"We threw our hopes upon the fire
and watch the embers glow
we wait until the fire dies out
and then we knew, we knew it was ..."

From "House of Pain" on the album
"Scenic Views", by Rubber Rodeo.

I listen to "Scenic Views" regularly -- it's a fun mix of New Wave and country music.

"Anywhere With You" was a treasure hunt song for years -- I heard it on the radio once, maybe twice in the 80s, but didn't know who it was recorded by. It was a big deal when I finally found it on an 80s compilation CD.

Bob Holmes was raised in Ohio, before he went off to RISD for life as a New Wave musician, so I feel a kinship with him, struggling with the intersection of the identities of 'simple country boy' and 'freaky artist', and I think the songs on this album express a sincere understanding of the feelings and emotions of the average, rural American -- whether Bob shares those feelings or not.

"Scenic Views" doesn't have a Wikipedia page, but here's the video for "Anywhere With You."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn2iPv1Qgaw

#NewWave
#RubberRodeo

"Scenic Views" by Rubber Rodeo.

I like this a lot - a mix of 80s New Wave and Country and Western performed by art school students.

Put that way - it sounds awful - but it's also a pretty accurate description of who I was in the 80s, so the fact that I enjoy it isn't a surprise.

Bob Holmes is currently performing as part of SUSS, an ambient country band that I also like very much.

#RubberRodeo
#BobHolmes
#Suss

\https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_Rodeo

"SUSS"
"SALT"
Mastodon Post

Salt
from Ghost Box (Expanded) by SUSS

https://suss.bandcamp.com/track/salt-2

One or, I think, two members of SUSS were in a New Wave / Western band, Rubber Rodeo, out of Providence, Rhode Island. "New wave," in this instance, has more to do with The Cars, as one terrific example, and less to do with what 1980s/MTV kids call "new wave." Rubber Rodeo was quite good and it had a hit single, "The Hardest Thing."

SUSS takes the ambient country/western idea to completion. I have only heard "Ghost Box: Expanded." "Salt" is one of my favorite tracks.

:

Music Museum of New England short article

https://www.mmone.org/rubber-rodeo/

:

#1980smusic #ambientcountry #ambientcountrymusic #bandcamp #carsband #ghostbox #ghostboxexpanded #mmone #mtv #musicmuseumofnewengland #musicnews #nemsbk #newenglandbands #newenglandmusic #newwaverock #newyorkbands #newyorkcity #newyorkmusic #providencerhodeisland #providenceri #rhodeislandbands #rhodeislandmusic #rubberrodeo #salttrack #suss #thecars #thecarsband #thehardestthing

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