Dave Navarro and Jane’s Addiction’s rejection of MTV Unplugged

Dave Navarro of the Jane’s Addiction recently revealed why the band turned down the opportunity to perform at MTV Unplugged in 1991 expressing all his regret for that decision with a statement published on Instagram.

The guitarist explained the band’s motivations at the time and reflected on how their perspective has changed over the years. “In 1991, during the first Lollapalooza tour, MTV asked my band if they would be willing to participate in an acoustic performance to be broadcast on the channel. We thought that if we accepted, it would seem like a commercial operation dictated by speculation, and we were from the underground and wanted to remain so.”

However, in hindsight, Navarro acknowledged how the band’s decision may have been short-sighted. “We couldn’t imagine that two of the greatest albums, containing brilliant performances and genuine brilliance, would come out of that show. Man, we were a bunch of idiots.”

Dave Navarro he then elaborated on his current perspective on the missed opportunity at the time. “The previous story was one of my responses to a post about some of the classic MTV Unplugged albums, and I thought it was an interesting tidbit from our history that was worth sharing. I think we missed the opportunity to do a live acoustic performance that would stay within the creative boundaries we set for ourselves.”

THE Jane’s Addiction they headlined the first tour of Lollapalooza of 1991, which represented their farewell after the release of their second album “Habitual Ritual”. That tour ended chaotically with an onstage brawl between Perry Farrell And Dave Navarro during the first concert, in which Navarro threw his guitar into the audience. A prequel to what happened in September 2024 when on stage Farrell punched Navarro and wrote the final word (for now) on the life of the band.

The band’s relationship with MTV was strangely not the best. Louder Sound reported that “Been Caught Stealing” And “Stop!”both songs included in “Habitual Ritual”they had gotten a massive rotation on MTVincreasing their popularity in alternative rock. It’s ironic that while they achieved mainstream success thanks to MTVat the same time they rejected what would become one of that broadcaster’s most prestigious platforms.