For anyone who grew up watching MTV for the music rather than the reality shows, the following news should be of some interest:
"The Police, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Mary J. Blige and John Mayer are among the multi-genre artists planned to break out the critically acclaimed Unplugged music franchise for new audiences across MTV, VH1 and CMT," reads a publicity notice issued yesterday.
To be honest, none of the artists listed above really get me excited. But it's nice to see the series reactivated. Who knows? Maybe someone real interesting — like Prince or The White Stripes — could be part of it in the future. Some of my fondest music memories and favorite CDs are part of the MTV Unplugged series, with Nirvana's performance topping my list followed by Neil Young's and Bob Dylan's. Pearl Jam's, which has never been officially released but is widely available as a bootleg, is another one that comes to mind.
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 5, 2007.