Allison Strong
The Radioactive Patient
I’ve watched that HBO documentary on Yacht Rock. And yes, I watched it twice. I can’t figure out, for the life of me, why the comedians who started the web comedy series and who figured prominently in the HBO documentary, arbitrarily decided that Steely Dan is the center of all things Yacht Rock. What a mismatch.
When they called Donald Fagen on the telephone and told him they wanted to talk to him about Yacht Rock, he said, “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you go fuck yourself.” So he’s not pleased to be pigeonholed into this category, or any category, really.
The Youtuber named Polyphonic said it best when he said that Steely Dan weren’t really a band, but something else entirely. And I have to agree, as I discovered musicians such as Tom Scott and Larry Carlton, who played on some of Steely Dan’s songs. (I already thought Michael McDonald was fabulous as a background singer in Steely Dan. No one could have done it better).
In analyzing what goes into being a Yacht Rock band, I imagine the voices of Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Boz Scaggs and others. What these vocalists and their lyrics seem to have in common is a longing, an almost optimistic yearning.
On the other hand, lyrics like “In the night you hide from the madman you’re longing to be. But it all comes out on the inside, eventually,” are too dark for Yacht Rock as are songs about porn stars, (Peg) prostitutes, (Pearl of the Quarter) and the jaded downside that comes with being part of the glitterati as heard in the song “Glamour Profession.”
Lyric: “Meet me at Midnight, at Mr. Chow.” Most of the people who listen to the Dan don’t even know what Mr. Chow even is!
As per usual, and I speak from experience as a former alternative rock disc jockey, people need to put things in categories to make them comfortable, and the degradation of fine musicians is no exception. I’d tell you to watch the documentary but that would just be feeding in to its bullshit.