacht rock" has been stripped of all meaning!Too much yacht, not enough rock. However other tracks from Silk Degrees would be allowable.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:09 AM on August 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
Before we start digging a pit or procuring broadswords, the absence of Harbor Lights simply means it hasn't been evaluated for its yachtiness or lack thereof. Only two tracks from Silk Degrees have: Lowdown (almost essential at 89) and Lido Shuffle (just short of being on the boat at 47.50).
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 2:01 AM on August 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 2:01 AM on August 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
Perhaps I can proffer a peace offering?
Loan Me a Dime (also Boz Scaggs, but from his debut album) is certainly Nyacht - but exceedingly tasty.
Also: that's a fair cop on "Lowdown" but I'd put "Lido Shuffle" on the boat..
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:39 AM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Loan Me a Dime (also Boz Scaggs, but from his debut album) is certainly Nyacht - but exceedingly tasty.
Also: that's a fair cop on "Lowdown" but I'd put "Lido Shuffle" on the boat..
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:39 AM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Semi-serious question: is there any Steely Dan song that does not qualify? Asking for, umm, a friend with a full set of Steely Dan albums.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:42 AM on August 27, 2023
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:42 AM on August 27, 2023
This is just in time for me.
I leased a new vehicle last week, and it comes with a [temporary] Sirius subscription.
Thursday I was flipping through the channels and came across 'Yacht Rock (Ch.14)' and thought WTF is that?
posted by MtDewd at 4:37 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I leased a new vehicle last week, and it comes with a [temporary] Sirius subscription.
Thursday I was flipping through the channels and came across 'Yacht Rock (Ch.14)' and thought WTF is that?
posted by MtDewd at 4:37 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm going on nearly 15 years with the yacht rock tribute I'm in. I continue not to know how it's lasted this long.
All the contemporary bands I know of who are making that kind of music feature animals in the band name. That may be a requirement now.
Young Gun Silver Fox - One guy looks like Fred Armisen in a wig and sunglasses, but they are legit. If you know your music of the era, you'll hear a lot of musical references.
State Cows - They lean more into the 1980s vibe, but still.
Monkey House (not every album, but definitely later ones) - This band is basically Steely Dan with a more polished singer.
posted by emelenjr at 5:30 AM on August 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
All the contemporary bands I know of who are making that kind of music feature animals in the band name. That may be a requirement now.
Young Gun Silver Fox - One guy looks like Fred Armisen in a wig and sunglasses, but they are legit. If you know your music of the era, you'll hear a lot of musical references.
State Cows - They lean more into the 1980s vibe, but still.
Monkey House (not every album, but definitely later ones) - This band is basically Steely Dan with a more polished singer.
posted by emelenjr at 5:30 AM on August 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
Almost
Whatever its sins may have been, I can’t now hear Hall and Oates without thinking of this image.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:27 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Whatever its sins may have been, I can’t now hear Hall and Oates without thinking of this image.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:27 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Skrillex turned out to be the most significant GoatStep composer.
We now need yak rock tracks built from these songs and yak samples.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:30 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
We now need yak rock tracks built from these songs and yak samples.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:30 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Semi-serious question: is there any Steely Dan song that does not qualify?
Despite being the paradigmatic example, yes; they have more range than a lot of the others. Pretzel Logic is blues rock. Not hard to imagine a Clapton or Joe Cocker version. (Although I guess you could make a case for Layla being yacht rock.)
(The GoatStep version of First of the Year is the canonical one, as far as I'm concerned.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:36 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Despite being the paradigmatic example, yes; they have more range than a lot of the others. Pretzel Logic is blues rock. Not hard to imagine a Clapton or Joe Cocker version. (Although I guess you could make a case for Layla being yacht rock.)
(The GoatStep version of First of the Year is the canonical one, as far as I'm concerned.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:36 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Semi-serious question: is there any Steely Dan song that does not qualify?
