[This is a pre-print version of a chapter I wrote for Underground Music Cultures and Music Making in Los Angeles: ‘Imaginary Cities’, edited by Sébastian Darchen, John Wilsteed, and Damien Charrierias (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).]
A buzzword of rock history and Los Angeles cultural memory, the Paisley Underground was the scene that was never actually a scene. The term refers to a group of musicians based in the greater Los Angeles area who began performing and recording in 1981, when L.A. rock had entered its post-punk period in both the local underground (e.g., the emergence of hardcore punk) and exports to the pop charts (The Knack, The Go-Go’s). Paisley Underground bands incorporated pre-punk influences — styles and themes associated with the mid-to-late 60s psychedelic generation, from pop acts like The Mamas & The Papas and Paul Revere & The Raiders to countercultural pioneers like The Velvet Underground and The Doors — into their musical remit, thereby challenging punk rock’s ‘year zero’ stance while drawing upon its DIY ethos. The ways Paisley Underground musicians negotiated this apparent contradiction on their early LPs and EPs drew favorable attention from local media, British music press, and music zines worldwide. With one or two notable exceptions, none of the Paisley Underground bands enjoyed commercial success on par with their critical acclaim, and their collective moment came to an inconspicuous end by the mid-80s, amid the continuing evolution of L.A.’s musical underground. Yet decades later, the ‘Paisley Underground’ is cited among collectors, writers, musicians, and other fans to connote anything from particular uses of 60s “retro” styles in guitar rock to a broader neo psychedelic impulse in underground rock across multiple continents.
In this chapter, I examine the Los Angeles legacy of the Paisley Underground through three “L.A. stories.” The first involves its origins, as I discuss the Paisley Underground’s historical parameters by identifying its key bands and scrutinizing its status as a music ‘scene’ (or not). The second story involves its urban representations, as I examine its musical styles, visual imagery, and lyrical themes, situating its neo psychedelic themes, relationship narratives, and references to literary and artistic traditions alongside its references to Los Angeles (or not). The third story centers on the prescience of the Paisley Underground’s aesthetic sensibility for a future Los Angeles, in which its musicians deploy cultural capital to revitalize and synthesize overlooked musical styles in ways that would see wider urban parallels after their ‘scene’ ends. Though modest in commercial connection with audiences of the time, the Paisley Underground anticipated the sociological emergence of a suburban, middle-class subjectivity that consumes overlooked traditions and seeks communities of affinity in the cultures and spaces of Los Angeles today.
Next – join my gang: the mythical scene…
ROAD MAP TO THE PAISLEY UNDERGROUND: