I love being out on the water during the summer. They say the two best days of boat ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I don't own a boat, but what I have is even better: friends with boats! So, with that in mind, I decided to go a more nautical theme for my song choices this month. I hope you get to enjoy the water as I do!
"Ride Captain Ride" - Blues Image (Rhino Hi-Five)
When I hear this song, I think of a relaxing pontoon boat ride on the Grand River. Every summer my family and I will take excursions down it, and it's always so peaceful to look out over the marshland as we navigate the channel. Blues Image didn't have that many hits, but this song is great for a nice evening cruise.
"Rock the Boat" - Hues Corporation ('70s Dance Party)
Although this song uses boating imagery, this track is really about a love that lasts. Through the highs and lows in a relationship, a couple can make it. However, I use this song here because as a child, I did not know this. I honestly thought this was a song about not wanting to "rock the boat" while on the water. Hence, I still think of it as a boat song, even though it is not. Still fun to listen to!
"I'm On a Boat" - Lonely Island (Incredibad)
I unabashedly love this song! The Lonely Island Boys are an adult comedy trio which is headed by Andy Samberg, who started at SNL and has had a successful movie/tv career since leaving. This song came out while I was in college, and became an instant classic. In 2009, this song could not be played enough. The music video itself takes place on a boat in the ocean, and the song is both catchy and comedically funny. Even now, if this song comes on I will stop what I'm doing and start jamming out.
"Come Sail Away" - Styx (The Grand Illusion)
When I was growing up in middle school, I had an 80's classic rock phase which included bands such as Metallica, The Scorpions, and Styx. Styx was a classic 70's/80's rock band, and have had such classics as "Lady", "Mr. Roboto", "Too Much Time", and "Blue Collar Man", just to name a few. I was able to see them at Muskegon Summer Celebration years ago, and it was awesome! As fitting our theme, "Come Sail Away" is a great song out on the water.
"Brandy" - Looking Glass (Now That's What I Call Yacht Rock)
No boating playlist would be complete without this track. This song makes me think of watching the sunset while on Lake Michigan, with the water calm and the night winding down. I love how the music starts soft, crescendos, and decrescendos. The lyrics tell of a woman working at a local establishment at the dockyard where sailors come into port, and about lost love. I just think Looking Glass made a great song all around, and I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do. Noting the album title, there is no doubt you could find more songs befitting a trip out onto the water.
