Hacker Cinema
Yacht Rock
2005 · TV series · 1 season
Created by J.D. Ryznar, Lane Farnham, Hunter Stair
What can be said about Yacht Rock that hasn't been said by various magazines, newspapers and disc jockeys across the country? J.D. Ryznar and Hunter Stair's saga detailing the unknown mythical origins of a previously obscure genre of music struck the audience like a lightning bolt on its first episode, much like fellow 101 breakout House of Cosbys. Unlike HoC, however, Yacht Rock was never sued by its iconic characters' real life counterparts. In fact, it is said that at one time or another, just about every musician lovingly portrayed in the series has witnessed and enjoyed it behind closed doors. Yacht Rock enjoyed success on levels and in ways previously unattained by 101 shows, its title becoming a household phrase at radio stations, a bin at your local record store and a category on iTunes. But beneath its pop cultural triumph was an artistic one that often went undescribed: Yacht Rock's stories were always clever and sometimes downright genius in their assembly, weaving trivi...
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Was just thinking how the original Yacht Rock episodes are an example of early 2000s web ethos, which turns out to be pretty much the opposite of Qanon:
Yacht Rock: poked fun at a subject the author obviously admired-- 70s smooth rock
Qanon: takes itself extremely seriously and generates hatred for most of its subjects
Yacht Rock: took great care in mixing fantasy with reality. In episode five Steve Porcaro of Toto is portrayed scheming to write a song for his real-life girlfriend at the time, Rosanna Arquette, partly by tempting-- and eventually failing to convince-- Michael MacDonald to perform on the song. (I just love that the entire plot is fan fiction about Toto's interaction with a performer who in reality had absolutely nothing to do with the track!) An early fan commented that in their zeal the authors got a basic premise wrong: it was David Paich, not Steve Porcaro, who wrote the song "Rosanna." The authors then pointed out that even in the ridiculous fantasy plot, Steve Porcaro ends up calling on "his brothers in Toto" to help him write the song for his girlfriend.
Qanon: Sloppy blending of fantasy with reality, so careless that I've never seen a successful parody of it. I'd bet even today if you pointed out an error in the fantasy logic of Yacht Rock, the author would kick himself. But in Qanon, contradictions in the canon are implicitly accepted as they make the tent bigger.
Yacht Rock: the bright side of DIY ethos. Didn't ask nicely for song rights. Just took music they liked, wove a fantasy plot through it to make a room full of friends laugh, then posted the result on the internet for others to download.
Qanon: the dark side of DIY ethos. Took the crowd-sourced "meme economy" and used it to create what looks to me like a cult mentality-- everything from the seemingly reasonable facade of "save the children" to separating adherents from outsiders and loved ones.
Yacht Rock: ended up positively influencing the careers of their subjects for their tours
Qanon: literally rioted at the Capitol Building
Yacht Rock: even articles like this one carry on its ethos of detailed investigation of a beloved, if flawed, genre.
Qanon: look up what the two Qanon dipshits in Congress are up to today, I guarantee it will fit this comment.
PHP on a website: delivered Yacht Rock videos to site visitors
Whatever you're currently working on: ???
As a big fan of smooth music, this was much more interesting than I expected.
If you're a fan too, I highly recommend this loving parody series:
http://www.yachtrock.com/yacht-rock-episodes
If you've previously seen the old lo-fi transfers, the link above has new HD transfers. Enjoy!