The Hook is what captures our attention and imagination. The Groove is that sound that just makes you feel right. 

  • Carrying a Tune in Space

    Americans have not been to the moon in more than four decades, but the Artemis II mission scheduled for launch today is set to send a four-person crew around the moon in another step toward landing on the lunar surface again. You have to know by now that every occasion lends itself to a playlist, and… Read more

  • Greta Van Zeppelin?

    My love of Led Zeppelin is a very poorly-kept secret. Tossed into the endless, jumbled mix of artists I enjoy, Led Zeppelin will always come out on top in the end.  I can ramble on about how amazing some other band or artist is, but there’s just no comparison for me when Zeppelin enters the… Read more

  • A Little On-Deck Entertainment

    Like every genre of music, the definition on the fringes is where we find debate and descension, and Yacht has its fair share of stowaways below deck, but topside, the captains are not subject to mutinous challenges to their pedigree. There’s an indisputable group of artists in the Yacht Rock pantheon, but also a library… Read more

  • Smooth Seas Lead Us to Yacht Rock Paradise

    If you didn’t pick up on the theme from my first Yacht Rock installment, if you want to plot a course to a treasure trove of Yacht Rock classics you need smooth seas. But while the motion of that ocean is the final, dramatic clue that reveals a Yacht Rock classic like its pulling the… Read more

  • The Heart of Yachtness: One Man’s Voyage into the Depths of Smooth Musical Sophistication

    I’ve never been on a yacht. This is literally a journey of discovery out to sea and over the horizon into the unknown. The good news is that you don’t have to know your aft from a hole in the hull to pontificate about the Yacht Rock genre. There’s no seamanship required. Read more

  • We can dance if we want to

    I had one hand on the exit door when the space went black and a thundering industrial beat rattled my ears and pounded in my chest as the door vibrated against my hand. Up to the moment I placed my hand on the exit door, it was just a dance club. Any dance club. Nothing… Read more

  • Was Michael Jackson’s masterwork a ‘Thriller’ for everyone?

    Musical milestones can be earth-moving. They can mark a sea change in the music world from how we create to how we listen, or how our musical tastes have evolved or shifted. The weight of some of these monumental moments are felt instantly, others stew and simmer for a time, while others are not recognized… Read more

  • Stay in tune with the music lovers on your Christmas list

    If the thought of gifting another faux leather-wrapped manicure set, some novelty desk decor, or monogrammed wine bottle stopper has you singing the holiday gift blues, then I have a present for you.  All you have to do is unwrap the few hundred words below to discover the next memorable gift that will be music… Read more

  • Are you making a list, and checking it twice?

    It was exactly three decades ago that we learned all Mariah Carey wants for Christmas is us. Just more Christmas lore. It’s ok if you want to hear the over-the-top nod to Christmas romance on a loop, but remember, there’s so much more out there to treat your ears to some festive magic. There’s no denying… Read more

  • We are all curators of music

    When did you make your first mixtape? Did you have the luxury of a Hi-Fi system with a turntable and dual cassettes? Did you perfect your record button timing, developing a hair-trigger efficiency that allowed you to skip the last ramblings of the DJ but still catch the first note of the tune you’d been… Read more