Known for their melodic songwriting as well as their deliberately 'nerdy' public image, the Rubinoos made their public recording debut in 1975with the song "Gorilla" on the 'Beserkley Chartbusters' LP. By 1977, the boys had finished recording their first full album, an LP titled simply 'The Rubinoos'. Gene Sculatti of the New York Rocker called it "the best pop album of the decade." The band took influence from both contemporary rock music as well as from the bubblegum pop music of the past twenty-five years.
The first single was "I Think Were Alone Now", a cover of the Tommy James classic pop track, and it reached the top 40 nationwide as well as the top 10 in many major U.S. cities. Appearances on 'Dick Clarks American Bandstand', 'The Rolling Stone 10th Anniversary TV Special', and in numerous teen magazines of the era helped put the Rubinoos into the pop consciousness. At the same time, the group was receiving a lot of attention overseas: critical acclaim and airplay in Europe came alongside top tens in Japan and Australia.
In 1978, they left for their first European tour. The first show was an appearance on German TV's 'Rockpalast'. The rest of the tour took them through northern Europe performing concert dates and appearing on assorted TV shows such as 'Top Pop (The Netherlands)', 'Old Grey Whistle Test', and 'Rock Goes to College'. As there was no photo on the first LP, the British press sometimes assumed the group was a mere studio contrivance (similar to The Archies or The Banana Splits), but they were startled to find that the Rubinoos were the real thing.
During that summer the seminal power pop song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" was recorded and released as a single in England, ending up as number 4 in terms of the highest airplay song chart of that year. It was also chosen as Music Week magazine's "Record of the Year". The Rubinoos finished recording their second LP, Back to the Drawing Board, in late 1978 for release in early 1979. Because of their success in the UK, the Rubinoos were chosen to open the U.S. portion of Elvis Costello's 'Armed Forces Tour', playing fifty-six sold out shows to screaming encores and rave reviews. Meanwhile, Back to the Drawing Board was a breakout hit all over U.S. radio, selling over 100,000 copies and making a run for the gold which was unfortunately cut short by the bankruptcy of its distributor GRT/Janus, a harbinger to come of the band's difficulties maintaining commercial success from the late 70s onward.
In 1983, the Rubinoos were signed by the label of Warner Brothers and made the mini LP Party of Two. produced by fellow power pop musicians Todd Rundgren and his mega-band Utopia (their first production project as a group). The video for the single "If I Had You Back" achieved heavy rotation on the then fledgling MTV. Still, by 1985 the band members had decided to pursue other interests apart, leaving behind a reputation as one of the best pop groups of that era.
By the mid-90s, rekindled interest in power pop combined with The Rubinoos stature in the field earned the group major releases of two compilations containing previously unavailable material: Basement Tapes and Garage Sale. In 1995, Basement Tapes was picked by Billboard magazine as one of the years ten best CDs. In addition, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", a contendor for being the band's 'signature song', has been included on many recent multi-artist pop compilation albums.
In the fall of 1999, the Rubinoos reformed to play at the I.P.O. (International Pop Overthrow) festival in Los Angeles. Their appearance was a major hit of the event. Along with the rare live performance, Rubinoos fans were treated to the debut of material from the May 2000 release Paleophonic. This stellar collection was produced by the late, great Kevin Gilbert.
The next couple of years were spent playing occasional pop festivals in the US and working on their individual musical projects. In 2002, the band, getting a little nervous and not wanting to spoil their streak of one CD every 10 years or so, headed back into the studio to record a new CD with a brand new idea, featuring only covers of bands that the Rubinoos have taken influence from. Titled Crimes Against Music, the group explored tracks by such diverse artists as Eurythmics, The Beach Boys, and the Raspberries, among others.
After finishing recording, they hit the road for two smash tours of Japan and Spain. The group has spent the past decade of so sporadically playing live, experiencing success in 2007 with their massive retrospective album titled Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Rubinoos. That 'best of' collection received rave reviews from the All Music Guide, praising it as "exhaustive" while giving it a rating of four and a half stars out of five. A legal run-in with pop punker Avril Lavigne of all people, accused of plagiarizing the Rubinoos, ended in a confidential settlement and also brought the group some sudden publicity. Fans hope for a new album as of 2013.
