Q 01/05

Which British singer signed to the indie label XL Recordings after a friend posted her demo on Myspace?

A) Adele

B) Lily Allen

C) Kate Nash

D) Duffy

Answer · why

A) Adele

Adele joined XL in 2006, fresh out of the BRIT School, and the small label was still her home when it released her album 21 in 2011.

Q 02/05

Which Sheffield band's 2006 debut album sold a then-record 360,000 copies in its first week in Britain?

A) Razorlight

B) The Futureheads

C) Arctic Monkeys

D) Bloc Party

Answer · why

C) Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys built that demand before they had a deal: demo CDs handed out free at early gigs were copied and shared online by fans.

Q 03/05

Which band's 1979 debut Unknown Pleasures has a cover showing stacked radio pulses from a distant pulsar?

A) The Cure

B) Joy Division

C) Public Image Ltd

D) Gang of Four

Answer · why

B) Joy Division

Joy Division's sleeve plots signals from the first radio pulsar ever discovered, and in 2012 Disney sold a T-shirt that reworked the image around its ...

Q 04/05

Which Detroit duo told reporters they were brother and sister when they were in fact a divorced couple?

A) The Black Keys

B) The Fiery Furnaces

C) The Raveonettes

D) The White Stripes

Answer · why

D) The White Stripes

The White Stripes were Jack and Meg, married in 1996 and divorced in 2000; against convention, Jack had taken his wife's surname.

Q 05/05

Which indie folk act recorded the album For Emma, Forever Ago over a winter alone in a Wisconsin hunting cabin?

A) Bon Iver

B) Iron & Wine

C) Bright Eyes

D) Band of Horses

Answer · why

A) Bon Iver

Bon Iver respells the French for good winter, a greeting Justin Vernon heard on the TV series Northern Exposure while ill in bed.