I feel like "Do It Again" is too dark to be yacht rock. Maybe "Kid Charlemagne" too? I actually don't think of Steely Dan as that yacht rocky but I love Steely Dan and I love yacht rock so I'm not exactly gonna kick them out of bed for eating crackers, you know?
posted by Jess the Mess at 7:54 AM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
I feel like "Do It Again" is too dark to be yacht rock. Maybe "Kid Charlemagne" too? I actually don't think of Steely Dan as that yacht rocky but I love Steely Dan and I love yacht rock so I'm not exactly gonna kick them out of bed for eating crackers, you know?
posted by Jess the Mess at 7:54 AM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also, if Toto's "Africa" is near the top of the Yachtski scale, then the abscene of Duran Duran's Rio is pretty odd. Maybe it would break the meter. (But I tend to think of both as 80s pop, not yacht rock.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:59 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:59 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hmm, but Duran were squarely New Romantic and Toto were essence of Yacht.
It was a BBC documentary a few years back by Katie Puckrik that brought it into focus for me... not sure where you could watch it now, but worth a look if you can.
posted by rory at 8:36 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
It was a BBC documentary a few years back by Katie Puckrik that brought it into focus for me... not sure where you could watch it now, but worth a look if you can.
posted by rory at 8:36 AM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I get what you mean, though I think that requires some knowledge of the context of the bands, not just the songs.
I'd be interested in how that documentary draws out the distinction, as some of the other entries on the Yachtski chart confuse me; but so far as I can tell there's only a $20 download available, officially.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:03 AM on August 27, 2023
I'd be interested in how that documentary draws out the distinction, as some of the other entries on the Yachtski chart confuse me; but so far as I can tell there's only a $20 download available, officially.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:03 AM on August 27, 2023
the abscene of Duran Duran's Rio yt is pretty odd. Maybe it would break the meter.
Duran Duran were (are?) British and, other than the Royal Family and a few Bond level supervillains, I'm not aware of any Brits who actually own yachts. In the case of Rio, they had to rent that yacht from a Canadian who happened to be in Brazil at the time. I once met the guy who put them in touch with that guy.
posted by philip-random at 9:17 AM on August 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
Duran Duran were (are?) British and, other than the Royal Family and a few Bond level supervillains, I'm not aware of any Brits who actually own yachts. In the case of Rio, they had to rent that yacht from a Canadian who happened to be in Brazil at the time. I once met the guy who put them in touch with that guy.
posted by philip-random at 9:17 AM on August 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm not aware of any Brits who actually own yachts.
Well, is Baker Street yacht or nyacht?
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:19 AM on August 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
Well, is Baker Street yacht or nyacht?
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:19 AM on August 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
Another Brit, Paul Carrack (Roxy Music, Squeeze) was also in Ace, who recorded "How Long," a yacht rock staple.
posted by emelenjr at 9:25 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 9:25 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Semi-serious question: is there any Steely Dan song that does not qualify?
that's a long list. A quick search reveals seventeen Steely Dan tracks from a discography of roughly seventy tracks total (not counting stuff from their post 1980 albums). I personally think that's way too many selections, because I find that the vast majority of what qualifies as Yacht Rock is stuff my ears and my soul tend to reject. It's artificially sweetened and artificial sweeteners cause cancer (just wait, it will be accepted fact eventually).
My ears and soul reject no Steely Dan ... except Peg. Peg is poisonous, dangerous, bad for humanity. Nobody needs to hear Peg ever again.
A few days ago, a musician friend was disparaging Steely Dan, saying why take so much trouble to perfect every musical lick and tone and flourish, employing every known musician in the free world at the time ... and then let a hack like Donald Fagen sing imperfectly over it?
My friend is a fool because ...
A. Donald Fagen's no hack. He's got a style and an angle all his own, and the words are his, he knows exactly what to do with them, where to put them, and ...
