Last Ten CDs We've Listened To: Folk, Indy and Jazz

Greetings to our blog readers in Ireland, Uruguay and South Africa.

Here are the last ten compact discs we've listened. Yes, we have based this on our regular Last Ten Films We've Seen series, an idea we got from "Film Comment" magazine, as they frequently ask movie directors, such as Quentin Tarantino or Sofia Coppola, what are the last ten films they have watched.

Here's is our list; Bruce Piephoff, a Greensboro, NC, singer featured on this list, is a good friend of our's, alas, we have never met David Bowie. The top image is of the late rock singer Alex Chilton, a song about him was on The Replacements' cd "Pleased to Meet Me" (1987) and the bottom image is of folk singer Sufjan Stevens:

1) Bruce Piephoff. Soft Soap Purrings. 2014. Folk

2) The Replacements. Pleased To Meet Me. 1987. Indy

3) David Bowie. Hunky Dory. 1971.Rock

4) Steely Dan. Countdown to Ecstasy.1973. Rock

5) Pink Floyd. Animals. 1977. Rock

6) Sufjan Stevens. Illinoise, 2005. Indy/folk (the recording features a ballad about a notorious serial killer!)

7) Superchunk. On the Mouth. 1992.Indy/punk

8) Talking Heads. Face the Music. 1979. New Wave/rock/punk

9) The Police. Regatta de Blanc. 1979. New Wave/rock/punk

10) Pat Metheny Group. Letter from Home. 1989.  Jazz.

http://www.reverbnation.com/brucepiephof

http://thereplacementsofficial.com/pages/home

http://www.davidbowie.com

http://sufjan.com/

http://www.superchunk.com/

The Weekly Grocery List

In the early days of our blogging ventures, we used to simply post grocery lists as we couldn't conjure up anything else back in that stone age era of 2005.

Today, there are simply too many things going on at once and we have more competition thanks to Facebook, Twitter and my friend Chris Knight, who reportedly has the most popular blog in the world (that is a joke, but he gets more hits than we get).

Hence, we are returning to the grocery list. And, these are items that we either need to get at the grocery store or we added to fill space; here we go:

1. Tomatoes (Our friend Bruce Piephoff from Greensboro, NC, has a great song called "Home Grown Tomatoes")

2. Oatmeal

3. Milk

4. Nutella (we went with an image of the Turkish equivalent Cokokrem to be original)

5. ice cream

6. bananas (America's favorite Costa Rican import, after coffee)

7. Sunday Washington Post (Love 'Date Lab' and Keith Knight's Comic Strip "Knight Life")

8. shaving cream

9. apples

10. cat toys

..........There you go!

http://www.theknightshit.blogspot.com

http://www.ulker.com.tr

http://www.facebook.com/brucepiephoff

Reptile Week Cont'd_ The Alligators

Yesterday, we started with the turtles. We forgot to mention that the Minnesota-based folk/rock band Trampled By Turtles will be performing in Buffalo, NY, at the Town Ballroom and The Port City Music Hall in Portland, Maine, on Dec. 2, in addition to their show at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio. The band plays many other days in the northeast during that interval as well.

For those of you in North Carolina, my good friend folk singer Bruce Piephoff will play at the Southern Lights Bistro in his hometown of Greensboro, NC, on Nov. 29 and Dec. 4; I'm not sure if he has ever written a song about reptiles.


Today, we continue with the mighty alligator, which can be found from North Carolina to Florida here in United States. Initially, we were going to post an entry for crocodiles, which were the subject of a kitschy, but catchy Elton John song "Crocodile Rock."

But, we couldn't find a good image of Gustave, the notorious man-eating croc in the central African nation of Burundi to use. Gustave, who has reportedly devoured some 300 people, perhaps some of whom were photographers, was mentioned in a "Mental Floss" article about Burundi within the last year.

That same magazine said that 9:30 a.m. was the best time to post blog entries. It's actually 9:30 p.m. here on the east coast, but it is that time in Beijing, China, right now.  Perhaps, it's that time in Hong Kong too.

The Crocodiles are also the nickname of the Turkish soccer team Bursaspor, located in Bursa, Turkey, in western Turkey; the city is Turkey's fourth largest. This weekend the Crocs' tied Istanbul powerhouse Besiktash 3-3. I suppose taking photographs of the game is less risky than sneaking up on Gustave.

