Was yacht rock the origin of emo?
And should I give Steely Dan another chance?
I’m only on week 3 and this newsletter is late, but I think we can all agree that the past few days have been intense and cold. Let’s heat things up and talk about yacht rock.
The most interesting thing that happened on Monday was that I watched “Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary” on HBO, which featured a stellar lineup: Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, members of Toto, Questlove, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, Fred Armisen, two of my former NYU professors, Amanda Petrusich and Jason King and others.
Basement-dwelling Reddit posters said this documentary taught them NOTHING they didn’t already know. But I learned a lot—I didn’t even realize the term “yacht rock” comes from a series of comedy sketches. I won’t expose what else I didn’t know before watching this, but this film did remind me that being a music listener means approaching sound with curiosity and an open mind.
Steely Dan gets a lot of airtime in this documentary. I’m personally not a fan, although I was nearly convinced to give them a try when I read Lindsay Zoladz’s 2020 essay, “I’m Not a Dad But I Rock Like One.” But what Petrusich had to say here about the band’s precise production was just so smart that I needed to transcribe it for myself and for you.
“For a long time I thought, Steely Dan, that’s just music for dorks and weirdos. I felt myself allergic to the idea that music was a math equation that could be solved, and if you just worked hard enough in the studio and did enough takes and you programmed everything perfectly, somehow you could make this cultural artifact that would be gleaming and wonderful and timeless. That to me is so antithetical to the idea of punk rock that it’s almost like the circle closes and it becomes somehow incredibly punk rock that they did that.”
So maybe Steely Dan is punk rock…Except that this movie NEEDS you to know that it’s yacht rock. They’re really obsessed with defining yacht rock, probably because it’s undefinable. Steve Huey, the host of the comedy series, says that many Steely Dan fans deny the YR label because they won’t associate Steely Dan with Christopher Cross. Huey says those Steely Fans haven’t been reading their album liner notes—the musicians and producers on both Cross and Steely Dan’s albums significantly overlap.
As much as yacht rock is a “genre,” it’s also just a community of musicians who all worked together to create a unified sound. This doc traces how Steely Dan’s music featured members of Toto, who featured Christopher Cross, who worked with Michael McDonald, who worked solo and with the Doobie Brothers, inspired Ambrosia and wrote with Kenny Loggins to create some of the most iconic yacht rock songs, including “What a Fool Believes.”
That brings me to my final takeaway of this documentary: Yacht rock is emo. Countless yacht rock songs feature the insecure singer calling himself a fool: “Fool’s Paradise,” “How Do the Fools Survive?,” “Who Will the Next Fool Be.” He’s never good enough, always left behind by the woman of his dreams. “Baby come back, you can blame it all on me.” Perhaps someday I’ll have the opportunity to ask Pete Wentz if he was ever inspired by Michael McDonald. Until then, this playlist, shared in the documentary, outlines the most “foolish” yacht rock songs.
I was also touched by a playlist Questlove made for Anthony Bourdain after his death in 2018: a defense of yacht rock. I understand the term is subjective—and OFFENSIVE to some—but if you’re willing to embrace the cheesiness and the comedy and make fun of a few old white guys in the process, this documentary is super enjoyable. But DO NOT ask Donald Fagen about it. Keep sailing, everyone!
❤️ LOVE NOTES ❤️
I’m so jealous of any journalist who gets more than 30 minutes with their subject. Brittany Spanos got 48 hours with Addison Rae for her Rolling Stone cover story—the TikToker turned popstar even picked up Spanos from the airport.
I’m a week late, but Victoria Canal’s debut album, “Slowly, It Dawns,” is so good—It’s expansive, but remains cohesive as her sultry vocals bounce from sunny pop (“June Baby”) and folk rock (“15%”) to Latin rhythms (“California Sober”) and an orchestral ballad (“Black Swan”). You can tell she knows how adaptable her voice is, and she’s willing to play around with how far it can go.
It snowed on Monday—I hate snow in NYC, but here is a playlist I made a few years ago specifically for snow days (indoors). It’s called COZY.