B. it's the "imperfection" that makes Steely Dan, that little bit of savoury that makes pretty much every Steely Dan song NOT a dessert, but something actually nutritious, a proper meal. There's a depth and a richness and a mysterious nuance to them that many, many, many have tried to emulate but pretty much all have failed ... and mainly because they are trying too hard for that perfection.
tldr: I don't really like Yacht Rock. I love the original series, but the music, nah. It's a punchline. Steely Dan are no punchline. Except Peg.
posted by philip-random at 9:54 AM on August 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
that's a long list. A quick search reveals seventeen Steely Dan tracks from a discography of roughly seventy tracks total (not counting stuff from their post 1980 albums). I personally think that's way too many selections, because I find that the vast majority of what qualifies as Yacht Rock is stuff my ears and my soul tend to reject. It's artificially sweetened and artificial sweeteners cause cancer (just wait, it will be accepted fact eventually).
My ears and soul reject no Steely Dan ... except Peg. Peg is poisonous, dangerous, bad for humanity. Nobody needs to hear Peg ever again.
A few days ago, a musician friend was disparaging Steely Dan, saying why take so much trouble to perfect every musical lick and tone and flourish, employing every known musician in the free world at the time ... and then let a hack like Donald Fagen sing imperfectly over it?
My friend is a fool because ...
A. Donald Fagen's no hack. He's got a style and an angle all his own, and the words are his, he knows exactly what to do with them, where to put them, and ...
B. it's the "imperfection" that makes Steely Dan, that little bit of savoury that makes pretty much every Steely Dan song NOT a dessert, but something actually nutritious, a proper meal. There's a depth and a richness and a mysterious nuance to them that many, many, many have tried to emulate but pretty much all have failed ... and mainly because they are trying too hard for that perfection.
tldr: I don't really like Yacht Rock. I love the original series, but the music, nah. It's a punchline. Steely Dan are no punchline. Except Peg.
posted by philip-random at 9:54 AM on August 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
I am not an aficianado of Yacht Rock. though there are a few Steely Dan songs that, if pressed, I might admit to not hating. Also Baker Street became a hit when I was living in a horrible musical desert (upstate Pa, late 70's) that I may have (I will only admit under duress) enjoyed. Incidentally Rural Pa, gave us the band Poison. Please accept my apology, for we knew not what we had unleashed.
posted by evilDoug at 10:11 AM on August 27, 2023
posted by evilDoug at 10:11 AM on August 27, 2023
Baker Street was a hit for a reason. Also, Stealer's Wheel was underrated.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:24 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:24 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Forget yacht rock, the next big thing is yacht hop: Ocean Prime
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:25 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:25 AM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Baker Street was a hit for a reason.
yeah, that's my take more or less. If I actually like it, it's not Yacht Rock.
Speaking of which, a band that's on the list but you don't hear that much about are Pablo Cruise. They were definitely a turning point band for me. Barely post-high school, suddenly all my friends were into this band that looked like a bunch of real estate agents. I hated the very idea of them. My friends all went to see them live. I am no longer friends with any of those people.
But Pablo Cruise did have one pretty good song, an instrumental
posted by philip-random at 10:41 AM on August 27, 2023
yeah, that's my take more or less. If I actually like it, it's not Yacht Rock.
Speaking of which, a band that's on the list but you don't hear that much about are Pablo Cruise. They were definitely a turning point band for me. Barely post-high school, suddenly all my friends were into this band that looked like a bunch of real estate agents. I hated the very idea of them. My friends all went to see them live. I am no longer friends with any of those people.
But Pablo Cruise did have one pretty good song, an instrumental
posted by philip-random at 10:41 AM on August 27, 2023
I think it's weird that Steely Dan is considered "yacht rock." For me, that's, like, Pablo Cruise and Hall & Oates and the Doobie Brothers. SD is, particularly in the latter albums, too dark for that vibe. I mean, a tune like "The Royal Scam" is no-one's yacht music unless someone is being forcibly expatriated to an offshore interrogation center on that yacht.
posted by the sobsister at 11:13 AM on August 27, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 11:13 AM on August 27, 2023 [8 favorites]
Another Brit, Paul Carrack (Roxy Music, Squeeze) was also in Ace, who recorded "How Long," a yacht rock staple.
