Three bangers to make your Boxing Day happier

Christmas is over! Now you can really celebrate on Boxing Day! How much fun is that?

OK, some parts of the world don't enjoy the wonderous Boxing Day, a day that began to hand out presents to less fortunate folks. That part has mostly faded away now, however. Instead, Bank Holiday!

So what are you going to listen to today? There appear to be no classic Boxing Day tunes yet, but hopefully in the next few years. But here are three suggestions for 2023.

LL Cool J - "Mama Said Knock You Out"

The song came out in 1990 and was supposedly inspired by Mr. Cool J's grandmother after the rapper was complaining about some negative feedback about LL Cool J's album, Walking With a Panther. But the track is bombastic and melds old-school rap with huge bass and other instruments and just makes you want to crunch something. But not a person, please. Be nice.

Many different boxers have used the song as their intro into the ring and it fits fairly well. It would work better with an aging boxer, however. The reason is because the way LL Cool J unleashes the opening line, "Don't call it a comeback," might be the most in-your-face diss in music history.

Simon and Garfunkel - "The Boxer"

This song might be the closest fit to how Boxing Day originally began. Long ago before the earth had completely cooled, and the day after Christmas days, more wealthy people would give their employees and the poor gifts. Kind of like, "I was eating so much yesterday and received so many great gifts that I thought, 'Maybe the stuff I don't want I can give to the lesser breeds?'" And then the rich person would feel better about themselves.

Paul Simon wrote this tune, though, at a time when he felt he was being unfairly criticized for his artist choices. The track came out as a stand-alone single in 1969 but was later included on the album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. The lyrics deal with poverty, though. So you know, it's a perfect Boxing Day tune.

Queen - "We Will Rock You"

A perfect song for any occasion! Even weddings! Actually, I do not know that is true but with the thump of the drum, there is no way to hear this song and not feel pumped up for the next step in life. Plus, there is a "we" so it could be a wedding song, I guess.

According to an interview that Queen guitarist Brian May did with the BBC a million years ago, the song was written in response to fans at one concert singing the band off with, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Not exactly a classic rocker. But "We Will Rock You" is. (By the way, the faster version of the song that the band would do live in the late 1970s is the best version.)

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