By Bekah Touma

The New Year is always exciting for me. I love to look back and make lists of some of my favorites of the previous year. It has been a ritual of mine for a while as a way to keep a nostalgic record of the years. Music is obviously a big part of how I experience life.  A favorite covers list is actually something I had yet to do until now, but I already feel that it’s going to be a necessity moving forward. That said, this was an extremely difficult process.  After a couple weeks (or a few months) of repeatedly listening to hundreds of tracks, I was able to narrow my engorged list down to 15.  Here they are below in no particular order – to rank them would have delayed this article until the Spring:

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By Bekah Touma

With a mouthful of a name like Jasmine Van Den Bogaerde it’s no surprise that she quickly adopted a stage name, Birdy. Although don’t let the girl with the cute name and equally cute, fifteen-year-old, brace-filled smile (if smiling at all) fool you. There is an incredible maturity to her voice that belies her years, giving the impression of a lifetime of brooding not yet earned.  Playing the piano since the early age of four and winning a UK talent contest at the age of 12 contributed to her signing a record deal by 14.  Her self-titled debut album was released in the UK only via Atlantic Records in early November.

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A look at the art of the perfect cover and some impactful pairings with visual mediums

By Bekah Touma

The first few notes sound oh so familiar…you may start to hum or sing along but soon realize something seems to be slightly off.  Ah yes, this must be a cover.  After racking your brain for the original the cover starts sinks in.  Here is where I decide if I love it or hate it.

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By Sierra Drucker and Catherine McNulty

The passing of Labor Day means that fall is officially here, but summer is still lingering like a bad hangover. It’s time to strip down all the excess you indulged in and get back to basics. But basics does not mean boring – that would be tedious. Much like Oscar Wilde, Aural Fixation abhors tediousness. So we recommend you take something familiar, a tried and true friend, and make it better. Behold: the simple, sweet snickerdoodle now with 100% more chocolatey goodness and therefore BETTER.
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by Ezra Remer

The Lakers lost. What’s next? I drink myself into stupor. Only half kidding though. While my drinking habits tend to favor vodka, I feel compelled to move outside my box. I guess you can call it a perfectly executed ad; Jack Daniel’s must have known the Lakers would lose and that is the reason they bombarded my television set with ads for their Tennessee Honey.  For those who haven’t seen the spot…
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