From March 8th to the 10th, Friday through Sunday, I was part of a bus trip, along with about 30 other people that went to Lake Placid, New York. High school seniors, apparently take such a trip every year, and our turn came up, and we were heading towards a winter playground. Now, you'd think I would wait until next year, in which it would have been the fortieth anniversary. But, the dates this weekend exactly coincidec with that back in 1974, and who know if I'll be even doing a blog next year, so this was a perfect opportunity to revist.
To understand the importance of this weekend, you have to understand my background. Growing up, I was rather unpopular, and never associated with the so-called "in crowd". The only dance I ever went to was one in 8th grade, and I danced (awkwardly) with myself. None in high school, no prom either, nor did I date. I didn't even get invited to any parties until midway through my senior year. The only thing of any social significance was that I was in the band. I did have friends in school, but activity was limited to just hanging out, or playing tackle football in the lot across from the school, and the legendary "grove" (a wooded area right next to the school which was the "cool" place to hang and socialize - if that place wasn't in the way on my two block walk home from school, I never would have entered it either).
In January, a flyer circulated around about this ski weekend up in Lake Placid. I don't know what interested me in signing up for it...I was a big weather buff, loved cold weather, thus the location in the Adirondacks perhaps influenced me. So I paid the $24 (yeah, I think that's all it cost), and signed up. My closest friend during my senior year, Mike Kinasch also signed up so I'd at least have someone to hang out with. Plus some others I was semi-close to also were going, including a girl I had a crush on, named Debbie (whose birthday party was the first one I had been invited to in January). And so I was looking forward to it.
Now, keep in mind, that, at the ripe old age of 17, I had never gotten drunk before. Yeah, probably because I was underage (eighteen was the legal age in that time), but no doubt several classmates of mine were rather seasoned. As for the weather conditions, it was another in a series of mild winters stretching back several years, and especially during the past week, we had some unusufally mild weather. There was no snow on the ground at all, and was hoping that during the trek up north we's see some as it got a bit cooler by the time the weekend rolled around.
So, we were on our way I sat near the middle of the bus, on the way up. Though I had never been with anyone, I thought perhaps (and probably so, in my dreams!) I could hook up that girl I had a crush on, but that probably would just have been limited to my dreams. And sure enough, I could see her up near the front of the us, making out almost the entire way up with this other guy, so that fantasy was wiped-out.
But in the rows just behind me were some of the "in" people, including this guy Chuck, whose father owned a deli which my family frequented growing up. A hand-written sign on a piece of paper read, "Chuck's Orgy", and while it wasn't an actual orgy, there was a lot of drinking and partying going on. Music was playing as well, probably a top 40 station was blaring music. I'll talk more about the music later, but one current song that came up as a topic of conversation was "Eres Tu", a Spanish-language song that was by a group called Mocedades.
Anyway, that night on the bus was a first for me as I got pretty wasted. It led to people "talking"...."Hey Sheldon got f**ked up". Yeah, it was rather unusual. But it felt pretty good, actually.
Around 10 PM or so we finally arrived at Lake Placid. Although it was cold (temperature in the 20's), and Mirror Lake was frozen, there was absolutely NO snow on the ground. But with this crowd that didn't seem too disappointing. The place we stayed at was at the opposite side of Mirror Lake from where the village was, at a huge lodge called the Lake Placid Club, a complex network of buildings and rooms that was built in the 1890's. And the night had just begun. The place was rather cavernous, with many bars, lounges, a game room and anything else you could imagine. The party went on a good part of the night, and I did walk around the area as well. It seemed the night was endless.
Saturday morning came around. Being that there was no snow, nearby Whiteface Mountain was closed. This was before snowmaking equipment, and with the recent mild weather, there wasn't too much to ski on. Of course at that time I didn't ski, but there was plenty of things to do during the day. Some went ice skating, I did just about everything. It was a pretty rowdy group if I remember as well. I think they wanted to trash the hotel. At some point, one person went out on the balcony on one of the rooms and tried to smash through the wall separating the balcony in the next room. And pity the poor jukebox in the game room. The machine was skip or repeat records. One such victim was "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones, as it would get hung up after the first line of the song, until someone rolled the box against the wall.
