By this time, the band's sound was growing more sophisticated, and they'd become a major club draw in the Midwest. In Combo sold over 13,000 copies, an impressive feat for an independent album at the time, and 1981's Credit in Heaven was an even more ambitious project, a two-LP set that veered from pulsing dance rock to outre ballads to noisy jazz-influenced art rock. Credit from Heaven sold 15,000 copies and spun off a 12" single, "Music for Boys," that hit the national dance charts. The Suburbs teamed with producer Steve Greenberg (who scored a massive hit with the song "Funkytown" as part of his group Lipps Inc.) for the EP Dream Hog, released in late 1982. It included another dance hit, "Waiting," and with the Suburbs regularly selling out multiple nights at First Avenue in Minneapolis and drawing impressive crowds elsewhere, the group landed a deal with Mercury Records, who obtained the rights to the Suburbs' back catalog and promptly reissued Dream Hog. In 1983, the band released their first major-label album, Love Is the Law, again produced by Steve Greenberg, but while the title tune became a big hit in Minneapolis and received scattered airplay elsewhere, Mercury were uncertain how to promote the band, and despite strong reviews and extensive touring, the album wasn't the breakout hit the band had hoped for. The Suburbs left Mercury Records, and struck a deal with A&M; their 1986 album, simply called Suburbs, was produced by Robert Brent, better known as Bobby Z, drummer with Prince & the Revolution. While it was the group's most commercial effort to date, it didn't click with record buyers, and in 1987, the Suburbs, frustrated by their experience with the major labels, released an independent single, "Little Man's Gonna Fall" b/w "Don't Do Me Any Favors," shortly before they called it a day with a series of farewell shows at First Avenue.
In 1992, Twin/Tone released a collection of the group's most popular material, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Suburbs Have Left the Building, and the following year, the group played a few reunion concerts at First Avenue. The Suburbs began playing shows every year or so over the next few years, and Chaney formed his own record label, Beejtar Records, which reissued In Combo, Credit in Heaven, and Love Is the Law in 2002, as well as the "best-of" collection Chemistry Set: Songs of the Suburbs 1977-1987 in 2003. In late 2009, the group mourned the loss of guitarist Bruce Allen, who also worked as a graphic designer and created the group's logo. Not long after Allen's death, bassist Michael Halliday retired from the Suburbs, largely because of his struggle with arthritis. The rest of the band soldiered on, playing occasional shows with new members Steve Brantseg on guitar and Steve Price on bass, marking the first changes in the band's lineup since they began. Chan Poling divided his time between occasional Suburbs shows and gigs with his jazz-influenced combo the New Standards, but in 2011, after the death of his wife, broadcaster and political scion Eleanor Mondale, he was eager to make a rock & roll record again. As Poling told a reporter, "Always in the back of my mind I knew I had another rock record in me. Who would I get to play? Then the more I thought: what's the best rock band that I know? I already have it." Rather than deal with a record company, the Suburbs opted to finance and release the new album themselves, and after raising over $70,000 in a Kickstarter campaign, the group's long-awaited studio comeback, Si Sauvage, arrived in the fall of 2013. It was released as the band was enjoying a new surge of popularity, after marriage equality activists (with the Suburbs' blessings) used the song "Love Is the Law" as the theme song for their successful campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Minneapolis.
Following the release of Si Sauvage, the Suburbs supported the release with live appearances in the Midwest and East Coast. After successfully crowdfunding the recording and release of Si Sauvage, the band once again turned to their fans to bankroll the follow-up, 2017's Hey Muse! The album introduced a new lineup of the Suburbs, with founding members Chan Poling and Hugo Klaers and bassist Steve Price joined by guitarists Stevie Brantseg and Jeremy Ylvisaker, Stephen Kung on keyboards and horns, Rochelle Becker on baritone sax, and Janey Winterbauer on backing vocals. The album appeared in the summer of 2017, in time for the group's 40th anniversary.
Biography by Mark Deming
There are other artists with the same name:
2 - Suburbs, a Dutch rock band from Scheveningen. They recorded 3 albums (Disturbed, New Buildings and Land of the Lunatics) and 5 singles (Doremi, Timemachine, Rollercoaster, Citylights and What's going on). For more information visit www.suburbs.nl (dutch). They run under the label of Red Bullet. Suburbs perform often in Scheveningen, The Hague (a city near Scheveningen)or Wateringen (a village near The Hague).
3 -Suburbs: A canadian punk-rock band who run under the label Slam Disque.
Faith
The Suburbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
First comes love
Then comes habits
Then comes me
In a baby carriage
I stand up and weep
I stand up and walk
I stand up and run
Got the faith of my fathers
Yes I do
Now the walls come tumbling down
The walls come tumbling down
The walls come tumbling down
The walls come tumbling down
In the desert
I was looking for you
I'm telling the truth
To an empty moon
I can't stay down
I stand up and weep
I stand up and walk
I stand up and run
The walls come tumbling down
The walls come tumbling down
The walls come tumbling down
The walls come tumbling down
The Suburbs' "Faith" is a powerful and enigmatic song that delves into themes of family, love, and dedication. The opening lines, "I'm third in line / First comes love / Then comes habits / Then comes me / In a baby carriage," seem to suggest the singer's place in the world and the weight of family expectations. The idea of being "in a baby carriage" can symbolize a sense of being pushed along by forces beyond one's control.
As the song progresses, the singer stands up and weeps, walks, and runs, declaring their faith in the strength of their forebears. The repetition of the phrase "The walls come tumbling down" hints at the idea of breaking free from the confines of the past and forging ahead into the future. In the desert, the singer is searching for something, confessing to an empty moon. This sense of searching implies an ongoing quest for meaning and purpose.
Overall, "Faith" is a complex and deeply emotive song that touches on many themes relevant to modern life, including the struggle to find one's place in the world, the tension between individual and familial expectations, and the search for meaning and fulfillment.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm third in line
My existence is behind love and habits
First comes love
Love is the primary and most important aspect of life
Then comes habits
Habits follow love in order of importance in life
Then comes me
I come last in order of importance in relation to love and habits
In a baby carriage
I was born into this world innocent and dependent
I stand up and weep
I am emotional and willing to express my feelings
I stand up and walk
I am independent and capable of moving forward
I stand up and run
I am motivated and determined to succeed
Got the faith of my fathers
I have inherited the beliefs and values of those who came before me
Yes I do
I truly possess the faith of my fathers
Now the walls come tumbling down
Obstacles and challenges I face are being overcome
The walls come tumbling down
Obstacles and challenges I face continue to crumble
The walls come tumbling down
Obstacles and challenges I face continue to fall apart
The walls come tumbling down
Obstacles and challenges I face are being eliminated
In the desert
I am lost and searching for something
I was looking for you
I am searching for something or someone to fulfill me
I'm telling the truth
I speak honestly and with sincerity
To an empty moon
I am expressing my thoughts and feelings to the universe, hoping for a response
I can't stay down
I refuse to give up or be defeated
Contributed by Nicholas G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.