As for alligators, if one is in St. Augustine, Fla.,  then one can visit the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, which is open from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

http://www.trampledbyturtles.com

http://www.brucepiephoff.net

http://www.southernlightsbistro.com

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.alligatorfarm.us

http://www.bursaspor.net (In Turkish)

Casualties of Modern Technology (12 of 12)_ Mixed Tapes

 

The hard part for this particular entry, as in quite often the case, was finding the right image to hotlink; this one does seem to illustrate what audio cassettes looked like for those who were born after Foo Fighters were formed (in 1994, for those of you lost track of music after The Ramones).

According to Wikipedia, a mix taped or mixed tape is a compilation of songs recorded on an audio cassette which reflect the often eclectic tapes of the person doing the recording of the tape. 

Mixed tapes were the subject of "Rolling Stone" writer Rob Sheffield's touching, excellently written memoir "Love in a Mixed Tape" where he talks about how mutual love in music help him meet the love of his life while he was residing in Charlottesville, Va. Sheffiled's memoir has this great line, which all of us of his generation (I am four years younger than Sheffiled myself) can relate to: "According to the great Western philosopher Pat Benatar, love is a battlefield."

 For me, personally, as of today, my 'perfect mixed tape side,' presuming I get one of those 90-minute tapes as opposed to the dreaded 60-minute tapes would include these songs: 1) "Kiss Me on the Bus" by The Replacements (1985)  2:48;  "Redneck Friend" by Jackson Browne (1973) 3:56; "Shake It Up" by The Cars (1981) 3:32; "Distant Early Warning"by Rush (1984) 4:56; "Simarik/Spolied" by Tarkan (1997) 3:10; "I Remember Asheville" by Bruce Piephoff (2007) 4:56; "The Harder They Come" bu Jimmy Cliff (1972) 3:45; "Station to Station" by David Bowie 10:56; "Hello Darlin" by Conway Twitty (1970) 2:56; "Take Me to the River" by Talking Heads (1978) 5:00.

Tarkan is a Turkish pop singer. Bruce Piephoff is an acclaimed singer/song-writer from Greensboro. For the rest of the bands and artists, go to bing.com; Wow! This was way too much work for one entry.

Roanoke vs. Greensboro_ Ode to Gluttony (Entry 2 of 6)

You know American patriotism has gone to extremes lately when one ESPN commentator bragged about how nationally significant it was for Joey chestnut to beat out his Japanese rival Takeru Kobayashi at the 4th of July hot dog eating contest, which is apparently going on as we speak. Both guys can reportedly eat six hot dogs per hour. Hmmmmm....yeah, I don't think that victory was exactly like Team USA beating the Soviet Union in ice hockey at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

But, today our focus is actually on another great American favorite, the hamburger. Amazingly enough, as places like Boulder, Colorado, and Chapel Hill, NC, are emphasizing fitness and healthy eating, there has also been an influx of over-indulgence across the country.

This brings us to our entry today on which burger joint is better: the famed Texas Tavern on Church Avenue in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., which was established in 1930 and is open 24/7 or the much newer Fincastle's located on Elm Street in downtown Greensboro, NC, my current adopted city. Interestingly enough, Fincastle's is named for Fincastle, Va., a small town that is some 20 miles north of Roanoke.

Let's start with the Texas Tavern where travelers have reportedly come from as far away as Pittsburgh to sample the Roanoke Millionaires Club's offerings. Texas Tavern is arguably most known for its cheesy western (pictured here) which rampantcuisine.com describes as a plain burger with a fried egg mixed with onions, pickles, and chesse. It sells for a very economical $2.20.

As for Fincastle's, they are open less often (see hours on the diner's web site (fincastles.com) and they are considerably more expensive than the astonishingly underpriced Texas Tavern. But, they do offer french fries, which the Church Avenue establishment curiously does not. Fincastle's also has onion rings, milkshakes, and hot dogs (something that the Texas Tavern also offers).

