Thursday, May 23, 2024

189. Yacht Rock Spectacular!

It's almost Memorial Day Weekend in the States and that means it's time for Yacht Rock! The term didn't exist before the 2005 web series of the same name was written, directed, and produced by J. D. Ryznar, David Lyons, Hunter D. Stair, and Lane Farnham. You can revisit their highly specific genius here. Before that, music of the type we now refer to as 'Yacht Rock' was known as "The West Coast Sound" and that meant it had characteristics such as being recording in Los Angeles between, roughly, 1972 and 1982, or that heavy session musicians played on the tracks, tracks that often featured electric piano, lyrical tales of romantic failure and ennui, layered backing vocals, and light jazz and R&B elements. In this episode I recount my journey from a Yacht Rock generalist, to someone who now believes there is a pure YR essence, discernible in the tracks I reference in this episode...and there are other songs considered Yacht Rock that don't really belong in the canon. For example, by my analysis, Steely Dan and Hall & Oates: Not Yacht Rock due to a combination of not being recorded in Los Angeles and being outside the scope lyrically and compositionally. But as my friend and YR Guiding Light Rick Brown says: half the fun is debating what belongs and what doesn't. In preparing the episode I came to believe strongly in the qualitative superiority of the tracks recorded in Los Angeles. I think it's demonstrable upon hearing them. For the sake of your ears, I prepared two Spotify Playlists: Yacht Rock: Recorded In LA And Yacht Rock: Nyacht From LA I also explore a few examples of really fun outlier tunes from unexpected sources and encourage you to suggest additional songs that do or don't fit the criteria. Thanks for listening, and do me a favor and share this or your favorite episode with one or two friends who you think might enjoy it! Jason