October Playlist

Oh, I just love talking about music. And finally, I have songs to share that branch outside my current two-artist-comfort-zone (cough Lorde cough Hozier). I hope you enjoy these gems as much as I do!

I live and die for Spotify. It's easy. I've devised a pretty good system - any time I come across a song I even remotely like, I click that pretty little plus sign. Then, for weeks on end, I listen to the pile of songs I've acquired in that folder. Once I'm bored, I'll clear it out and start fresh. October is proving to be a pretty exciting month, though, and called for a special playlist of its very own.

"Ghosts" by On an On ended up - how I don't know, from where I don't know - in my starred folder and I kind of became obsessed. Then during a Sunday study sesh my friend told me I'd probably love "Stunner" by Milky Chance. And I do. The rest is history.

Listen to the playlist in its entirety here.

What are you listening to this month?

xx MGR

August Playlist

Happy Monday! This is the first time I'm writing a real posts in quite awhile... Between the traveling, beach days, and spontaneous dance parties over the past few weeks, I've racked up quite an exciting playlist. August is our last month of the summer, and I'm savoring every minute of it. The last few weeks of summer is always a ton more fun with the right music in the background. Think days spent on the beach, late night card games, and backyard barbecues. Here's what your playlist should entail. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify!

What are you listening to this month?

xx MGR

Updated Concert Bucket List

One of the first posts I remember writing was a concert bucket list. That was quite a few months ago, and while my taste in music hasn't necessarily changed, it's grown. I've discovered (and rediscovered, in some cases) new artists that I would go to great lengths to see in concert. Seriously. A concert bucket list - surprisingly enough - is a concept I've never even seen before. My love for live music and admiration for amazing performers is so enormous, that a bucket list of concerts I want to attend is something I exhaust a good amount of thought on. If you do too, please share yours! My list might have some room for add-ons...

Who do you want to see in concert next?

xx MGR

PS: Listen to my playlists on Spotify!

July Playlist

Around mid-June I shared my playlist for the current month..I was really excited to share some of the songs I was obsessed with at the time (and still am, quite frankly). This month's playlist comes with just as much excitement. The first two songs are new discoveries, while the last two are tried and true favorites. Finding Vance Joy was like digging up a goldmine of eclectic indie songs that practically had my name written all over them. It drew inspiration for the rest of the songs I'll be listening to for the month - easy and calm, extremely relaxed music perfect for a nap in the sun or a chilly late night jaunt to the beach (your call).

What are you listening to this month?

xx MGR

Listen to my rolling summer playlist on Spotify.

June Playlist

I thought a playlist post was in order this month. I'm digging up some old favorites and throwing in some new discoveries. I have most of these songs on repeat and simply can't get enough. You can listen to these songs and my entire June playlist here. Enjoy!

What are you listening to this month?

xx MGR

Weekend Playlist

I'm just about head over heels for my current playlist. It is - in my humble, unbiased opinion - perfect. I've been loving listening to some old favorites..songs that always manage to put a smile on my face. This will be yet another weekend I'm putting this playlist to work! Listen with me!

I picked just a few of my favorites to post today. The playlist is, in all actuality, a bit more extensive - currently at 16 songs - but constantly growing. Spotify is seriously my musical haven and you can listen to the playlist (in its entirety!) here. I hope you love it as much as I do!

What are you listening to this weekend?

xx MGR

Top Seven Tracks :: The Lumineers

Where do I even begin? This band is responsible for my all time favorite song, the best night of my life, and almost everything in between. I first heard "Ho Hey" the summer before last in my sister's Jeep on one of the many drives to the pool. The song didn't take off until months later, but we listened to it nonstop for weeks on end that summer. The album soon became the background music of our lives. It was on all the time, but I never even bothered to learn the names of any of the songs. It was just there.

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That Christmas, my sister opened an enveloped holding a ticket to their show. She was so excited she started crying, bursting with emotions. We all laughed at her, obviously. But when I opened up my envelope a few minutes later, I was taken aback...and unsurprisingly, I cried as well. It was a very happy Christmas morning. 

