Yacht Rock

"See, I hit him on accident, but then I kidnapped him ON PURPOSE."

Any chance of a tracklisting for episodes 6, 7, 8?

Not anymore.

It ain't bad, but with the last few installments, Yacht Rock seems to be in a pattern of alternating between episodes in its "classic" format (lots of different bands, crammed full of small jokes) and curious side tangents (the Jethro Tull thing, Dr. Dre). I definitely enjoy the classic ones (1-5, 8) the best, but I kind of like that they do keep indulging in these footnote-like episodes whose sole purpose is to illuminate deliciously minor pieces of Yacht trivia. That's an ILMy spirit that I can't hate even if it makes me fear for the show's ratings survival.

I still REALLY REALLY want to see a story where Rosanna Arquette runs off with Peter Gabriel, finding his freakish antics and experimental music a refreshing change after all the smooth. Unfortunately, his search for jagged new world music sounds leads them on a trip to Africa, where he's so moved that he composes the brilliantly yacht-y "In Your Eyes." Just as Rosanna is moved to doubt that Peter is the man she thought he was, Toto (who have been following sneakily the whole time) unleash "Africa," and Rosanna realizes where she really belongs.

JD Ryznar, if you're reading this, please steal my idea. And also know that thanks to Yacht Rock, I now own and love Toto I and IV, as well as X-Static by Hall & Oates. Y'all rock.

Discussion topic for the rest of us: favorite moment/character in Yacht Rock? I think Loggins steals every scene he's in, with his smugly satisfied "I'm Alright" and his unbelievably nuanced lip-synch for "Don't Fight It" taking the cake.

Stockholm syndrome, this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Yacht_rock

Hard Place
Totally Radd
Josh Ottum
with DJ oonce oonce of Tigerbeat6 Records

155 Fell St. At Van Ness
8 p.m.
$8
Advance tix available at www.virtuous.com

JOSH OTTUM 9:00
Haven't heard of Josh Ottum? You will. Often featuring members of
Crystal Skulls and Sufjan Stevens' band, this delightful emo-synth
outfit will be releasing an album on Millpond this Fall. Expect
songs that make you think of looking at a warm cabin on Christmas
Eve while you're stuck out in the snow...but you're with all your
best friends and you have big bottle of whiskey...so everything's
cool. CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS YACHT ROCK (Steely Dan, Hall & Oates)
with a big emphasis on love, hope, fear and possibility (The Beach
Boys, The Flaming Lips).

www.myspace.com/joshottum
www.millpondrecords.com

Ironic, considering that "What a Fool Believes," perhaps the epitome of yacht rock, is all about NO love, NO hope, NO fear, and NO possibility.

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=4456

Sail on, sailor

Anyway, though. Yacht Rock despite a few dud moments and genuinely bewildering directions (how did they survive the Jethro Tull episode?) has made its mark; the term will serve (with or without a Wiki entry), and I'll be confusing people by quoting it for years to come.

Viva la portable radio.

I also never understood why they never brought Stevie Nicks into the mix.

Also, I'm working on a Yacht Rock story and I came across some interesting tangenital YR trivia: When Becker and Fagen were in a pre-Steely Dan band called the Leather Canary, their drummer was Chevy Chase.

Honestly, and I'm definitely to blame partially for this, I think the creators got a bit sick of the fans proposing so many ideas for future episodes. At that point, the show pretty much accomplished its goal.. when fans can write a screenplay for a future episode given his/her knowledge of the family of bands in question.

Also, it was a matter of time before some crazy fan would try to sue the creators for "ripping off" an idea, when there's only so many quasi-real-life scenarios you can concoct involving Michael McDonald anyway that it would be inevitable. (yeah, even if the show was non-profit, I wouldn't put it past somebody out there to try to sue, regardless, in such a scenario.)

Anyone check out the rest of Channel 101's shows? Is there an ILE thread about that? Obviously there's a pretty low S:D ratio, but I've had a lot of laughs from "McCourt's In Session," and this month's frontrunner, "Chad Vader" gets tremendous laughs out of a premise that sounds doomed when you try to explain it to somebody.

As for other Channel 101 stuff, Thriller Chiller Theater is pretty damn funny. (Noone else seemed to think so, though, as there is only one episode.)

I'm more saddened that Pablo Cruise never made an appearance. I guess no one knew what they look or act like. Myself included.