A few hours after I shared last week’s newsletter, the lineup for FireAid was announced. I’m excited and very curious what some of these musicians are planning at these two venues.
At Kia Forum: Pink, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews & John Mayer, Green Day, Stevie Nicks, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Joni Mitchell.
At Intuit Dome: Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder and Gracie Abrams
I’m desperate for a full clip of Jensen McRae’s cover of Pink’s “Dear Mr. President” from last weekend’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival.
The Oscars will not put on performances of their best song nominees this year. I think they just needed an excuse to not air this clip. (No I have not seen “Emilia Pérez” yet!)
Also, justice for the “Challengers” score, which did not receive an Oscar nom :(
🚨 VIBE CHECK 🚨
What the people are actually listening to:
Billboard Hot 100
“Die With a Smile” is still No. 1. How many times have you heard this song in the past week? For me, the answer is zero.
Scroll all the way down the list and Imogen Heap has made her Hot 100 debut (!?) at No. 100 with her 2005 song “Headlock.” It’s going viral because of a TikTok trend related to a video game called “Mouthwashing.” (!?)
Billboard 200
Last week, I wondered if Bad Bunny’s “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” debuted at No. 2 on the albums chart, behind Lil Baby’s “WHAM,” because it was released on a Sunday instead of a Friday. This week, Bad Bunny made it to No. 1. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift’s live album “Lover: Live From Paris” returned to the chart at No. 2 via of sales of a special edition heart-shaped vinyl. I won’t lie…I wish I bought it.
💋 HOT DATE 💋
*** I attended my first concert of 2025 Wednesday night! According to my Gcal and camera roll, I attended approximately 37 concerts in 2024. Can I beat that this year? Stay tuned to find out… ***
Lola Young, Silver Lining Lounge 1/22
First, a note on the venue: I thought I was checking out a cool new spot I’ve never heard of before, Silver Lining Lounge, but I arrived to discover it is the club attached to the LES Moxy hotel. It gives 2016 lounge for the Instagram grid. The wall behind the bar displays shiny, recognizable vinyl and photography from INXS, Aaliyah and Jimi Hendrix, plus a book on Warhol and Basquiat, because vibes. “This place is sick as hell,” I overheard someone say.
Lola Young came out over an hour after the expected start time and shared that she was having issues with the grills she put on her teeth earlier that day. Unclear if that’s why the show started late. “If you’re in the front row and getting spit on your face, then don’t wash when you get home,” she told the crowd after the first song.
She has a point. Over the past couple of months, Young has blown up through the song “Messy,” which I have not gone one day without hearing on Instagram or TikTok in 2025.
I love “Messy”—Its title sums up what’s working in pop right now. Listeners want more mess: Sabrina Carpenter’s silly sexual innuendos, Chappell Roan’s sweat on the dance floor, Charli xcx being so Julia. “Messy” is pop with a goth edge, appealing to “Get Ready With Me” TikTokers but also earning cosigns (and features) from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Yachty. “Know how Chappell Roan says, ‘I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist?’” Young brought up during a Q&A following her performance. “I’m your favorite rapper’s favorite artist.” She also told the crowd she needs media training, LOL.
Young played a handful of tracks from her last album (including “Messy,” during which she got emotional and cried for a sec! Aw!) and then previewed three more from her upcoming album, which she said was recorded at Electric Lady. All three had grungy pop hooks that TikTok will love; one was called “Fuck Everyone.” To be honest, I couldn’t tell you much else about those new songs, because by that point I had been at “Silver Lining Lounge” for over two hours without having had dinner, sweating and lugging my enormous puffer coat and work bag—a state no girl should be in at a Moxy Hotel on a freezing Wednesday night.
I’m sharing the venue’s video of “Messy” because it’s much better than mine.
There are only two things you actually need to know about me. My name is Natalia and my favorite podcast is Las Culturistas. They end every episode with a song. I end every newsletter with a song.
For me, this is the ultimate snow day song. It doesn’t have an official music video, so here’s the Audiotree version! Also, Laura Stevenson is a dream interview of mine, solely because she grew up in the same town I did. Just putting that out there, manifesting how TikTok taught me.