Considered as one of the most important Latin rock groups of all time, the Argentinian power trio’s MTV Unplugged set is dripping with musicality, with the group somehow forgetting the acoustic-only memo for the majority of their set and flexing their mind-boggling instrumental prowess on cuts like ‘En La Ciudad De La Furia’ and ‘Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como Un Revolver’ to make for an incredibly memorable set. There’s a good chance you mightn’t have heard of Soda Stereo before, and if not, here’s a great opportunity to sink your teeth into what makes them great. Even in an unplugged setting, Peter Garrett still manages to contort and twist his limbs in tandem with his explosive vocal delivery on ‘Truganini’, and the band’s ridiculously tight performance of ‘Bed’s Are Burning’ is simply unbeatable. Taking to the stage in 1993 to film an Unplugged set of their own, Australian rock heroes Midnight Oil certainly pulled no punches with their dynamite acoustic performance. Performing a relatively short set of nine songs – sans covers – the Irish alt-rockers kept things simple and cranked out the hits, playing ‘Zombie’ and ‘Linger’ to a huge response from the crowd and even using the show to debut two new songs in ‘I’m Still Remembering’ and ‘Free To Decide’. Some bands are just tailor made to shine in an acoustic setting, and there’s no better example of this than with The Cranberries’ MTV set. Today, we’re taking a walk through the holy pantheon of music television to uncover the 15 greatest MTV Unplugged sessions of all time, exploring the greatest moments of each set and their impact upon music today. However, the show also proved to be a major hotbed for showcasing a number of other styles, with several hip-hop acts taking advantage of the show to prove their genre was so much more than just samples, bars and beats. Airing regularly from 1989 through to 1999, the program proved to be a huge cultural force throughout the ’90s, giving the opportunity for older artists to reinvent themselves and younger bands to prove themselves on the big screen.Īrmed with acoustics and often performing to hushed crowds in intimate venues, MTV Unplugged was particularly seen as an essential vessel for bands in the grunge movement, and as such, is considered a holy relic of the grunge era.
However, if MTV ever got one thing right, it was with the series MTV Unplugged. On one hand, they’re the groundbreaking channel that helped to break some of the most important bands and genres of the ’80s and ’90s and on the other, they’re just another platform for brands to spew bile in the slots between tacky reality shows and pop star drama.
Words by Will Brewster Historically, MTV has been a major source of contention for many within the music industry.
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