Cupcakes and Camping.

You know, I thought I had put in my time this year but apparently I was wrong. I am referring to the fact that I believed I had logged on the prerequisite hours for being “outdoorsy” this summer though an early season camp out, mid-season canoeing and various BBQs held over the last few months. Well, I was wrong. Photogal and the Mad Moldovan decided a month or two ago that they wanted to go camping again and made reservations without really consulting me.

I’m a good camper. I’m the one who sets everything up, starts the fire, blah blah blah. The thing is I don’t really enjoy camping. I think I did it so much as a child – and it was usually within the domain of some sort of Scouting event so it always seemed more like work than relaxation – that it has lost its allure. Some folks like the break from city life and while I do enjoy the scenery of the great outdoors I’m not one of those folks needing a pastoral vacation.

However Photogal and the Mad Moldovan love it and I love them so I bite my tongue and go along for the ride. As a matter of fact I usually wouldn’t even make a peep about this trip if it weren’t for one main reason.

This weekend is the weekend of the Cupcakes reunion show.

Now, I’ve been psyched about this show for a looooong time. It’s been rumored for months and months and months, and when Preston told me last June that it would in fact be happening I marked down the date on my calendar. I saw the Cupcakes a few times back in the day and enjoyed them but was never blown away. Over time though I’ve absorbed their one album and have grown to love the band’s music with a passion and realize that they were way ahead of their time. My time too, since I guess I just hadn’t acclimated to their sound back then. I think it’s because Stephen Street produced their first (and, well, only) disc so I was expecting something that sounded more like Blur and the fact that they were the furthest thing from that expectation may have provided a mental block for a while. The point is I was really lookig forward to seeing them now that i feel I can really appreciate what it was they were doing.

Anyway.

Long story shot: I’m missing the reunion show and I’m none too pleased. Will I suck it up and try to enjoy our outdoor sojourn for what it is? Sure. Will I gripe and mope and piss off Photogal? Not on your life? Will I probably regret missing the Cupcakes? Undoubtedly.

Oh well. At least the place we’re camping looks pretty cool, and we’ve never been there before so I’ll have a chance to explore something new. That’s always a positive thing.

ADDENDUM: Photogal feels I'm being unfair and misrepresenting the situation at hand. Her recollection is that the camping plans were made before the date of the show was set and I'm just being a whiney baby. She may well be correct about the dates and I'm willing to concede that. But I'm also going to lay claim to the right of being a whiney baby since I'm missing the show regardless.
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Don't cry for me Argentina.

Geez, I’m not leaving you with those as my last thoughts before the weekend. Hmmm…what can I do to break through that depressive melange above? I know! I’ll talk about stuff that rocked my world this week! With bullet points! Like a PowerPoint presentation!

• First off The Flaming Lips video collection V.O.I.D. is a must have for every single human being on the planet. See what music videos should look like. Quirky, fun, disturbing and, at times, wistful. The band’s output may have leveled off in recent years but this is a reminder of just how far they leaped stylistically over the last decade or so.
  
  
• I discovered this disc by Editors and I’m loving it. It sort of sounds like (A&R folks must’ve pitched it thusly) Interpol meets the Killers. That is to say Joy Division without the pathos. Now I love pathos just as much as the next guy who grew up on that whole Factory scene and bought 12 inch imports and all that, but I do also love a good hook. Editors is the Frankenstein monster to stitch all that together.
  
  
• The Transporter. It’s basically Leon: The Professional with a happy ending and sex with the young charge, but the fight scenes were pretty kick-ass.

So see, I can be positive today as well. Okay, turn off your computer, get out of here and go have some fun.