Food blogger Charlie Brinsin really liked the Delta Burger at Fincastle's. Brinsin raved that the burger which consists of a burger patty with apple smoked bacon, pimento cheese, a fried green tomato and remoulade sauce was one of the best burgers he ever had in Greensboro.

Fincastle's also offers the Magnolia Burger, which includes Muenster cheese, onion straws and apple smoked bacon, as well as fried pickled that one can have with or without a burger.

If I had to choose between the two, I would go with Fincastle's even though I love the athmospher at the Texas Tavern. I personally would avoid the high calorie items at both places as I need to lose weight as it is, so the deciding factor is an intangible. Fincastle's has a jukebox, which at one point included music from my friend, folk singer Bruce Piephoff. Alas, the Texas Tavern which can only seat ten people at a time would not have room for a jukebox so it's hard to hold it against them.

SIDE BURGERS ONE: If one heads 45 miles east down I-40, they can eat The Garbage Burger at Wimpy's Diner on 617 Hicks Street in Durham, NC. According to "Our State" magazine, the menu item which might jump off the menu consists of two quarter-pound beef patties, chilli, bacon, cole slaw, pickles, onions and cheese. The article by Josh Shaffer also said that Travel Channel host Adam Richman, a nationally known extreme-food connosieur, had five Garbage Burgers when he stopped in at Wimpy's?!

SIDE BURGERS TWO: Since today is the Fourth of July, we will squeeze in a mention of Washington, DC, and what "The Washingtonian" describes as 'the best hagover cure' in the DC-metro area. This would be a bison meat burger at Cashion's Eat Place on Columbia Road NW which includes a fried egg and the comeback sauce, which is reportedly similar to Thousand Island dressing. The menu item is very popular circa 2:00 a.m.

Quote of the Day- Stephen King

As is the case with every July, we will be quoting both famous Americans in honor of the Fourth of July and famous people from France for Bastille Day, which will be on July 14th.

Initially, we were going to start the series with quotes from famous Americans tomorrow, but we have some great Fourth of July kitsch lined up for the occasion. This year, we are going to focus on quips from famous people from the six New England states.

We start with Stephen King from Bangor, Maine. The horror novelist known for dozens of award-winners and best-sellers ranging from his early novels like "Salem's Lot" and "Carrie" to "It," "Insomnia," "The Shinning" and "Night Shift" since the 1970s also owns the rock n roll station 100.3-FM/Bangor, which goes by the nickname The Zone, perhaps in homage to King's novel "The Dead Zone."

Recently, King wrote an exceptional short story for "The Atlantic" called "Herman wouk is Still Alive," which should fit into your schedule better his full-length works. I must profess that I have seen Coke machines the same way since one killed a person by hurling Coke cans at the victim in King's novel "The Tommyknockers."

Here is his quote, which people who have tried to do remarkable things for the world, such as Barack Obama, can perhaps relate to all too well:

"It's better to be good than evil, but one achieves goodness at a terrific cost."

UPDATE (6:00 p.m., Sunday): While we are at it, I thought I would mention two Fourth of July performances happening tomorrow. My good friend and Greensboro, NC, folk-singer Bruce Piephoff will be performing at Center City Park in downtown Greensboro with a 12-year-old prodigy named Ranford Almond starting at circa 3:45 p.m.

And, comedian/actor/musician Steve Martin, who has recorded bluegrass music at a studio in Asheville, NC, tweeted just now that he will performing as part of the annual Fourth of July gala in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, tomorrow.

Quote of the Day- Maya Angelou

There are many great poets here in North Carolina, but the one who is the most universally recognized has to be Maya Angelou who resides in Winston-Salem (she is originally from St. Louis). So, we sill quip her today:

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"

Other unqiue figures in poetry here in the Tarheel State include Keith Flynn from Asheville. Alas, I missed a great opportunity to hear him speak publicly a few weeks ago, but I read an awesome poem he wrote honoring the jazz great Duke Ellington.

There is also Bruce Piephoff from Greensboro, who is better known as a folk singer, but his poetry about county fairs and blue collar jobs reasonates well, and it certainly reflects the dashed hopes and dreams of folks living in the shadows of closed textile mills. Of course, I would say this even if I didn't know Bruce personally! (Full disclosure: he is a good friend of mine, but his work is respected by folks who have never met him just as much as those of us who are fortunate enough to be friends with him).

One place where I've seen Bruce perform over the years is the Green Bean, a coffeehouse in downtown Greensboro. This weekend, I had the chance to hear a young singer named Bess Rogers from Brooklyn, NY, sing there as well. One of her most unique qualities is that she has maanged to turn some '80s hair-band anthems into folk/country-sounding songs. If you can't imagine what this might be like, just contemplate a Whitesnake song being sung by Joni Mitchell!

Quote of the Week- Charles Bukowski

The late, great poet/novelist/screenwriter Charles Bukowski (19201-1994) whose life was the basis for the movie "Barfly," with Mickey Rourke appropriately playing the eccentric, alcoholic poet, is the subject of our quote today. He is also a favorite of my good friend Bruce Piephoff, who is a folk singer and poet in Greensboro, NC. Bukowski's novel "Post Office" is one of my ten favorites. This entry is in honor of National Poetry Month:

"Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must live," Bukoswski.

SIDEBAR: I was going to watch the popular Turkish Kemal Sunal comedy "Copculerin Krali/King of the Garbageman" on Youtube, but I am getting really hungry. Perhaps, I'll go for an egg biscuit at Bojangles (see earlier entry to get the joke).

With two more entries, we will reach the 500 entry mark here at "The Daily Vampire!"

The Last 10 CDs I've Listened To

Here are the last ten cds I've listened starting with Turkish pop diva Sezen Aksu's "Bahane." Aksu (pictured) was the subject of an NPR features piece entitled "The Voice of Istanbul," which aired last week on April 12. I happened to actually catch it before my sister in Nepal* told me about it.

Bruce Piephoff is a Greensboro, NC, folk singer and poet who performs in North Carolina regularly, and I caught him at the Grove Winery over the weekend. My favorite song of his is "I Remember Asheville." It is not actually on the cd from him that I listened to, but you can hear it on his web site: www.brucepiephoff.com

Sonic Youth was a punk band from my the eighties and nineties that are miracolously still around and relesing albums.

Tarkan is Turkey's other pop-singing superstar. (Well, there is also Mustafa Sandal, but I'm really not a fan of his music!).

The Clash cd I listened to "Super Black Market Clash" is really a compilation of the bands songs from 1977-82. The band only released five or six records, but the NPR show "Sound Opinions" recently profiled the band's "London Calling" record which has been considered a rock classic.

The Replacements were a rock band from the eighties which was deeply inspired by the recently-deceased Alex Chilton.

I imagine everyone is probably familiar with the rest of the bands on this list, which includes Talking Heads, Guns N Roses, The Cure and Rush. If not, perhaps we are on the brink of societal collapse as the late Joe Strummer (lead singer of The Clash) once suggested........more or less!


1. Sezen Aksu "Bahane" (2003)
2. Bruce Piephoff "Fools Get Away with the Impossible" (2006)
3. Sonic Youth "Goo" (1990)
4. Rush "Grace Under Pressure" (1984)
5. Tarkan "Karma" (2001)
6. The Cure "Disintegration" (1989)
7. The Replacements "Don't Tell a Soul" (1989)
8. Guns N Roses "The Spaghetti Incident" (1993)
9. The Clash "Super Black Market Clash" (1993)
10. Talking Heads "More Songs About Buildings and Food" (1978)

Quote of the Week- August Wilson

While he is known primarily for his playwrighting, August Wilson (1945-2005) was also an accomplished poet. He is best known for his 'Pittsburgh plays," including "Jitney," "The Piano Lesson" and "Fences." The later two were Pulitzer Prize winners.

Syracuse Stage in Syracuse, NY, will be performing "Fences" from May 5-30 (phone 315-443-3275). There is also an August Wilson Center, which is a performing arts venue, in Pittsburgh. Though he lived in Seattle during the last years of his life, Wilson remained devoted to his home city of Pittsburgh throughout his career.

Another poet who is better known for being a folk singer Bruce Piephoff, my good friend here in the Triad, will be performing at the Grove Winery in Gibsonville, Nc, just outside Greensboro on Friday.

Here is our quote from Wilson in honor of National Poetry Month:

"All art is political in the sense that it serves someone's politics."