Friday, February 1, 2013: I changed in the school bathroom, ran to the car, and we dashed to the train without a second to spare. We ate Mexican food on my sister's couch, searched for a cab for no less than 20 minutes, and finally ended up at Terminal 5. We stood downstairs, outlying the massive crowd, for the beginning of the opening act. Eventually we found a spot on a railing upstairs and had the times of our lives singing and dancing to all the songs. We shuffled ourselves outside just as the encore was beginning, and my sisters practically pulled me through the crowds as my eyes were glued on stage. I happen to really like live music.

I finally made the long awaited effort to buy the entire album and match songs to their names. I felt a crazy kind of connection to the music after seeing it live. My sister always says it feels like the band members could be her people, her friends. I tend to find that nonsense a little silly, but after spending a night with them in the flesh, I totally get it. "Stubborn Love" became and will probably remain my favorite song, we learned "Slow It Down" is about an EZ Pass, and the acoustic performance of "Ho Hey" was unforgettable. I'm determined to see them live again. That concert was the best night of my life.

Here's my top seven tracks:

one | "Stubborn Love"

two | "Ho Hey"

three | "Slow It Down"

four | "Submarines"

five | "Classy Girls"

six | "Big Parade"

seven | "Charlie Boy"

What's your all time favorite song?

xx MGR

Top Seven Tracks :: Young the Giant

And yet another musical obsession has dawned upon me. And this one was kind of an accident. A few weeks ago my friends/semi-Young the Giant fans convinced me to buy a ticket for their upcoming concert. I had absolutely no idea who they were, but the tickets were cheap and I thought it'd be a fun night. A fun night it was! I've been listening to their two albums nonstop for the past 24 hours.

Their music is not something I would usually gravitate towards. Before the concert, I tried to listen to their Spotify station to get familiar with them, but nothing really stuck. I actually started liking them after seeing them live over the weekend. The vibe in the room was so cool and forced me to have a good time..even though I didn't know any of the songs. A couple days later and I'm having trouble picking my seven favorites!

Here's my top seven tracks:
one: "Firelight"
two: "Cough Syrup"
three: "My Body"
four: "Mind Over Matter"
five: "Crystallized"
six: "Anagram"
seven: "I Got"

Are you a fan?
xx MGR

*photo via

Top Seven Tracks :: Ben Howard

Follow us on Tumblr? Then you're probably not surprised to see this post. I've been raving about Ben Howard nonstop since last January - crazy how it's already been a year! 

Remember in the first Top Seven Tracks post where I mentioned mostly all of my favorite bands are first introduced to me in my sister's Jeep? Ben Howard's one of them! She played me "Only Love" on repeat on a drive to The Home Depot and by the 3rd time it played, I was jamming to the steady beat and simple lyrics.

I was an all encompassing fangirl at one point last year. I watched interviews upon interviews and never turned the album off..I followed all the Tumblrs I could find and even broke the news to my mother that we were getting married (eep, isn't he cute? In that carefree surfer kinda way). I could not get enough. This music got me through midterms last year...it's the best for studying. And I always associate it with the super long dog walks I went on last winter and spring..he was always in my headphones. I loved watching videos of him perform live. The music only gets better!

Eventually after enough raving via Tumblr text posts, someone sent me the link to his acoustic performance of "Call Me Maybe." O-M-G. I listened to this on repeat for weeks. Is it not the best thing ever? He somehow managed to turn a song I hated into a song I adored. Talk about crazy.

I find his music to be insanely beautiful. It's perfect across the board. In these 12 months, I've never totally turned it off, it's always been on some playlist somewhere..but lately I find myself gravitating towards it more and more. I think it's that perfect winter soundtrack. It's not the brightest and happiest, but it's still insanely beautiful. 

