Woke up this morning feeling the weight of the world, the sky outside mirroring my mood – heavy and gray. A looming to-do list and the need for a serious caffeine injection led me to my usual spot, a corner table at Starbucks. Laptop open, staring blankly at the screen, the motivation to tackle my daunting degree work was… well, absent. Procrastination took over, and instead of diving into research papers, my fingers instinctively typed “Blind Melon No Rain video” into YouTube. Six hours melted away, replaced by a nostalgic dive into 90s alternative rock, all thanks to a four-minute music video. And you know what? It worked. The darkness lifted.
“No Rain” by Blind Melon. It’s a song that evokes complicated feelings in my household, and perhaps for many others too. As a long-time Blind Melon enthusiast, I’ve often considered it a somewhat simplistic track compared to the band’s deeper cuts. Blind Melon, despite their tragically short discography of just three albums, gifted the world with a wealth of incredible music. Tracks like the electrifying “Change” and the soulful “Soup” showcase the band’s true musical depth. Yet, “No Rain” occupies a unique space. My wife openly admits her dislike, bordering on aversion. My kids enjoy it, but it’s not their go-to anthem. And for me, my opinion fluctuates wildly. Some days it’s their masterpiece, other times it feels like a catchy tune, enjoyable but not groundbreaking.
But today, unequivocally, “No Rain” is their best song. It’s the perfect sonic antidote to a gloomy day.
The beauty of “No Rain” lies in its simplicity. Musically, it’s not overly complex; many musicians could likely pick it up quickly. However, for me, the hallmark of truly great music isn’t technical complexity. It’s the power to stir emotions, to shift your mood, to resonate on a deeper level. And “No Rain” is pure, unadulterated joy. It’s an inherently happy song, perfectly complemented by a music video radiating optimism, all created when Blind Melon was a band on the cusp of major success, brimming with potential.
The story behind the “No Rain” video is almost as compelling as the song itself. After signing with Capitol Records, Blind Melon released three singles prior to “No Rain,” none of which achieved significant traction. Album sales languished around 150,000 copies. Recognizing the song’s potential, a couple of advocates within the label passionately urged the executives to invest in a music video for “No Rain.” Reluctantly, they agreed, but with a meager budget of $75,000, entrusting the project to director Jeremy Hammond. Ted Devine, VP of A&R at Capitol, in Greg Prato’s insightful Blind Melon oral history, “A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other,” recounted the situation: “We were under no pressure … only that everything was riding on this.”
Hammond’s vision for the video was ingenious and low-budget brilliance. He sought a girl to embody the outcast, someone relatable rather than conventionally beautiful – echoing the spirit of the song’s hopeful message. They auditioned and rejected numerous conventionally cute child actors before finding Heather DeLoach, who, ironically, “grew up to be very pretty.” The now-iconic video was filmed in a field near the Reagan Library outside Los Angeles. Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon’s charismatic and deeply troubled frontman, even shaved his signature goatee for the shoot. Adding to the day’s surreal atmosphere, Hoon reportedly arrived on set under the influence of LSD. When later questioned about this, he simply stated, “It was such a beautiful day.” Perhaps sunshine is indeed the best setting for such an experience – a day with “no rain,” metaphorically and literally.
The resulting music video for “No Rain Song” became an instant classic and remains timelessly appealing. It’s quirky, fun, and visually beautiful. The field populated with diverse animals adds to its whimsical charm, and there’s even a now-famous photograph of a naked and reportedly still-tripping Hoon alongside a horse, capturing the band’s free-spirited energy.
Shannon Hoon with a Horse during "No Rain" Music Video Shoot
It’s easy to imagine that the “No Rain” video shoot might have been a peak moment for Blind Melon. The band members were young, full of dreams, on the verge of stardom, blissfully unaware of the personal demons and tragic path that lay ahead, particularly for Hoon.
They would go on to achieve significant success – touring globally, opening for legends like the Rolling Stones and Neil Young, performing at Woodstock ’94, and even appearing (nude) on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. They released the critically acclaimed and sonically diverse album “Soup.” Yet, there’s a poignant beauty in the innocence of their early rise, a purity that arguably surpasses the excesses of later fame.
Perhaps, the journey upwards, that initial ascent, is the true success. It’s a stage often overshadowed by the pursuit of sustained fame and recognition, but in retrospect, it holds a unique magic. “No Rain,” the song and its video, perfectly encapsulate that fleeting moment of pure, unadulterated potential and joy. And sometimes, revisiting that feeling, even through a simple four-minute video, is all it takes to brighten a dark day.
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