I did get a chance to at least walk with Debbie on one of the many paths in back of the hotel (interesting that the guy she was making out with on the bus didn't hang out with her, or at least not that I knew of, during the entire rest of the trip). To be honest the rest of the day and all night was a bit of a blur, but what I do know was that I walked into the village, hung out at a nightclub there for a while. Then back at the hotel, as I was underage, I was having the 18 year olds buy me drinks and I got rather drunk again. I was all over the place, including sleeping with some girls in their room for a while (apparently the girls in question didn't know that until the next day...what a shocker!). Streaking was very popular around this time, and one guy (no, it wasn't me!) did indeed streak through the place; he also spent some time in a room with a girl as well, causing some other rumors (being that the two people in question are current Facebook friends, I will refrain from naming names even though, indeed this is four decades later!).
During the early morning hours, it finally started to snow, making the area, finally, the winter scene it should have been all weekend. And I was up all night...I don't think I ever went back to sleep at all. The snow tapered off during Sunday morning, and by three in the afternoon, we finally packed up and headed home. On the way out, there was the sunshine and the wind was blowing the newly fallen snow as the bus went by the big ski jump that was used in the 1932 Olympics. Finally arriving home around nine at night, I reflected on what a really great weekend it was.
Several people observed that I had "come out of my shell" during the weekend, and indeed I thought that as well. I was still shy though when it came to girls; I actually had a chance with Debbie that last night, but, true to my form, couldn't get the nerve to do anything.
I would graduate in June and then go to Montclair State (then) College that fall. Debbie went there as well, and although we hung out a while, she met Jeff, an upperclassman who she eventually married. They were at our five-year high school reunion, but never saw her after that, and so far, she has not surfaced on Facebook. I had crushes on other girls the rest of my senior year, and I would finally have girlfriends in college.
As for Lake Placid, it soon won the bid for the 1980 Winter Olympics, games remembered most for the "Miracle on Ice", the great semi-final win against the heavily-favored Soviet Union. I would go back to that town eleven more times, most recently in 2012, when I was there twice, including a ski weekend with some friends. The Lake Placid Club, which remained in operation until the late eighties (and which, during four trips in the 1980's I walked inside and relived the flood of memories that came pouring out) was torn down, with only the rock wall and parking ramp along side the street (easily visible from the newer Lake Placid Brewery just down the street), a link to the memories of that March weekend in 1974.
Since this is a music blog, many of the songs reminded me of that weekend, and as was the case with my recent Sugarbush Vermont trip last month, some heard on the trip, some just going thru my head.
Here is a list of songs which will for me be forever linked to the Ski Trip weekend in Lake Placid. Note that this is 1974, a year in which there were a lot of one-hit wonders or guilty pleasures (or just guilts). But here goes.
"Seasons in the Sun", Terry Jacks. This was Billboard's number 1 song for the week ending March 9th. And yes, it was associated with the weekend, but fortunately, not too much!
"Sunshine On My Shoulders", John Denver. This rather sentimental but feel-good song, was heard on the bus ride home, specifally evoking the beginning of that ride, going thru the local roads and the mountains, with the sun and the blowing snow. It was #10 that week.
"Eres Tu (Touch the Wind)", Mocedades. This Spanish-language song was talked and heard on the trip up. #13 that week.
"I Love", Tom T Hall, heard early Sunday morning as the snow was coming down. A simple country song of little things in life. #16.
"Come and Get Your Love", Redbone. Heard on the first night at the hotel, #17
"Hooked on a Feeling", Blue Swede. #21
"Bennie and the Jets", Elton John, #23
"Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", Gladys Knight & the Pips. The last song, a great love ballad written by Jim Weatherly, heard on the bus as we got back home Sunday night. #32.
"Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)", Rolling Stones (#34)
"Looking For A Love", Bobby Womack , #37
"TSOP", MFSB, #42
"W O L D", Harry Chapin, his tale of a disc jokey traveling roaming around the country to make a living, I had heard on WKBW, a Buffalo fifty-thousand watt powerhouse that I would pick up at night from home, and actually could hear faintly during the day up here. #44
"Just Don't Want to Be Lonely", Main Ingredient. Friday night, I was able to get WABC from up there, and they played this one. #47.
"I'll Have to Say I Love You In A Song", Jim Croce, #58
"Oh My My", Ringo Starr, #65, debut
Two others would debut on the charts the following week, "Dancing Machine", Jackson 5 (going thru my head when I was walking back from town to the lodge) , and "I've Been Searching So Long", Chicago.
During my lifetime, I would like to say that I enjoyed life. From college parties and Spring Break, to the Prudential recreation associations many whitewater rafting weekends. The years I did a share in beach houses and ski houses. The Jets tailgates and the Roscoe camping weekends....but it all started thirty-nine years ago.