Pat Carrack will only be in your band if he can sing your biggest hit.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:17 AM on August 27, 2023 [10 favorites]
Pat Carrack will only be in your band if he can sing your biggest hit.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:17 AM on August 27, 2023 [10 favorites]
Nobody needs to hear Peg ever again.
Only if you don't like perfect high-hats, 5 layers of Michael McDonald, and a guitar solo that took eight excellent studio guitarists to get right.
posted by swift at 11:19 AM on August 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
Only if you don't like perfect high-hats, 5 layers of Michael McDonald, and a guitar solo that took eight excellent studio guitarists to get right.
posted by swift at 11:19 AM on August 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
This was a Channel 101 thing, right?
posted by pelvicsorcery at 1:53 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by pelvicsorcery at 1:53 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
So it's like, kind of funky but not funk, kind of jazzy but not jazz, might be called rock but doesn't, easy listening but not overtly dumb, must be slightly overproduced?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:53 PM on August 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:53 PM on August 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
as they say in the videos, the key concern is "smoooooth"
posted by philip-random at 3:19 PM on August 27, 2023
posted by philip-random at 3:19 PM on August 27, 2023
27 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame out of 120 Yacht rock bands
Almost all the ones I know come from the inductees portion, with the non-inductees I know being Jimmy Buffett, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Sade, The Pointer Sisters, and Toto.
Among today's artists, whose music serves the same cultural function? I suppose the music industry became much better at coopting sounds, making their production pallet much wider today.
posted by jeffburdges at 3:39 PM on August 27, 2023
Almost all the ones I know come from the inductees portion, with the non-inductees I know being Jimmy Buffett, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Sade, The Pointer Sisters, and Toto.
Among today's artists, whose music serves the same cultural function? I suppose the music industry became much better at coopting sounds, making their production pallet much wider today.
posted by jeffburdges at 3:39 PM on August 27, 2023
Any list of yacht rock artists that includes Jimmy Buffett (or the fucking Eagles) has as poor a grasp of what yacht rock is as Yacht Rock Revue or the Sirius XM station. Or, to quote Episode 11 of the series (which, yes, pelvicsorcery, was a Channel 101 thing):
James Ingram: It's mellow, but not smooth … kinda shitty.posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 3:57 PM on August 27, 2023
Michael McDonald: Jimmy Buffett.
Semi-serious question: is there any Steely Dan song that does not qualify?
Well definitely "East St Louis Toodle-oo."
But also much of the first album, which is sort of a pastiche of pre-yacht bands ranging from the Eagles to Santana to Genesis.
Also honestly I don't think "Gaucho" is yacht rock, really. What is peak yacht rock from the Dan? "Aja?"
posted by kensington314 at 4:06 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well definitely "East St Louis Toodle-oo."
But also much of the first album, which is sort of a pastiche of pre-yacht bands ranging from the Eagles to Santana to Genesis.
Also honestly I don't think "Gaucho" is yacht rock, really. What is peak yacht rock from the Dan? "Aja?"
posted by kensington314 at 4:06 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Isn’t Yacht Rock just a rebrand of Soft Rock?
posted by leotrotsky at 4:13 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 4:13 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yes and no.... and we still sit outside with a gin & tonic or a beer listening to Yacht Rock when it's not fifty bazillion degrees outside.
posted by drewbage1847 at 4:27 PM on August 27, 2023
posted by drewbage1847 at 4:27 PM on August 27, 2023
Nobody needs to hear Peg ever again.
This "Peg"?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:37 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
This "Peg"?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:37 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Donald Fagen's no hack. He's got a style and an angle all his own, and the words are his, he knows exactly what to do with them, where to put them, and ...
I just need to put this here, since it's recently uploaded and makes a strong case for Donald Fagen as very talented guy.
He also has an impressively huge forehead, and this may be the most 70s thing ever recorded.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:07 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I just need to put this here, since it's recently uploaded and makes a strong case for Donald Fagen as very talented guy.
