The XX Win the Mercury Prize

Every year the Mercury Prize is awarded to an act who is considered to have put out the best British album within the past year. This year, after much anticipation among British music aficionados, The XX have been declared the winner for their album XX. Facing a tremendous amount of competition from acts including Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling, and Paul Weller, The XX came out on top at the end of the wait.

After it was announced that The XX won the prize on September 7, band member Oliver Sim went on to say “Thank you so much, we’ve had the most incredible year." He later added, “Everyday we’ve woken up to something incredible.”

The XX now join a group of artists that include Klaxons, Franz Ferdinand, and Arctic Monkeys.

2010 Mercury Prize Nominees Announced

Since 1992 the Mercury Prize has been celebrating some of the best albums from the UK and Ireland. Each year a handful of albums released between June 30 of last year and July 1 of this year are selected by an exclusive panel of music experts. In previous years the Mercury Prize has gone to acts including Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons. This year the shortlist has been announced, with the winner receiving the Mercury Prize on September 7.

This year's nominees Are:

Biffy Clyro- Only Revolutions

Corinne Bailey Rae- The Sea

Dizzee Rascal- Tongue N' Cheek

Mumford & Sons- Sigh No More

Kit Downes Trio- Golden

Foals- Total Life Forever

I Am Kloot- Sky At Night

Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can

Paul Weller- Wake Up The Nation

Villagers- Becoming A Jackal

Wild Beasts- Two Dancers

The XX- XX

Personally I think The XX have this one in the bag. However, the favorite to win last year, Florence and the Machine, was greatly upset after she was defeated by a rather obscure British rapper who had only sold a handful of albums in comparison. I doubt they would give it to Dizzee Rascal twice, and it should be interesting to see how the folk powers (and two of my favorites from this year) Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons will fair. Also, it came to me as a great surprise to see the newcomer Villagers and the jazz ensemble Kit Downes Trio nominated. This should be another interesting year for the Mercury Prize. It's just a shame we'll have to wait until September to find out who wins.

Who do you think should win? Leave your opinion about who you think will take home the prize in the comment section below.

SoundOff2 Dr. Dog- Shame, Shame

This episode Michael, Sarah, and Kirsten discuss MIA's comments about Twilight and Lady Gaga, the rumor that Rob Pattinson will be playing Kurt Cobain in the upcoming biopic, Laura Marling's thoughts on piracy. This week we reviewed Dr. Dog's Shame, Shame.

http://interviews.wknc.org/soundoff02.mp3

DJ Ones' Five Music Facts from the past week

1. M.I.A came out this week against Twilight in a recent interview with NME. After being offered to record a song for the Twilight soundtrack she said, "They asked me-- luckily Jimmy (Lovine, boss at Interscope) had beef with the Twilight people, so he stepped in and told them to fuck off." M.I.A also came out against Lady Gaga stirring up reactions in fans saying, "People say we're similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently," she said, "but she spits it out exactly the same. None of her music's reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is." (via NME)

2. Wilco will be curating their own festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The band will be headlining the "Solid Sound Festival." Alongside Wilco, and number of side projects from members of the band will also be joining. This will be Wilco's only show over the summer, and it will take place in mid-August. (via Pitchfork)

3. Mates of State will be releasing a cover album entitled "The Spaghetti Incident?" The album is currently available for streaming only. The band covers acts including Girls, Death Cab for Cutie, Belle and Sebastian, and many more. (via Pitchfork)

4. Dan Deacon has remixed Owen Pallett's "Lewis Take Off His Shirt" for the b-side to Pallett's 12' single that is set to release June 22. Pallett is planning on spending the next few months touring both North America and Europe. (via Pitchfork)

5. British folk star Laura Marling has come out against the criminalization of illegal downloads. In offering her reasoning she said, "I don't think people should be criminalized for getting music for free because it's there, it's offered to them." She added, "It's promised to them by the internet server people, it's promised to them by the phone companies. I think it's their responsibility." (via NME)