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.
When The Rain Comes Down
The Rubinoos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listen to the raindrops falling on the window ledge
Holding you beside me and it's all getting to my head
All around - everywhere you look it's
Pouring down - running off the rooftops
Hear the sound - I can hear it saying
Saying all day
When the rain comes down
I wanna be with you
When the rain comes down
On the world
Soaking to our skin, but I can't say I really mind
'Cause holding on to my love keeps me feeling warm inside
All around - everywhere you look it's
Pouring down - running off the rooftops
Hear the sound - I can hear it saying
Saying all day
(Chorus)
It's just you and me girl
In all of the world
The Rubinoos's song "When The Rain Comes Down" is about the intimacy and warmth created between two lovers on a rainy day. The song begins by setting the scene with the sound of raindrops falling on a window ledge as the vocalist holds his lover close. The rain is ubiquitous, evidenced by the water running off rooftops, and the sound of the rain as heard by the singer is saying something all day, although the lyrics do not make it clear what that message is. The chorus is a declaration of the singer's desire to be with his lover when it rains, a representation of the comfort and warmth they bring to one another. The rain offers the opportunity to be soaking wet while holding his partner, but the vocalist remarks that he does not mind as it keeps him warm inside.
The song's emotional core is the connection and love between the singer and his partner. This connection is emphasized by the rain, a classic trope in romantic literature and music, which serves as a metaphor for the couple's emotional bond. The rain mentions that "it's the world" and that "it's you and me girl" reflects the lovers' perception of themselves as a self-contained unit, an idea that is central to the song's message.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen to the raindrops falling on the window ledge
I hear the sound of raindrops falling on the window ledge
Holding you beside me and it's all getting to my head
Having you close to me is making me feel dizzy and overwhelmed with emotion
All around - everywhere you look it's
The rain is happening all around us in every direction
Pouring down - running off the rooftops
The rain is heavy and flowing off the roofs
Hear the sound - I can hear it saying
I can hear the sound of the rain and it's like it's speaking to me
Saying all day
The sound of the rain is constantly present
When the rain comes down
During the time when it rains
I wanna be with you
I want to be with you during this time
On the world
The rain is encompassing the entire world
Soaking to our skin, but I can't say I really mind
Even though we're getting drenched in the rain, I have no complaints
'Cause holding on to my love keeps me feeling warm inside
It's because I'm holding onto you that I still feel warmth despite the rain
It's just you and me girl
We're the only two people here
In all of the world
There's no one else in the world except for us
Contributed by Jason O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.