On May 26, 1984 — just three months after the release of ‘The Smiths’ — a young and occasionally smiling Morrissey appeared on the BBC TV game show ‘Pop Quiz,’ which pitted two teams of musicians against each other in a battle of musical knowledge hosted by a ridiculously attired DJ named Mike Read.

The latest side project from R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck — the country-tinged Tired Pony, fronted by Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody — stopped by the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ last night to perform ‘Dead American Writers,’ off the band’s just-released debut ‘The Place We Ran From.’

The Vaselines made their American TV debut last night, playing the title track to their new album, ‘Sex With an X,’ on ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,’ as well as a web-only performance of ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,’ the song made famous by Nirvana’s ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’ cover version.

Today we celebrate Concrete Blonde frontwoman Johnette Napolitano’s 53rd birthday by forgoing some of the more obvious cuts from the late ’80s or the band’s breakthrough album ‘Bloodletting,’ and instead digging up this early 1994 performance of ‘Mexican Moon’ on the ‘Late Show with David Letterman.’

The second episode of DirecTV’s new performance and discussion show ‘Guitar Center Sessions’ — capturing the short-lived Jane’s Addiction lineup with Duff McKagan — premieres next weekend, and the series has posted this video of the band doing an unplugged ‘Jane Says’ as a preview.

Given the number of ’80s riffs that make it into the scripts of USA’s mystery/comedy ‘Psych,’ it comes as no surprise to see Tears For Fears’ Curt Smith doing a cameo (as himself) on last week’s episode.

For our latest installment of Vintage Video, we flash back to March 1984 to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers — long before they became sensitive alt-rock balladeers — make their television debut on the ‘Thicke of the Night’ talk show’s one and only season.