MTV aired many great moments in music history but rarely did the music network have a hand in actually creating them. But such was the case in November 1993 when Nirvana performed on the acoustic music series MTV Unplugged. Surrounded by candles and lilies, Kurt Cobain shied away from his band’s big hits, instead preferring to cover the likes of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World” and the traditional folk song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” The performance was one of Cobain’s last; he would commit suicide just six months later. Nirvana’s Unplugged performance — subsequently released as a multiplatinum album — captured the band in all its stark, depressive beauty.
Top 10 MTV Moments
For everyone who remembers when MTV used to play music videos, the news that the cable channel had removed the phrase "Music Television" from its logo only made its long metamorphosis into a reality-tv channel official. TIME takes a look at some of the best moments in MTV history.