BRIEFLY ON THE CHART: Fitz & the Tantrums, as expected, make the leap from #7 to the top spot with "Out of My League", the lead single from their forthcoming album More Than Just A Dream, in only its third week. This ties the record for the quickest ascent to the top, done just three months back, by The Killers' 'I Feel It In My Bones". Some good news is that they will be touring with the Dave Matthews Band for some dates during the summer. Pageants drops to the runner-up spot with "Musing of the Tide', but it is still gaining as well. These two songs have been in my head all week, and it wouldn't surprise me if they ran 1-2 for many weeks to come.
BY THE TIME I FINISH THIS COLUMN: The Top Debut goes to "Entertainment" by the band Phoenix. Despite its name, these guys hail from Versialles, France, and are no strangers to the music scene, having released their debut, United, back in 2000. Their last effort Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, released in 2009 was their American breakthrough, with three tracks from it being favorites of mine and making my year-end list in 2009 ("1901"), and 2010's "Liztomania", and "Lasso", the latter two released in the SNS era, the "Liztomania" appearing on my first chart, and "Lasso" hitting my top 20.
This time around, thier fifth effort, Bankrupt will be released April 22, with "Entertainment" the first single. It's pretty much what you would expect if you enjoyed their prior output from their previous set. They are on tour, the nearest place you can catch them is at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden NJ, on a bill that also includes favorites such as Paramore, Passion Pit, Silversun Pickups, The Airborne Toxic Event, and Twenty-One Pilots, all of which recently or currently are listed on my chart. Great for the new music buff, for sure.
SCENES'N'SOUNDWAVES 100
March 1, 2013
|
This Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
|
1
|
7
|
NUMBER ONE:
FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS
"Out of My League"
Album: More Than Just a Dream
|
3
|
|
2
|
1
|
Pageants - Musing of the Tide
|
6
|
|
3
|
4
|
Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven
|
7
|
|
4
|
6
|
Veronica Falls - Teenage
|
7
|
|
5
|
8
|
Rachel Allyn - Do It Yourself
|
4
|
|
6
|
3
|
Fun - Carry On
|
18
|
|
7
|
2
|
Pink - Try
|
18
|
|
8
|
5
|
The Satelliters - Shake Shake Shake
|
15
|
|
9
|
16
|
Leagues - Spotlight
|
5
|
|
10
|
10
|
Passion Pit - Carried Away
|
12
|
|
11
|
19
|
Maroon 5 - Daylight
|
10
|
|
12
|
9
|
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Runaway
|
18
|
|
13
|
20
|
Wild Nothing - Shadow
|
6
|
|
14
|
17
|
Train - Mermaid
|
7
|
|
15
|
12
|
Golden Void - The Curve
|
20
|
|
16
|
11
|
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Holy Roller
|
14
|
|
17
|
14
|
Churchill - Change
|
24
|
|
18
|
13
|
Leila - Mirror Mirror
|
20
|
|
19
|
18
|
Civil Twilight - River
|
19
|
|
20
|
21
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
TAYLOR SWIFT
"I Knew You Were Trouble"
Album: Red
|
10
|
|
21
|
23
|
Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backward
|
11
|
|
22
|
15
|
The Vaccines - I Always Knew
|
15
|
|
23
|
27
|
After the Reign - Jersey Strong
|
6
|
|
24
|
28
|
Two Door Cinema Club - Sun
|
6
|
|
25
|
22
|
Generationals - When They Fight They Fight
|
18
|
|
26
|
30
|
The Mowglis - San Francisco
|
11
|
|
27
|
33
|
Family of the Year - Hero
|
12
|
|
28
|
35
|
Foxygen - Shuggie
|
7
|
|
29
|
48
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
LANA DEL REY
"Ride"
Album: Paradise
|
4
|
|
30
|
24
|
Grizzly Bear - Yet Again
|
22
|
|
31
|
36
|
Dum Dum Girls - Lord Knows
|
10
|
|
32
|
40
|
Bon Jovi - Because We Can
