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Life & Arts

Add quality to MTV by reviving a classic hit

Music Notes 

Eli Jabbe

When it comes to the world of music, there are several ways that the music a fan listens to can be enhanced. Of course, listening to an album can be enjoyable, but other ways of experiencing music, such as live concerts, provide variety. One of the most memorable concert series that music has seen is MTV's Unplugged.

This unique series featured acoustic performances from many artists from all spectrums of music. The fact that performers played acoustic guitars is where the show's name derives from. Debuting almost a decade ago in 1989, Unplugged has become almost a rite of passage for musicians, as almost every well-known artist has graced its stage: Nirvana, Sting, Jay-Z and Mariah Carey, to name a few.

Unplugged's creativity is undeniable, as artists have always used the platform to step out of their usual routine. For example, Nirvana's 1994 performance featured Kurt Cobain doing covers of several songs, such as "The Man Who Sold The World." Cobain's rendition of this song is classic, and to this day the Unplugged version of the song performed by the late, great artist is more well-known and loved by fans than the original version performed by David Bowie. In fact, many aren't even familiar with the original version, so in a way artists like Cobain who performed covers of songs on Unplugged introduced older songs to a new generation of music fans.

What makes the Unplugged series additionally memorable is these performances have been released afterwards as albums. One of the more successful Unplugged releases is Jay-Z's 2001 performance. Jay-Z performed a flawless set, thanks in part to The Roots. 

With a varied list of performers from all genres, and creative experiments with songs, it seems like Unplugged would be a show that would stick around for a long time. Unfortunately, the show has all but disappeared. Alicia Keys' 2005 performance was a revival of the show because it was the first time the show was seen in a few years. Keys' performance was a success but the future of the show has remained uncertain. One thing that is easily noticeable is that the frequency of performances on the show has reduced drastically. There were often plenty of Unplugged performances in the past, now fans are lucky to see one. Instead, MTV has gone down a route of showing silly shows such as My Super Sweet 16. 

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