# Who listens to yacht rock anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 18, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414 "2020-08-18T14:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/41 "2020-08-19T00:38:24Z")
Is it “aspirational but not luxurious, jaunty but lonely, pained but polished”? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/42 "2020-08-19T00:39:11Z")
Sounds fun. Any reason the group dissolved, or just a Covid thing? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/43 "2020-08-19T01:28:19Z")
No, not COVID. Looking through my emails, seems it was a little longer ago than I remembered (this happens a lot), the last event was in 2017 and the first I went to was approximately 2011. I think they were like a lot of amateur event promoters: hassle and breaking even means less attention paid to running the event. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/44 "2020-08-19T01:31:25Z")
That sounds kind of amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/45 "2020-08-19T01:32:18Z")
OK, Boom Vang. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/46 "2020-08-19T03:11:18Z")
More seriously, yacht rock proponents insist it is not merely 70s-80s soft rock. There’s nothing wrong with soft rock, and people tend to like the music they listened to when they started college. But if you’re going to create a new name and complex, possibly pretentious criteria - that’s no longer what is being marketed. But I’m not sure what they actually play on the radio; maybe I should give it a fair listen first. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/47 "2020-08-19T03:33:34Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But I’m not sure what they actually play on the radio; maybe I should give it a fair listen first. If you do listen to SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock station, you’ll hear a lot of: - Toto - Christopher Cross - Michael McDonald (and McDonald-era Doobie Brothers) - Kenny Loggins - Hall & Oates - Little River Band - Chuck Mangione - Gerry Rafferty - Boz Scaggs - Steely Dan They mix in some other acts, too, but only certain songs, like 10cc’s “Dreadlock Holiday,” and Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/48 "2020-08-19T03:41:30Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But if you’re going to create a new name and complex, possibly pretentious criteria - that’s no longer what is being marketed. Who is “you” in this? I’ve never heard of any of the people in the Wikipedia article; I didn’t even know that any such analysis existed. I found a station - one of many - that played music I enjoyed. Pretentious? Sirius treats the name as a joke: the station id. uses a pseudo-Thurston Howell voice. Listen to the station. Or don’t. But first, perhaps, listen to us. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/49 "2020-08-19T04:13:13Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Many “yacht rockers” included nautical references in their lyrics, videos, and album artwork, exemplified by Christopher Cross’s anthemic track, “Sailing” (1979). Long mocked for “its saccharine sincerity and garish fashion”, the original stigma attached to the music has lessened since about 2015. I found yacht rock (or soft rock, as it was referred to contemporaneously) mostly tolerable when it came out in the ‘70s and ‘80s and I heard it on the radio, but have never felt much of a need or desire to listen to it since the mid-‘80s when it died out. With that said, for decades now I have always closed my eyes and hummed “Sailing” to myself when I have my blood pressure taken in a doctor’s office. 🤒 I think it helps prevent [white coat hypertension](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/white-coat-hypertension/faq-20057792). ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/50 "2020-08-19T09:03:40Z")
Wouldn’t Air Supply be the ultimate yacht rock band? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/51 "2020-08-19T09:49:39Z")
I enjoy some soft rock and have always liked the Eagles. I admit it would be fairer for me to listen to the radio and see how much I enjoy it. But the wiki article on “yacht rock” seems to be more involved than merely anything from the late 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/52 "2020-08-19T10:37:55Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > For example, Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982) is accepted as yacht rock, but Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (1977) is not.[15 Weird, I’d have reversed those. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/53 "2020-08-19T11:45:20Z")
This is who listens to yacht rock: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YHoDGCn5IH8/maxresdefault.jpg "The Guys Decide To Go On A Yacht Rock Cruise | Season 18 Ep. 1 | FAMILY GUY") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHoDGCn5IH8) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/54 "2020-08-19T12:08:52Z")
🤔 I like it. It’s what I often stream(ed) at work to drown out the numpties and neutralize the acidic nature of the industry in which I work. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/55 "2020-08-19T12:14:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > They mix in some other acts, too, but only certain songs, like 10cc’s “Dreadlock Holiday,” and Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic.” For further one-offs, I’d also think that “You Can Do Magic” by America, “Southern Cross” by CSN , and “Eye in the Sky” by Alan Parsons Project would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/56 "2020-08-19T12:46:13Z")
While Steely Dan isn’t Yacht Rock…I’d allow Deacon Blue ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/57 "2020-08-19T12:52:03Z")
> [@BigDfromLA](#): > > Wouldn’t Air Supply be the ultimate yacht rock band? Yacht rock is not sexually ambiguous. Yacht rock is scaled-back traditional masculinity in a pink Izod and boat shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/58 "2020-08-19T14:01:00Z")
Do they have elevators on yachts? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/59 "2020-08-19T14:01:59Z")
The ones I’ve been on do. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414/60 "2020-08-19T14:18:31Z")
Do they play music inside the elevator? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-listens-to-yacht-rock-anyway/918414.md?page=4)