He also has an impressively huge forehead, and this may be the most 70s thing ever recorded.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:07 PM on August 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
that ain't yacht rock
posted by philip-random at 5:10 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by philip-random at 5:10 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Not enough Rupert Holmes.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 7:45 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by sara is disenchanted at 7:45 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Not sure about consuming these dudes unadulterated and raw in podcast form.
I had to listen to YON6 for What a Fool Believes and YON22 for Hotel California AND Margaritaville, but they were all three either above or beneath discussion. WaFB was straight-100'd without ceremony and the biggest Eagles-hater of the bunch had video difficulties and couldn't rant on HC.
This "Peg"?
The overdub is kind of amusing here because it makes Fagan look like he is doing a little keyboard kitty dance at the piano that doesn't make any sound.
posted by fleacircus at 8:16 PM on August 27, 2023
I had to listen to YON6 for What a Fool Believes and YON22 for Hotel California AND Margaritaville, but they were all three either above or beneath discussion. WaFB was straight-100'd without ceremony and the biggest Eagles-hater of the bunch had video difficulties and couldn't rant on HC.
This "Peg"?
The overdub is kind of amusing here because it makes Fagan look like he is doing a little keyboard kitty dance at the piano that doesn't make any sound.
posted by fleacircus at 8:16 PM on August 27, 2023
Yacht Rock may be defined by its silky smoothness, but us normal folks who enjoy the occasional Hobie cat or party barge prefer plain old Boat Rock. CSNY's "Southern Cross" only rates 31.25 on their rarefied scale, but any songs where you have to explain sailing terminology at least should rate a B+.
posted by credulous at 9:45 PM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by credulous at 9:45 PM on August 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
I can’t hear “Boddhisatva” as anything like yacht rock.
posted by argybarg at 10:53 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by argybarg at 10:53 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also I was surprised to find “Escape (the Pina Colada Song)” so low on the scale. Maybe it’s too blatantly cheesy?
posted by argybarg at 10:56 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by argybarg at 10:56 PM on August 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
What about Sade? She is the undisputed queen of yacht rock IMO. Like Christopher Cross, I feel the genre could not exist without her. Every one of her songs fits the aesthetic perfectly and will be played heavily on my yacht when I get one yet no one talks about her!
posted by Jess the Mess at 5:01 AM on August 28, 2023
posted by Jess the Mess at 5:01 AM on August 28, 2023
Sade didn't really show up until 1983 by which point Yacht Rock had been solidly established for at least half a decade. And anyway, she's actually good. There's smoooooth (TM) and there's smooth. She's the latter.
posted by philip-random at 7:44 AM on August 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 7:44 AM on August 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sade also isn't part of the Steely Dan/Ambrosia/Toto extended universe.
posted by emelenjr at 8:00 AM on August 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 8:00 AM on August 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
And while I'm at it, check out Bill LaBounty, unsung yacht rock hero.
posted by emelenjr at 8:03 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 8:03 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Steely Dan is yacht rock adjacent in the way that Bob Dylan is Peter Seeger adjacent.
posted by Text TK at 8:17 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Text TK at 8:17 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
So it turns out I'm a big yacht rock fan, largely because it reminds me of my early childhood (b. 1975). But it certainly appears that yacht rock is in the ear of the beholder. I'm looking at the Yacht or Nyacht scale, and I'm shocked at the relatively low scores for Little River Band's Reminiscing (51.75) and Cool Change (30.5), which for me are two absolute ur-examples of the genre.
I mean, Cool Change is literally about needing to get back out on the water on a boat. What is more yacht rock than that?
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:37 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
I mean, Cool Change is literally about needing to get back out on the water on a boat. What is more yacht rock than that?
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:37 AM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
What about Sade? She is the undisputed queen of yacht rock IMO.
Critic J.D. Considine's entire review of Sade’s Stronger Than Pride was “And faster than Sominex.”
posted by kirkaracha at 9:17 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Critic J.D. Considine's entire review of Sade’s Stronger Than Pride was “And faster than Sominex.”
posted by kirkaracha at 9:17 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I hadn't seen the web series before, so I marathoned it last night. It was hilarious. I especially liked the episode with "Warren G".
