I love Boxing Day. I love the idea that you get a day off work to digest food, play with new toys, and unwind after the madness that is Christmas. In fact, I love Boxing Day so much that I think that any day of intense activity and/or stress should be given its own Boxing Day:
“My birthday was great, but I didn’t really get a chance to relax until my Birthday Boxing Day.”
“I can’t wait to sleep in on my Exam Boxing Day.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be going to work on Super Bowl Boxing Day.”
So whatever you decide to do in that great downtime between Christmas and New Year’s, here’s the perfect soundtrack, by Matthew Cooper, aka Eluvium.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The softness of the horns. Too often, horns are typecast as the loud section of the orchestra, and only used when the composer needs to wake up the audience or announce the arrival of royalty. But here, they carry a melody as delicately as any string section.
2. The horns don’t always move in synch. The time signature is pretty loose. Each instrument lumbers from one chord to the next, as if it’s had just a bit too much turkey.
3. It’s repetitive. But that’s okay. In the wake of the free-for-all that is the Christmas season, four chords and a hint of melody is all you need.
Recommended listening activity:
Sitting by the fireplace with the last of the egg nog.