Playlist: Listening with Yacht Rock Revue

About Playlist

To celebrate the release of their new album, HOT DADS in TIGHT JEANS, Nicholas Niespodziani of smooth-rock kings Yacht Rock, walks us through a playlist of current and past favorites to soundtrack that yacht rock life.

Tame Impala - "Lost in Yesterday"

Never mind that "Lost in Yesterday" could be the title for a Yacht Rock Revue album (it describes our lives perfectly.) This one hits several of the yacht rock hallmarks: the slick drum shuffle reminiscent of "Lido Shuffle" or "Reeling in the Years", the Hall & Oates synths, the easy-going vocal delivery. When he started releasing tracks from this new record last year, we had already recorded "Hot Dads in Tight Jeans." I heard the sounds and feels he was going for, and the similarities to our record made me feel a lot more confident that our album would be relevant.

Hall & Oates - "Out of Touch"

This might be my favorite H&O song. The muscular intro is fueled by the confidence of having so many #1 hits in their rear view mirror, and then Daryl drops an unexpectedly bright turn on you for the verse. I love the way they work with sonic space in their songs, always letting Daryl's transcendent vocal performances carry the mix.

The Weeknd (feat. Daft Punk) - "I Feel It Coming"

Random Access Memories is packed with sounds from the yacht rock era, and they brought a lot of that feel to this smash hit with The Weeknd.

Lionel Richie - "Running With The Night"
This song comes on and it feels like a freight train of inevitability that someone is gonna have really good sex tonight. Usually me. We're adding this to our set list for our tour this spring, so good news for all you nymphos out there. PS - Steve Lukather from Toto ripped the guitar solo on this track in one take.

Yacht Rock Revue - "Step"

I'll throw one of our tunes in the middle of this Lukather sandwich. I remember walking into the control room at the studio one morning in the early part of the recording process—we had only laid down a few basic tracks at this point—and our producer Ben Allen said, "check this out." He blasted a fresh mix of this track out of the speakers and it sounded so vibey and crisp and classic and fresh all at the same time...I knew at that moment we had found the sound for our record.

Toto - "Africa" The one song we can't escape—that absolutely must be on every set list I write—is "Africa." And somehow that doesn't bother me. Forget the word-salad lyrics; when the verse intones the waiting and that iconic drum fill rolls down the toms, even the most cynical critic forgets about life for a while. The first minor chord of the chorus hits and somehow, despite the shift from major to minor, we are lifted into this hopeful musical stratosphere. If I could bottle that feeling… oh wait. That's what I do. I bottle that feeling and sell it.

Benny Sings "Not Enough"

Speaking of City Pop, Benny Sings named his 2019 album after that genre. This Dutch artist freshens up yachty vibes on the regular, we dig him bunches.

10CC "I'm Not In Love"

We saw LCD Soundsystem walk on stage to this song and the crowd got AMPED, and we've used it ever since as our walk-on. I love the way 10cc recorded those vocal pads and used them like a synthesizer, the mix of this song is light years ahead of its time. It still feels fresh today.

Poom "De la vitesse a l'ivresse"

I don't speak French but it doesn't matter. I know EXACTLY what they're talking about. The "Too Slow to Disco" compilation series is a treasure trove of tracks custom-made for chilling out by the pool. Speaking of…

Yacht Rock Revue "Bad Tequila"

I found the limiting framework of writing songs for a "yacht rock" album to be quite inspiring. I wrote this one in a hotel one morning in Chicago, between my mobile studio setup in my room and the treadmill in the hotel gym. You'll find it has a nice cadence for running. And for drinking tequila. Maybe at the same time?

Rupert Holmes "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"

How about a dual-cheat-attempt-fail limerick disguised as a party / love song?!?! One of my current stretch goals is to have Rupert Holmes as a guest on our Yacht Rock Talks Podcast so I can discuss with him how his song has haunted me my entire career.

Steely Dan "Black Cow"

I was on a plane last year from Denver to Atlanta (read: pot gummies) and I decided to download Aja and give it a fresh listen. All of a sudden I found myself genuinely enjoying it. In my younger indie rock days, Steely Dan's clinical musical precision and total lack of urgency and soul was the antithesis of what I thought music should be about. I wondered how I had come full circle on it, and our bass player Greg said, "It's because you're a dad now." Indeed.

Thundercat (feat. Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins) "Show You the Way"

This is a rare example of attempting to make pure yacht rock in the modern era and succeeding on every level. Doesn't hurt that he got Mike and Kenny to sprinkle some smooth fairy dust!