Smooth Sailing.
The gentle joys of Yacht Rock.
Last night, my husband and I watched Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary on HBO. We thought it would be kitschy good fun; I mean, Yacht Rock? We didn’t really know what it was, only that it had something to do with The Doobie Brothers.
As it turns out, The Doobie Brothers had something to do with everything that is Yacht Rock—Michael McDonald sure got around back in the day. For those who may be, as I was, uninitiated in Yacht Rock, it’s the recent term for the music of the late 1970s-early ‘80s that dominated the airwaves. Think the aforementioned Doobies, Kenny Loggins, Toto, Christopher Cross, Pablo Cruise, Abrosia, and the band from which all Yachts were built, Steely Dan.
The reason Yacht Rock is big enough for HBO to shell out money for a dock (har!) umentary is the same as what made it good in the first place: a smooth, melodic blend of pop, rock, and the game-changing ingredient, R&B. Add the then-new trend of men getting all emotive about their feelings, being very sad about their breakups and assuring themselves, and you, that “everything is all right,” and you had hit after hit after hit after Michael-McDonald-vocals-Doobie-bounce-infused hit.
Mind you, I used to sneer at this music. I was in my late teens and early 20s when these songs were all over the radio, and I was discovering some loud, brash, rebellious stuff coming out of Britain, New York, and LA. Whatever was popular was not for me! And yet…secretly, when I was alone, I would sing along with The Doobie Brothers—I mean, nobody hated the Doobs, that was like musical sacrilege—and even, dare I admit this publicly, Toto. Yes, Toto. Come on, “Africa”1?! Who can resist that chorus?? NOBODY! Not me, anyway.
Which brings us back to the “why now” popularity of Yacht Rock, and why I’m listening to “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” by Elvin Bishop right now. These songs are good—some of them great, like one of the defining moments in the genre, “What a Fool Believes” by, you guessed it, The Doobie Brothers.
In addition to being great songs that are still popular decades later, even gaining young fans today, this type of music is a total freakin’ balm right now. Nationally, we’re in a time of transition; globally, I can’t even. We’re entering the holiday zone, joyful for some, tricky for others. Personally, I have life stuff ranging between thrilling (I’m in comics school!!) and omgwhatishappening (aging parents, aging me, a kind of low-level depression). You know the feelings. Everybody’s got something going on right now.
But then, I found the Yacht Rock station on Sirius XM, and there was Pablo Cruise singing to me:
Sometimes we all feel a need to change
Our love we have to rearrange
And move on to something new…yes you do
Your dreams feel like they're fallin' apart
You need to find a brand new start
But you're almost afraid to be true to yourself
Oh, but it's all right
Once you get past the pain
You'll learn to find your love again
So keep your heart open
’Cause love will find a way
Love will find a way
Love will find a way
Isn’t that what we all need to hear right now, that love will find a way?
Get set to sail!
Watch the Yacht Rock dock (sorry, still funny) umentary on HBO. Here’s the preview (salty language alert):
The Yacht Rock station on Sirius/XM is great. Channel 311. If you don’t have Sirius/XM, here’s an album full of feel good, Now That’s What I Call Yacht Rock, which is just one of tons of lists on Spotify.
Are you on board with Yacht Rock? Do you know what a fool believes? Have you fooled around and fell in love? Let me know in the comments!
In the Yacht Rock doc, socially conscious questions about the lyrics and video are examined. The conclusion is that “Africa” is an awesome song anyway. Okay.
Not directly related to yacht rock, but I had a thought. You know, venues like Twitch might be a nice place for this little Star Hits community to convene. We get someone to DJ the hits of the 80’s for us while we chop it up in the chat room. Any thoughts on that?
I'm not where you are with Yacht Rock (yet), but lately I've dialed down the music snobbery, and I sometimes ponder the wonders of a pure pop hit. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's finally keeping an open mind. But more good music is always welcome.