TVD's Sockets Parting Shots

As if it hasn't been made abundantly clear all week, Sockets Records is throwing its 5-Year Anniversary Party tonight at The Black Cat with label stalwarts The Cornel West Theory, HUME, Imperial China, Buildings, and Big Gold Belt. We thank them all for participating here this week.

Label founder Sean Peoples has some parting thoughts and your Parting Shots this week:

In my 5 years running Sockets Records I learned a lot about releasing music. But more importantly, I made a bunch of new friends and can help highlight new creativity that deserves to be heard. The Sockets showcase tonight will be eclectic and I wouldn't have it any other way. Big thanks to Jon at TVD for helping put this together and stay tuned for a lot more music in 2010!


Harry Belafonte - Show Me The Way, My Brother (Mp3)
EPMD - Please Listen To My Demo (Mp3)
Ackie - Call Me Rambo (Mp3)
Stereolab - Doubt (Mp3)
Telepathe - In Your Line (Mp3)
The Cure - Play For Today (Mp3)
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lessons From What's Poor (Mp3)
Alton Ellis - What Does It Take To Win Your Love (Mp3)
Ennio Morricone - Beat No. 3 (Mp3)
Wire - Strange (Mp3)

TVD Presents a Sockets Records Showcase Week!

It's Day #5 and the last day of our Sockets Records' TVD Takeover and we've got The Cornel West Theory and Tool in the same post. You don't see that everyday.

It's not the best, but to me it is one of the most adventurous. An album cover should be like a body and the audio is the soul. Because the digital revolution is thrusting its way in and an album cover has to take a new approach.


Of course this will be more expensive but it's not about having a plan...which is the case with a picture. It should be a tangible experience representing an artistic statement - i.e. like a children's book with mirrors and movable slides, etc. Or these new books on writers and musicians that have letters/postcards in them.
—S

The Cornel West Theory - Durito's Revenge (Dirty Bombs) (Mp3)

TVD's Sunday Hangover | Johnny Marr Should Reunite with Morrissey

Adam green is a fucking wild man. I love him.

I went to 9:30 club to see The Dead Trees/Adam Green/The Cribs on Tuesday (in that order) and let’s just say I was increasingly unimpressed as the night went on....

Apparently The Dead Trees were a bit late (they were scheduled to go on at 7) so they ended up going on with Mr. Adam Green, which couldn’t have turned out better. Mr. Green hit the stage, obviously inebriated (I’m not too familiar, I’m guessing this is his shtick?!) and gifted the audience with quite the entertaining comedy/rock/intoxication-infused routine.

“What happened to my elbow? I was delivering a fucking baby! Shit happens!” ahahaha Adam Green really dropped quite the comical quotes at 9:30 club, in-between crowd surfing amongst 13 people and handing off the mic to the few folks who knew the words. The Dead Trees were a tremendous supporting band as well, although I’m still not quite sure of the actual situation… did The Dead Tree’s have a lead singer? Did Adam Green have a back-up band?! Who cares, really, because it turned out fucking terrific.

The Cribs have been described as the “biggest cult band of the UK” and consist of three brothers who were joined by The Smith’s legendary guitarist, Johnny Marr, in 2008. Despite the tremendous hype of the headlining band, they were actually quite un-impressive, and consisted mainly of repetitive power chords and harmonizing guitarists. Perhaps that’s just what flies in the UK, I’ve got to be honest, I’ve never really listened to the Libertines.

No disrespect to the show though. The songs definitely improved towards the end of the set (I now love ‘Be Safe’) and any chance at being 15 feet from Johnny Marr is always amazing. And what a stellar introduction to Adam mothafuckin Green and The Cribs.

The Cribs - Be Safe (Mp3)

TVD Presents a Sockets Records Showcase Week Giveaway!

What would a Sockets Records Showcase Week be without a giveaway of some sort? Well, that'd be a half-assed week folks, and since we're not up to any half-assery around here—we've got an opportunity to win a pair of tickets for Friday's Black Cat Sockets live showcase.

And some vinyl...


We'll have three winners for our Sockets Giveaway: the grand prize winner will get a pair of tickets to attend Friday's showcase on us, plus a vinyl copy of Hume's 'The Phat Daughter String Quartet' on vinyl. Two runners-up will receive the vinyl alone.

The drill is the same as it always is—get at us in the comments to this post (with some contact info!) and plead your case for either the tickets and the vinyl or the vinyl alone. Make 'em good—we're closing this one by noon on Friday, 1/22!