The leisure vibes of yacht rock might be too schmaltzy for you. But the smooth groove of this West Coast sound wasn\u2019t limited to the 1970s or early 80s. It returned in the 90s on West Coast hip-hop albums by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and others, becoming known as G-funk.<\/p>\n
And adult-oriented jazz and R&B can also be found in modern pop and indie rock, as current artists make kitschy sounds cool. While some reject<\/a> the association, I\u2019ll leave it to others to argue<\/a> about yacht rock\u2019s usefulness as a category of music.<\/p>\n And who cares if summer\u2019s over? You can feel the cool breeze of these yacht rock (or yacht rock-adjacent) songs any time you wish.<\/p>\n \u201cSailing\u201d by Christopher Cross<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re going to write a yacht rock classic, calling your song \u201cSailing\u201d is a good place to begin. Christopher Cross\u2019s self-titled debut also features another boat-shoe banger, \u201cRide Like The Wind\u201d. But the rounded edges of Cross\u2019s songwriting don\u2019t need to be admired with irony. You can hear his influence on the wobbly bedroom pop of Mac DeMarco or the shoulder-pad blues of John Mayer<\/a>. If you aim for this level of smooth sailing, you\u2019d better have a chorus pedal handy.<\/p>\n And if the wind is right, you can sail away,
And find tranquility.<\/p>\n