The Rubinoos - I Think We're Alone Now

Lead track and nice cover off their 1977 debut LP. The album managed to create something always rare and valued in pop music -- timeless melodicism matcched with a sense of fun made to sound effortless. More at their web site: http://www.rubinoos.com/index.htm

Biography by Chris Woodstra, allmusic.com

For a brief moment, the Rubinoos seemed to be the last hope for pure pop music, carrying on the tradition of the Raspberries with an engaging blend of innocent bubblegum and power pop. The band was formed in 1973 by teenage friends Jon Rubin (vocals, guitar) and Tommy Dunbar (guitar, keyboards, vocals) along with Royse Adler (bass) and Donn Spindt (drums), but it wasn't until 1977 that they made their recording debut for Beserkley Records. The single, a cover of Tommy James' "I Think We're Alone Now," made an appearance in the lower reaches of the U.S. charts, giving the indie label their first hit. The same year, their self-titled debut LP received rave reviews all-around but failed commercially. Back to the Drawing Board (1979), another solid collection of bouncy pop songs, again went ignored despite its classic single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." The band effectively broke up the following year. Rubin and Dunbar returned in 1983, contributing a pair of songs for the Revenge of the Nerds soundtrack and then teaming with producer Todd Rundgren for the Party of Two EP. "If I Had You Back" from the EP saw some airplay on MTV but it failed to ignite enough interest for the band to go on. In 1989, Tommy Dunbar formed a new band, Vox Pop, with former-Rubinoos Al Chan and Donn Spindt, along with John Seabury, formerly of Psychotic Pineapple. The band's self-titled release arrived in 1998 on Sandbox Records. Two collections of lost Rubinoos recordings were released in the early '90s. The group returned in 2000 with Paleophonic, which was originally a fan club-only release, and headlined that year's International Pop Overthrow festival. Coming back like they had never left in the first place, the band chose to release an all-covers album (Crimes Against Music, Vol. 1) in the fall of 2002.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Rubinoos
• Think
• We're
• Alone
• Now

[psychobollox]

@punkx52 thank you! i wasn't the only one. i think Tuffany's management and production bollocksed her up with that one xx

[punkx52]

This is the best version of this song.. Tiffanys version sucks ass.

[hoboroadie]

When I hear this on the radio, I think "Wow, cool, it's the Rubinoos!" but then it always turns out to the version by that guy that Tommy's brother did a record with @Fantasy.

[melindaofcalifornia]

Love to play this song on the PA system at the High School where I work. The teachers and students love it. They go dancing by my desk.

[noemarie]

@BruceKap440. I go to UC Berkeley and was just talking to a friend about the Rubinoos (it resurfaced on my itunes, haven't been able to listen to it for years since it reminds me of an old friend I miss) and she had heard of them! Ps- my son loves the album.

[BruceKap440]

The Rubinoos were the real shit in Berkeley circa 1978. Best teen pop band ever!

[dtownLaydowns]

I heard this on KALX and have been looking for it. I thought it was a new (remake) song.

[MrMonsterstiffy]

they opened for Elvis Costello @ the Berkeley Community Theater. Elvis walked off after 30 minutes... The Rubinoos were so much better. It was worth 8$ to see them.

[judyywhite]

I still have this album and love it.