While the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, and Soul Asylum were the Minneapolis ban… Read Full Bio ↴While the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, and Soul Asylum were the Minneapolis bands that brought the city's underground rock to international attention, the Suburbs were the Twin Cities' biggest local act of the 1980s, packing the biggest clubs in town with a smart, challenging, and darkly witty combination of punk energy and snark, new wave polish, tough guitars, and hooky dance rhythms. The Suburbs were formed in 1977 by vocalist and keyboardist Chan Poling and vocalist and lead guitarist Blaine John ("Beej") Chaney; the two had been close friends since their high school days and had both traveled to California to attend art school in 1974. Poling and Chaney were exposed to the nascent Los Angeles punk scene before returning to Minneapolis, where Poling discovered his pal Chris Osgood had formed the Suicide Commandos, generally cited as the first proper punk outfit in the Twin Cities. Intrigued by the budding music scene in their hometown, Poling and Chaney talked with Osgood about their desire to start a band; Osgood in turn introduced them to guitarist Bruce Allen, bassist Michael Halliday, and drummer Hugo Klaers, and the Suburbs were born. With few clubs in town booking original rock music, the Suburbs started out playing parties with other local acts, until Jay's Longhorn Bar, a jazz venue, took a chance on hosting the band. The Longhorn was soon Minneapolis' home for punk and new wave sounds, and the Suburbs attracted the attention of local indie label Twin/Tone Records. In the spring of 1978, the Suburbs released their first record via Twin/Tone, a 7" EP featuring nine songs, dominated by a punk attack and an arty melodic edge. A single, "World War III" b/w "Change Agent," followed in June 1979, and in January 1980, the Suburbs released their first full-length album, In Combo.

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.

Postcard
The Suburbs Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wish you were here but you were not alone
Simple pleasures that's our bone
What's that I smell?
It's Death's cologne
Trains to Moscow
Trains to Rome
I get no thanks so I'm going home
I love the trains go rambling home

Past mounds of dust where Lincoln died
Often I don't want to go
Sometimes I can't help myself
I can't help myself
I can't help myself
I can't help myself
I can't help myself!
Trains to Moscow
Trains to Rome

I get no thanks so I'm going home
Goodbye!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Suburbs song Postcard carry a certain sense of longing and melancholy. The opening line, "I wish you were here but you were not alone," is a poignant expression of missing someone who is not necessarily physically absent but perhaps emotionally distant. The mention of "simple pleasures" as "our bone" highlights the nostalgia and wistfulness for a simpler time and the connection that once existed.

The reference to Death's cologne is a stark reminder of mortality and the fleeting nature of life. The trains to Moscow and Rome symbolize journeys and a desire for adventure, but the fact that the singer "gets no thanks" suggests a sense of unfulfillment or perhaps even disillusionment with the pursuit of these dreams. The mention of Lincoln's death adds to the theme of mortality and loss.

The repetition of the line "I can't help myself" emphasizes a sense of helplessness and resignation, which is further underscored by the closing line "Goodbye!" Overall, the song captures a bittersweet sense of nostalgia, longing, and the human struggle to reconcile our dreams and desires with the harsh realities of life.

Line by Line Meaning

I wish you were here but you were not alone
I feel your absence and wish you were here with me, but I know you are not alone.

Simple pleasures that's our bone
We are happiest with the simplest things in life.

What's that I smell? It's Death's cologne
I sense something ominous and dark, as if death is near.

Trains to Moscow Trains to Rome
There are endless possibilities and destinations in life, and we have the freedom to choose any path we want.

I get no thanks so I'm going home
I am unappreciated and feel defeated, so I am returning to my comfort zone.

I love the trains go rambling home
I find comfort in the sound and motion of trains taking me back to my familiar surroundings.

Past mounds of dust where Lincoln died
The passage of time and history surrounds me, even in mundane and unexpected places.

Often I don't want to go
Frequently, I feel resistant and hesitant to move forward in life.

Sometimes I can't help myself
Occasionally, my impulsive nature overrides my better judgement.

I can't help myself
I am unable to control myself and my urges.

I can't help myself
I keep repeating my past mistakes and patterns, unable to break free from them.

I can't help myself
I am trapped and helpless in my own behavior.

Trains to Moscow Trains to Rome
There are endless opportunities and experiences awaiting us in life, but they can also lead to unknown and uncertain outcomes.

I get no thanks so I'm going home
Once again, I am unappreciated and overlooked, causing me to retreat back to my comfort zone.

Goodbye!
I am ending this journey and moving on, even if it means leaving things behind and saying goodbye.

Contributed by Nolan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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