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.
I Love The Way You Touch
The Rubinoos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I love the way that you move around the floor
You've got me spinnin' till I'm not really sure where I am
When I need a little nerve excitement
There's one thing that can thrill me so much is I
Love the way you touch
Come on and kiss me and watch me start to melt
Shivers and chills all up through my spine
On my way straight up to cloud nine cause I
Love the way you touch
Getting goose bumps on a cold sweat
That's just a little bit of what I get
My heart's beating like I'm running track
To feel your pretty fingers running up and down my back
Come on and kiss me and watch me start to melt
Shivers and chills all up through my spine
On my way straight up to cloud nine cause
I Love the way you touch
The Rubinoos’s song I Love The Way You Touch is an upbeat, catchy track that is essentially a love song. The lyrics express the feeling of being completely enamored with someone and every little thing they do - in this case, the way they move and touch. The song starts with the singer expressing their admiration for their lover’s dance moves, which leave them spinning and disorientated in the best way possible. The second verse continues in the same vein, describing the sensations and emotions felt when their lover kisses them or runs their fingers up and down their back. The chorus reinforces this feeling, with the repetition of the titular phrase “I love the way you touch,” further emphasizing the deep affection and attraction felt towards the subject of the song.
The overall tone of the song is joyful and energetic, with the lyrics painting a picture of someone completely in love and swept up in their emotions. The use of metaphors, such as the reference to “cloud nine” and the physical sensations felt (“goosebumps,” “shivers,” and “heartbeats”) gives the song a vivid and relatable quality. While the meaning of the song is relatively simple and straightforward, the lyrics are catchy and memorable, and the upbeat melody makes it a perfect feel-good track.
Line by Line Meaning
I love the way that you move around the floor
I adore watching the way you dance and move around the floor
You've got me spinnin' till I'm not really sure where I am
Your dance moves have made me dizzy and disoriented
When I need a little nerve excitement
When I'm feeling bored or down, I need a little excitement
There's one thing that can thrill me so much is I
Nothing can thrill me as much as the way you touch me
Love the way you touch
I love the way you touch me
Your lips can do things that I have never felt
Your kisses are so unique and amazing
Come on and kiss me and watch me start to melt
I become so weak and vulnerable when you kiss me
Shivers and chills all up through my spine
Your touch sends shivers and chills all over my body
On my way straight up to cloud nine cause I
You make me so happy and blissful
Getting goose bumps on a cold sweat
Your touch gives me goosebumps and makes me sweat
That's just a little bit of what I get
I only experience a small amount of the pleasure you give me
My heart's beating like I'm running track
Your touch makes my heart race as if I'm running
To feel your pretty fingers running up and down my back
I love it when your fingers caress my back
Come on and kiss me and watch me start to melt
I become so weak and vulnerable when you kiss me
Shivers and chills all up through my spine
Your touch sends shivers and chills all over my body
On my way straight up to cloud nine cause
You make me so happy and blissful
I Love the way you touch
I love the way you touch me
Contributed by Jack H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.