Here's my top seven tracks:

one :: "Only Love"

two :: "Old Pine"

three :: "Black Flies"

four :: "Gracious"

five :: "Keep Your Head Up"

six :: "The Wolves"

seven :: "The Fear"

Are you a fan of less-cheery music? Or is that just me?

xx MGR

*photo via

Christmas Tunes

Merry Christmas Eve!! I bet most of you are either hard at work over the stove or not-so-quietly taking up space in the kitchen while your mom is hard at work over the stove. Which ever your doing, you're in need of some Christmas jams. Here's what's currently playing in my kitchen (via my brothers sick new Jam Box!).

"Fairytale of New York" // The Pogues
"Happy Xmas (War is Over)" // John Lennon
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / We Three Kings" // Barenaked Ladies
"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" // Bruce Springsteen
"The First Noel" // Crash Test Dummies
"Auld Lang Syne" // Barenaked Ladies
"Christmas Lights" // Coldplay
"O Holy Night" // Celine Dion

What are your favorite Christmas songs?
xx MGR

PS: Stay tuned for later - CMK and I might come at you with an outfit post!

Seven Top Tracks :: Vampire Weekend

I'm a huge Vampire Weekend fan. That could either be super expected or super surprising..you choose. My sisters have been listening to them ever since I can remember (which is crazy because they only debuted 5 years ago!). After months and months of their songs gracing my ears, I finally decided to ask what the heck an Oxford Comma was. So thanks, Kaitlin (my oldest sister and avid Vampire Weekend listener), for teaching me the definition of my favorite form of punctuation (I'm a raging supporter) and introducing me to this band.

So I went in kinda blind. But let's be real, I think I was only ten. I knew all I needed (and still need #IMO): I liked the songs! And what I remember to be very shortly after my discovery was the launch of just about the best ad campaign I could ever wish for:

It doesn't even need an explanation. I seriously loved The Hilfigers with all my heart. And obviously, it was fitting that my new favorite band was apart of it! It pretty much reaffirmed my love of the music, and added a whole new element to the band: they were the preppy music, and at the time, I will admit, I was slightly obsessed with being preppy. (I now understand that that was a predominant factor under which the band marketed on from the start!)

And so it began. My love grew with every new song I discovered, every interview I watched.. And it kind of exploded this spring when Modern Vampires of the City released. Just the album cover alone had me hooked.

Are you a fan of popped collars, tartan, and rolled up corduroys (in fewer words..the Hilfigers)? Then you're probably a fan of Vampire Weekend. 

Here's my top tracks:

one: "Oxford Comma"
two: "Diane Young"
three: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
four: "Step"
five: "Holiday"
six: "Cousins"
seven: "Unblievers"

Are you a Vampire Weekend fanatic? If A-Punk's the first song in your iTunes library we can totally be bff's!
xx MGR

Seven Top Tracks :: The Head and the Heart

While having a binge blog brainstorming session (woah, alliteration) on my bedroom floor, I was completely overwhelmed by the silence in my room. Good ideas don't come from quiet Tuesday nights. So I threw in my one of my current favorite bands into the YouTube search bar and came out with a fun new idea for a series! Every few weeks I'll introduce a band I'm currently loving and share my seven (not too little, not too many) track picks, sound good? Good!

Most of my favorite bands and artists first grace my ears in my sister's Jeep. The Head and the Heart is no exception (along with The Lumineers, Ben Howard, etc...). "Rivers and Roads" quickly turned into my favorite song after hearing it straight from her Purchased playlist. Now they seem to hold the majority of space on her iPod, and from that they've easily turned into one of my favorite bands.

I love good live music. This is a pretty great example. They sound exactly the same as they do on iTunes! Love it. Check out their website, it's pretty cool!

Here's my top tracks:

one: "Rivers and Roads"

two: "Down in the Valley"

three: "Sounds Like Hallelujah"

four: "Lost in My Mind"

five: "Shake"

six: "Honey Come Home"

seven: "10,000 Weight in Gold"

Who's your go to band at the moment? I'd love to hear!

xx MGR

{photo source}

PS: My sister's Pinterest is almost as good as her music taste..Follow her!