In the song “u + me = <3″ on her new album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, Olivia Rodrigo sings of her boyfriend, “I like your big sister/ Shе has your same face/ And I tried to win hеr/ Over with my cynical humor and yacht rock music taste.” But in real life, Olivia professes not to like yacht rock — or even know what it is, exactly.
Speaking with Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show, Olivia said that particular line was the idea of her producer, Dan Nigro. “He’s like, ‘It has to be something that you don’t really actually like. It has to be cringey and funny,'” Olivia told Zane, adding that that line was “a little fake.”
Zane then pronounced himself “disappointed” that Olivia doesn’t like yacht rock, a term often used to describe highly produced, jazz-influenced soft rock and pop music from the 1970s and early ’80s.
“Dude, what’s not to like?” he asked her.
“Maybe if I was spending more time on boats I would like it,” she replied.
“Man, there’s just so many interesting chord changes. What do you not like about cerebral cord changes?” Zane asked her. “You have to make me a playlist and send it to me. Maybe I’m not up to speed on all the coolest yacht rock,” Olivia responded.
After Zane said he’d send the playlist immediately, Olivia admitted that she didn’t really know much about the genre.
“What are actually technically yacht rock songs? What’s the biggest yacht rock song?” she asked him. Zane mentioned Christopher Cross’ “Sailing” and the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes” as two prime examples.
“Perfect,” she said. “It’ll be my Fourth of July playlist.”
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