Hard To Get
The Rubinoos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hard to get
But I’ll get you yet
Hard to get
But I’ll get you yet
I heard it through the grapevine you got your eye on me
I asked you to the circus, asked you out to tea
But it’s always the same thing you got no time for me, you’re
(Chorus)
The games I use to play were like the ones you use
They never get you what you want they only confuse
Every time I see you you’re giving me the glance
But when I reach to touch you you don’t give me a chance, you’re
(Chorus)
Bridge:
When I look into your eyes all I see is love
And if you really looked in mine you’d know what I’m thinking of
In that case there’s no need for you to act that way
Until you get yourself straight all I have to say is
Rap:
I must enjoy your putting on the cool
But soon it’s a bore and we’ll all know the rule
There’s a lot of girls in your school
Outro:
I’ve seen the way you’ve been watching me
When you think that I don’t see
I know it’s not because you’re shy, no
So tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
Why girl do you have to play
Tell me why, oh why you act this way
I’ve been waiting much too long
Stop playing hard to get or I’ll be gone
The Rubinoos's song "Hard to Get" is a classic pop song that captures the essence of a love-hate relationship between two people. The lyrics are about a guy who is trying to win the attention and love of a girl who is playing hard to get. The song is composed of two verses, two choruses, a bridge, and an outro. The opening verse introduces the central theme of the song, where the singer is trying to understand the girl's intentions. The chorus uses repetition to convey a sense of determination by the singer, who is determined to get the girl no matter how hard she plays.
The second verse exposes the singer's vulnerability, revealing that his tactics of playing games with the girl have not worked, and he feels confused. The bridge uses a metaphor of looking into each other's eyes to emphasize that the singer is looking for love while the girl is playing games. The song ends with rapping about how the singer gets bored with the girl, and there are plenty of other girls around him.
Line by Line Meaning
Hard to get
The person being sung to is difficult to approach
But I’ll get you yet
The singer is determined to win over the person they are interested in
I heard it through the grapevine you got your eye on me
The singer has heard that the person they are interested in is interested in them too
But through all the games you play it sure is hard to see
Despite the person's interest, they play games and make it difficult for the singer to read them
I asked you to the circus, asked you out to tea
The singer has tried to make plans with the person they like, but it seems like the person is always too busy to hang out
But it’s always the same thing you got no time for me, you’re
The person is always busy and never has time for the singer
The games I use to play were like the ones you use
The singer admits that they used to play the same games that the person they like is playing now
They never get you what you want they only confuse
The singer realizes that playing games doesn't work and only creates more confusion
Every time I see you you’re giving me the glance
The person they like seems to be showing interest in the singer
But when I reach to touch you you don’t give me a chance, you’re
Despite showing interest, the person never allows the singer to take things further
When I look into your eyes all I see is love
The singer feels a strong connection to the person they like and sees love in their eyes
And if you really looked in mine you’d know what I’m thinking of
The singer wishes the person they like would understand their feelings if they looked into their eyes
In that case there’s no need for you to act that way
If the person would just acknowledge their feelings, there would be no need for them to play games
Until you get yourself straight all I have to say is
The singer is willing to wait for the person to figure themselves out and stop playing games
I must enjoy your putting on the cool
The singer finds the person's aloofness and indifference attractive
But soon it’s a bore and we’ll all know the rule
However, the singer knows that playing hard to get will eventually become tiresome
There’s a lot of girls in your school
The singer realizes that there are plenty of other options out there and the person they like is not the only one
I’ve seen the way you’ve been watching me
The singer has noticed that the person they like has been watching them as well
When you think that I don’t see
The singer has been aware of the person's interest even when they think they are being subtle
I know it’s not because you’re shy, no
The singer knows that the person is not actually shy, despite their reluctance to make a move
So tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
The singer is frustrated and wants to know why the person is playing games rather than being straightforward
Why girl do you have to play
The singer is questioning why the person they like is making things difficult by playing games
I’ve been waiting much too long
The singer has been waiting for the person to make a move for too long
Stop playing hard to get or I’ll be gone
The singer is warning the person that if they don't stop playing games, they will lose their chance with the singer
Contributed by Jasmine R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.