Al Barr of the Dropkick Murphys at the Pomona Fox in 2011. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)
As I started putting together everything for the big Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival interactive map I realized I kept running into songs about boxing or referencing boxing or boxers. Some are literal, some more metaphorical.
You should catch all four of these acts at the Coachella Festival if you’re going. If you’re not, don’t worry–we’ll be updating at the iGuide Coachella site.
The Dropkick Murphys album “The Warrior’s Code” not only features boxing on the cover, the title track is about boxer Micky Ward, from Lowell, Mass.
Here’s “The Warrior’s Code”:
Yeasayer’s “Ambling Alp” is about boxer Joe Louis and also name-checks Max Schmeling. He was a formidable foe.
Eben Jay-Z enjoys Yeasayer. He said so when he and the band played back in 2010.
The Gaslight Anthem’s “The Boxer” is my favorite track off the band’s album “American Slang.” This acoustic version is totally different than that.
Wu-Tang Clan’s latest is “Six Directions of Boxing.” Don’t mess with the man with the iron fists. Reminder: Wu-Tang is intensely awesome and often explicit.
And just because boxing is on my mind, let’s show some love to Simon and Garfunkel.
As we get ready to cover the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year, we’ll be using the #PECoachella hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. If you want to send us photos, musings and more, we’ll give you some love here in the Audio File blog. Just use the hashtag!
For more Coachella news, photos, interviews and information, visit the iGuide Coachella page. If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.