Recently, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Buzzfeed, CNN, Fox News, The Onion, and all other forms of online media, social or otherwise, exploded with gifs, still images, videos, and opinion pieces bashing, defending, supporting, and otherwise dissecting the performance by the Achy Breaky Heart guy’s dumb kid at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. I didn’t watch it, but if I had, I’m sure I would have also experienced at least one of the 20 or so intended emotional responses to it (most likely “mild disgust and confusion cloaked in feigned disinterest”).

In the past, every few years, the VMAs would whip up some kind of bullshit scandal by exploiting some hyper-sexualized blonde — usually Madonna or Britney Spears (or both) — but in the midst of that there have been some genuinely good performances too. It seems hard to believe, but MTV has been putting on this show for 30 years now — it only makes sense that a handful of decent acts slipped through the cracks. Here are a dozen performances worth watching again.

Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It” – 1984

The Monkees, “I’m a Believer” / “Daydream Believer” – 1986

Run-DMC and Aerosmith, “Walk This Way” – 1987

The Cure, “Just Like Heaven” – 1989

Faith No More, “Epic” – 1990

Nirvana, “Lithium” – 1992

Neil Young and Pearl Jam, “Rockin’ In the Free World” – 1993

Naughty By Nature, “Hip Hop Hooray” – 1993

Beastie Boys, “Sabotage” – 1994

Snoop Dogg, “Murder Was the Case” – 1994

The Cranberries, “Salvation” – 1996

Rage Against the Machine, “Testify” – 2000

 

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