My Top Ten Albums of 2014

happy almost 2015, friends! hope your holidays are going splendidly. here are my personal top ten albums of the year, more or less in order of enjoyment. (but really, all that really matters is that Jenny Lewis is number one forever.) i'd love to hear yours as well!

10) Beyoncé - Beyoncé

9) Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

8) Beck - Morning Phase

7) Alt-J - This Is All Yours

6) Sam Smith - In The Lonely Hour

5) Jack White - Lazaretto

4) War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream

3) St. Vincent - St. Vincent

2) First Aid Kit - Stay Gold

1) Jenny Lewis - The Voyager

xo, miranda

Cover Songs Mixtape

I'm working on a project at work this week that involves me listening to an excessive amount of cover songs. sometimes covers are the best and can help you discover great music or remind you what you love about the original. other times, after hearing a cover I only want to hear the original. (For example: except for Rufus Wainwright's cover of Across The Universe, the I Am Sam soundtrack ONLY makes me want to listen to The Beatles.) I decided to put together a mixtape of some songs that fall into the category of Great Cover Songs. the song that originally inspired this post is one that I have NOT been able to stop listening to since I discovered it at work yesterday: Grimes' "Oblivion" covered by super talented and cool twins Allison & Katie Crutchfield. I hope you like it!

xo, miranda

The Decemberists

do you guys ever have the feeling about a band or musician that you are just entirely GRATEFUL for them? more than even just feeling glad that you get to listen to and enjoy them, but more like you feel lucky that they EXIST in this day and age. like their music betters music as a whole. anyway, I have this feeling about a few bands, one of them being The Decemberists. I just think they are really special and we should all feel very lucky that we get to have them. you know? I mean, is it physically possible to not thank your lucky stars for any current band that you hear using a HARPSICHORD prominently in a song?? I think not. I interned for Capitol Records a couple summers ago right around when The King Is Dead was released, and all summer I just felt a strong sense of pride that I got to help promote them in some small way.

I put together a mini mix of some of my favorite songs, so perhaps we can all enjoy them together today!

(^^^i love this song for many reasons, only one of them being completely self-centered...)

xo, miranda

Halloween Mixtape

it's almost Halloween! my very favorite holiday. i decided to make you all a mixtape of some of my very favorite Halloween-themed/spooky tunes. i hope you enjoy!

xo, miranda

Thom Yorke

thomas edward yorke

good news! today is Thom Yorke's 45th birthday! i would like to celebrate that fact by dedicating a post to him. Thom is my ultimate favorite musician on this planet and i've loved him for a very long time. i heard my first Radiohead song in a hotel room in London on New Years Eve. my older siblings got to go out and celebrate at the bars, but i was nine years old, so i stayed in and listened to my favorite Christmas present, the CD "NOW That's What I Call Music!" (the very first ever..!) on my discman (really good throwbacks here). that's when i first heard Karma Police and kept it on repeat for a very long time. discovering Radiohead shaped my musical tastes forever and i still consider them my absolute favorite band. the times i have seen Radiohead live have really felt life-changing for me. i got to see Thom play with his side project Atoms for Peace a couple weeks ago with my friend Kelly and he is still my favorite musician and human to see perform live. happy birthday to you, Thom! you are a brilliant weirdo that i will adore til i die.

xo, miranda