|
4
|
|
33
|
39
|
Lifehouse f. Natasha Bedingfield - Between the Raindrops
|
7
|
|
34
|
26
|
Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams
|
16
|
|
35
|
46
|
Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside - They Told Me
|
3
|
|
36
|
25
|
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
|
18
|
|
37
|
58
|
Vicci Martinez - Come Along
|
4
|
|
38
|
29
|
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Stars
|
24
|
|
39
|
32
|
The Killers - I Feel it In My Bones |
12
|
|
40
|
37
|
The Lumineers - Stubborn Love
|
11
|
|
41
|
41
|
Neon Trees - Lessons In Love
|
6
|
|
42
|
31
|
Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath
|
16
|
|
43
|
34
|
Shinedown - Enemies
|
14
|
|
44
|
44
|
Cold War Kids - Miracle Mile
|
5
|
|
45
|
64
|
Grizzly Bear - Sleeping Ute
|
2
|
|
46
|
55
|
The Strokes - All the Time
|
3
|
|
47
|
38
|
Gary Clark Jr. Ain't Messin' Around
|
13
|
|
48
|
54
|
Phillip Phillips - Gone Gone Gone
|
3
|
|
49
|
50
|
Yeasayer - Reagen's Skeleton
|
12
|
|
50
|
53
|
Avett Brothers - February Seven
|
6
|
|
51
|
59
|
Paramore - Now
|
4
|
|
52
|
43
|
Allen Stone - Unaware
|
13
|
|
53
|
52
|
Mumford and Sons - Lover of the Light
|
5
|
|
54
|
42
|
The Satelliters - Lost in Time
|
25
|
|
55
|
45
|
Dinosaur Jr. - Don't Pretend You Didn't Know
|
19
|
|
56
|
75
|
Django Django - Hail Bop
|
2
|
|
57
|
56
|
Frank Ocean - Thinking About You
|
10
|
|
58
|
79
|
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilidge
|
2
|
|
59
|
51
|
Alabama Shakes - I Ain't The Same
|
19
|
|
60
|
66
|
Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks
|
29
|
|
61
|
49
|
Child Actor - If You Loved Me
|
20
|
|
62
|
67
|
Deap Vally - Ain't Far
|
10
|
|
63
|
72
|
All American Rejects - Heartbeat Slowing Down
|
3
|
|
64
|
68
|
Mister Lie - Pupine
|
6
|
|
65
|
----
|
TOP DEBUT:
PHOENIX
"Entertainment"
Album: Bankrupt!
|
1
|
|
66
|
47
|
Muse - The Madness
|
22
|
|
67
|
71
|
Jagwar Ma - The Throw
|
4
|
|
68
|
57
|
ZZ Ward - Put the Gun Down
|
23
|
|
69
|
86
|
Pure X - Things In My Head
|
2
|
|
70
|
65
|
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
|
34
|
|
71
|
77
|
Toby Keith - Hope on the Rocks
|
3
|
|
72
|
----
|
Depeche Mode - Heaven
|
1
|
|
73
|
62
|
Gold Fields - Dark Again
|
7
|
|
74
|
60
|
Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
|
13
|
|
75
|
63
|
The Neighborhood - Sweater Weather
|
7
|
|
76
|
73
|
Alex Clare - Up All Night
|
6
|
|
77
|
80
|
Tim McGraw - One of Those Nights
|
3
|
|
78
|
69
|
Dirty Beaches - Elizabeth's Theme
|
28
|
|
79
|
61
|
The Raveonettes - Curse the Night
|
16
|
|
80
|
74
|
Jake Bugg - Two Fingers
|
4
|
|
81
|
70
|
Willy Moon - Yeah Yeah
|
14
|
|
82
|
78
|
Adele - Skyfall
|
20
|
|
83
|
82
|
Watch the Duck - Poppin Off
|
5
|
|
84
|
85
|
Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound
|
33
|
|
85
|
----
|
1939 Ensemble - Sabotage
|
1
|
|
86
|
90
|
Fall Out Boy - My Song Knows What I Did To You In The Dark
|
2
|
|
87
|
76
|
Foals - Inhaler
|
5
|
|
88
|
81
|
Airborne Toxic Event - Timeless
|
5
|
|
89
|
91
|
Twenty-One Pilots - Holding On to You
|
2
|
|
90
|
----
|
New Politics - Harlem
|
1
|
|
91
|
87
|
Royal Teeth - Wild
|
4
|
|
92
|
----
|
Postal Service - A Tattered Line of String
|
1
|
|
93
|
92
|
Bauuer - Harlem Shake
|
2
|
|
94
|
93
|
The Script f. will.i.am - Hall of Fame
|
5
|
|
95
|
83
|
Matt & Kim - Let's Go
|
15
|
|
96
|
----
|
Johnny Marr - Sun & Moon
|
1
|
|
97
|
100
|
Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
|
13
|
|
98
|
----
|
Paloma Faith - Picking Up the Pieces
|
1
|
|
99
|
84
|
Gin Wigmore - Man Like That
|
14
|
|
100
|
88
|
Phillip Phillips - Home
|
39
|
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