Author: BoxSpeaker

[COVER:] “The Promse” by When in Rome – Covered by Late Night Alumni

I once told my mom that I love “The Promise” by When in Rome. She then told me that she always hated that song because it’s so corny and also that it was my dad’s “song” with his ex-girlfriend before he met my mom in the 80s.

So that adds to why I really like the Late Night Alumni cover of “The Promise” – it’s a cover that takes a cheesily romantic 80s new wave ballad and breathes new house beats into it along with sultry female vocals.

“An Old Photo of Your New Lover” by One AM Radio

Last month I wrote about how One AM Radio’s “Accidents” is great for making you feel horrible about your love life, especially when you connect them to depression-inducing Jeffrey Brown‘s work.

Their song “An Old Photo of Your New Lover” is another one of those songs.

I know I wasn’t supposed to allow Pop Up Magazine to exist outside of and beyond the real-time experience of May 20, 2013 at Davies Symphony Hall. But it’s relevant to this. Continue reading “An Old Photo of Your New Lover” by One AM Radio

“OPST” by George Maple

I wrote this morning that Dead Times’s “Inner Gold” is seduction in a 3 minute, 19 second track.

I realized this afternoon that “OPST” sounds like George Maple‘s response to a Dead Times sexual encounter. Maple soulfully sighs, “just make a move and let me melt into your frame. I never want to talk about it. Just wrap me up in your gold sheets.”

[NEW:] “Inner Gold” by Dead Times

LA alternative R&B duo Dead Times released their latest track “Inner Gold” this morning – adding yet another track of theirs to BoxSpeaker’s Music To Bone To list.

“Inner Gold” is the perfect seduction method. Its first 36 seconds are quiet – just subtle fingersnaps and the singer basically describing a woman’s inner beauty – leaving one to feel like it’s not about the superficial sex appeal. Then, the beats come in and the moans used to harmonize with the singer.

Tribal Beats – International Roundup

I’ve been really into bands that integrate a “tribal drumming” sound into their music, so here’s a roundup of some bands around the world with tribal beats:

“Big Heat” by THUMPERS (London, England)


THUMPERS considers themselves “co-ed alt. pop” amongst other mashups of music styles. They use their tribal drumming beats to create a very Jamaican-influenced offshoot of dreampop. That combination with quick high-hats make you mistake guitars and synths for steel drums in the background.

“Unconsolable” by X Ambassadors (Brooklyn, NY)


Tape One by Young Fathers (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Young Fathers adds tribal drumming to their hip hop beats to give a fuller background sound complementing their rap.