Elderly people debating terms. Let's keep this going. Yacht Rock. Left Coast 70's. Lite rock. Soft rock. Mellow mood music.
To me, it's just music, and good music, at that! I never bought any soft rock back in the 70s or early 80s, but I heard it all on the radio, and the radio station I listened to had an abundance of it on the playlist. I'm happy for it.
I just thought of some more: Lotta Love - Nicolette Larson I Will Be In Love With You - Livingston Taylor (James Taylor's brother) Gold - John Stewart Magnet And Steel - Walter Egan Stumblin' In - Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman This Time I'm In It For Love - Player ...And an all-time favorite of mine: "Ebony Eyes" by Bob Welch! A lot of these great songs can be found on any 70 Rhino comp.
A whole bunch of stuff to argue whether "yacht or not" here… Yacht Rock ... Now that's some smooooth music!
This is just a silly thread that is supposed to be funny. I get it. It has nothing to do with actual discussion about a real genre of music. Have fun!
Actually it started off quite serious although a few people got butthurt when some of their favourite bands were included in the "yacht rock" genre.
It's possible to be serious and lighthearted at the same time. I have always loved "yacht rock". Since long before it had the name. I grew up with this music. I don't love all of it, of course. Pablo Cruise was one of my favorite bands as a teenager. I still love those albums. McDonald's "If That's What It Takes" is one of my favorite albums of all time. Christopher Cross, OTHO, left me cold pretty much from the outset. But I have no problem with anyone wanting to call it "yacht rock" or even if they want to make fun of it. I can make fun of it in some ways too. It IS often light and over-produced and schmaltzy. I get why that puts some people off. But I also like those things. People get way too precious about their music, sometimes. It's just music. Enjoy it or don't enjoy it. It neither offends me nor breaks my back if someone wants to make fun of music I like. So, I say....crank up some P. Cruise and pour me another, mate!
Just because every track they ever recorded wasn't "yacht rock" doesn't mean much of what they recorded wasn't. It was. "Aja" and "Gaucho" are filled with it. Even if the lyrics take on a darker or more cynical form. But "Jack with his radar, stalking the dread moray eel, at the wheel, with his Eurasian bride"? That yacht rocker fantasy stuff right there!
Let the eye rolling begin! I do see a definite distinction between yacht rock and (the genre) Westcoast. Westcoast, as our good friends in Norway and Sweden like to call it, includes yacht rock, but it's less tied to the music than the overall vibe and aesthetic, so it's more inclusive. Westcoast includes music that wouldn't be considered yacht rock by most, such as disco, R&B, and jazz fusion. So Airplay's "Cryin' All Night" and Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgotten" are definitely yacht rock and Westcoast, where a disco band like Breakaway, an R&B act like Earth, Wind, and Fire or The Brothers Johnson, or a jazz outfit like Spiro Gyra or The Yellowjackets wouldn't be considered by most to be yacht rock, but are Westcoast all day long.
My first concert ever was Pablo Cruise opening for the Michael McDonald led Doobies in 1977. In the context of this thread that may have been the "big bang" of yacht rock! For fans of the genre there's a Time Life series titled "Smooth 80s" (and variations on that title for each 2-cd set) that's loaded with yacht rock.
Here's another Yacht Rock classic. I especially like Anne Murray introducing the band by talking about how Kenny Loggins was raving about them....
It IS a derogatory term. This 'genre' was originally a silly and sarcastic spoof of 70s soft rock. Now people seem to think it's a real classification. It's not. I'm watching this thread because it may be one of the most ridiculous "discussions" about music I've seen on this forum. And I've been here 10 years!
That is why the term must be owned! Take the 'derogatory' out of it! If you don't take it as derogatory, then how can it be? What? Between two people who don't like the music? Who cares what they think? Either way, it's nothing to get your Vans in a bunch about....
What makes ANY classification of music "real"? They are simply just terms used to identify certain stylistic elements in music and as long as we all know what we are talking about then we're all on the same page and it's all good. "Rock" is obviously too broad a category so it has been broken down into further categories and sub-categories over the years. Most rock music doesn't fall squarely into any one category anyway. But the identifiers still serve a purpose for radio programming, general discussion, etc. What makes anything "classic" rock? Or "New Wave"? Or "Heavy Metal"? Or on and on. Who came up with those terms and at what point did they become "real" classifications? Seems to me that "yacht rock" is just as valid as anything else. Since I only put a small amount of stock into the value of such identifiers in the first place, then I'm hardly offended by those that might possibly be derogatory. Apparently some others take it all much more seriously and think what we call any particular song or artist is VERY important.