I also started listening to the Spotify playlist, via a YouTube copy. The inclusion of Michael Jackson in the web series makes so much more sense to me now after a close listen of certain Kenny Loggins songs.
posted by May Kasahara at 11:49 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also started listening to the Spotify playlist, via a YouTube copy. The inclusion of Michael Jackson in the web series makes so much more sense to me now after a close listen of certain Kenny Loggins songs.
posted by May Kasahara at 11:49 AM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Isn’t Yacht Rock just a rebrand of Soft Rock?
Soft rock had way more women on the roster, IIRC.
posted by Selena777 at 12:03 PM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Soft rock had way more women on the roster, IIRC.
posted by Selena777 at 12:03 PM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also think that yacht rock has more of a shiny production than soft rock. Artists like Carole King or James Taylor qualify as soft rock, but you wouldn't call them yacht rock.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 12:13 PM on August 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 12:13 PM on August 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
One of these guys has a creaky voice that sounds just like the Ukraine expert guy on the "War on the Rocks" podcast. I've been listening to too many podcasts. They really nailed a particular vibe with the whole "Yacht Rock" moniker, the first time someone mentioned that wen series to me I knew exactly what they meant. Can't believe it's been nearly 20 years. That show is almost as old now as the music genre was then.
posted by St. Oops at 12:36 PM on August 28, 2023
posted by St. Oops at 12:36 PM on August 28, 2023
I'm conflicted by the presence of Starbuck's "Moonlight Feels Right":
* Smooth moon-inspired production, check
* Tidal changes as a metaphor for an erection, check
* Frenetic marimba solo improvised by an ex-Mouseketeer in one take while wearing a leather jumpsuit, check
Yes, it's yacht rock, but at what cost? How many were conceived during that solo to live their lifes in fear of the full moon?
posted by credulous at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
* Smooth moon-inspired production, check
* Tidal changes as a metaphor for an erection, check
* Frenetic marimba solo improvised by an ex-Mouseketeer in one take while wearing a leather jumpsuit, check
Yes, it's yacht rock, but at what cost? How many were conceived during that solo to live their lifes in fear of the full moon?
posted by credulous at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
And while I'm at it, check out Bill LaBounty, unsung yacht rock hero.Fuck yes, Bill LaBounty. If people here are going to continue laboring under the misconception that nautical references are a requisite of the genre (despite "Brandy" and "Southern Cross" being exemplary nyacht rock), check out his "Trail to Your Heart (Sailing Without a Sail)".
I'm simultaneously annoyed and glad that he seemingly has enough of a fanbase here in Japan to keep the prices of his records out of my budget on Yahoo! Auctions.
Another strike against Sade is that the band is British and Brits by and large don't get/do yacht rock. Sophisti-pop is maybe the closest they got.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 4:18 PM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
On reflection, if the Yachtski chart is treated as authoritative, I guess I prefer the stuff that's on the boundary of yacht, in a few different directions. By their ear, the purest yacht is less alive than its drums.
Til I Die [Extended]
(not yacht, but yeah)
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:45 PM on August 28, 2023
Til I Die [Extended]
(not yacht, but yeah)
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:45 PM on August 28, 2023
credulous: “Starbuck's ‘Moonlight Feels Right’”“70s Singer Tells The IMPOSSIBLE Story Of A Smooth Yacht Rock- One Hit Wonder”—Professor of Rock, 23 September 2021
posted by ob1quixote at 2:07 AM on August 29, 2023
Yacht Rock may be defined by its silky smoothness, but us normal folks who enjoy the occasional Hobie cat or party barge prefer plain old Boat Rock.Also known as marina rock.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 12:23 AM on August 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Defining 'yacht rock' once and for all with the genre's creators on the CBC's Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 1:26 AM on September 1, 2023
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 1:26 AM on September 1, 2023
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posted by Floydd at 8:36 PM on August 26, 2023 [6 favorites]