1: Sigh No More; Mumford & Sons

OK; time to bring this place back to life. It was always supposed to be primarily about what I'm listening to. And at the start of whatever we'll call this decade, I've had the foolish idea to comment on the music I purchase (the first contentious comment) in this decade. Might last a week, might last a month... would be nice to think it'll last longer.
OK. First purchase of the decade. Mumford & Sons. Medium: CD. Location: HMV, St Albans.
First became aware of M&S when they were longlisted for BBC's Sound of 2009 a year ago, and I'd already "acquired" (the flip side of that "purchased" word) a lot of this in demo form during the year. They struck me then as being a cut above many of the others on the list - although I'll admit surprise now at quite how many - Florence + the Machine, White Lies, Lady Gaga, The Big Pink (to name just the ones whose albums I purchased) - have made a mark this year, over and above the more widely hyped La Roux and Little Boots (the eventual winner). Looking at that list, I'm all the more surprised that it's taken til now for me to pick up the album. Of course, Winter Winds has been played to death on 6 Music, Radio 2, and even the darker parts of R1 over the last month. And I hope it goes on to be replayed year after year as a classic secular Christmas hit, a la Fairytale of New York. Great bit of marketing - it first hit my radar on a demo some time in the late summer, when it was called "But My Heart Called My Head". I liked it, but it passed me by as a possible Christmas hit. Folk lite? Wimbledon mariachi (wish that was my line, but it was actually Robert Elms in his review of 2009 yesterday)? Whatever; I'm not going to go folk snob on this - it's good.