Rain Parade

Resident heroes of L.A.'s fabled Paisley Underground, Rain Parade were an aural delight of lush, psychedelic atmospheres and brilliant songwriting. Brothers David (Opal/Mazzy Star) and Steven (Viva Saturn) Roback and Matt Piucci made Rickenbacker guitars creepy and beautiful, bleeding them of weeping, moody feedback and detuned, Middle Eastern melody. As if their phantom moans and slow, syrupy meters weren't brilliant enough on their own, Rain Parade's songs were impeccably written with kinetic, flowing, and tersely bittersweet melodies. Some of their finest moments are documented on the band's 1983 Restless debut Emergency Third Rail Power Trip and 1984 follow-up EP Explosions in the Glass Palace, which contains the beautiful, calmative yet upbeat gem "You Are My Friend," as well as the tearful, yearning "Broken Horse."