Mercury Prize Shortlist Announced! Baller Covers and Remixes From Some Nominees

The Contenders for the Mercury Prize were announced on Tuesday - this year's list is super interesting. More female heavy and under the radar than previous years. Definitely got me to re-examine my recent listening habits, and my favorites of the past year.

For those of you who might not know what the Mercury Prize is, it's an annual award given to the best album from the UK or Ireland. Past years' winners have included Franz Ferdinand, Dizzee Rascal, Antony and the Johnson, Klaxons, and The Arctic Monkeys. Here's a list of this years' nominees:

Florence and the Machine – Lungs

Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Bat for Lashes – Two Suns

La Roux – La Roux

Glasvegas – Glasvegas

Speech Debelle – Speech Therapy

Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires

The Horrors – Primary Colours

Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew

The Invisible – The Invisible

Led Bib – Sensible Shoes

Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Twice Born Men

Anywho, I thought it would be cool to share some tracks from a few of my favorite artists on the list. But since I'm sure every other blog in the world is doing the same, I thought I'd branch out from tracks that are on those actual albums. So here are cuts from La Roux (a remix), Friendly Fires (a Lykke Li cover), and Florence and the Machine (a Beirut cover). Enjoy! And may the best Brit win!

La Roux - Bulletproof (iamxl Remix) (YSI) (filesavr)

Friendly Fires - I'm Good I'm Gone (Lykke Li Cover) (YSI) (filesavr)

Florence and the Machine - Postcards From Italy (Beirut Cover) (YSI) (filesavr)