The B-52s entertain at The 40 Watt in 2002. (File * The Red & Black)

The 20th anniversary MTV Video Music Awards air tonight, and music-minded students will be tuning in.

Performances at the Chris Rock-hosted show include Good Charlotte, Coldplay and Christina Aguilera. There will be no Athenians attending the big show.

So the question is raised: has there ever been any band or performer from the "best college music town" -- according to Rolling Stone magazine -- to grace the stage at the VMAs?

The two largest bands to hit the mainstream scene from Athens both took home awards more than a decade ago.

The B-52s won the Best Group Video Award in 1990 for "Love Shack." R.E.M., on the heels of their hit, "Losing My Religion," won Breakthrough Video and Best Direction in 1991.

According to Mike Richmond, lead singer for Love Tractor, winning the best group video for "Love Shack" only further skyrocketed the B-52s' careers.

Richmond and Love Tractor toured with the B-52's during the fall of '89 and spring of '90 on the B-52s' "Cosmic Thing" tour.

Richmond reminisced about coliseums filled with 12,000 people and ending his stint of the tour by performing at the Radio City Music Hall.

However, upon his return to the Classic City, Richmond found that the Athens music scene had evolved by embracing an emerging trend of grunge music.

University Alum David Onyskiw agreed, saying that bands were copying Soundgarden and Nirvana with more distortion and harder playing.

"The people who are really into music wanted something new -- the next big sound," Onyskiw said of the early '90s music scene.

Lars Gotrich, WUOG radio's local music director, said the B-52s and R.E.M. were riding the ebbing tide of jangly, underground pop created out of new wave music from the late '80s.

"Athens has a lot of different genres including pop, indie rock, country rock, punk and hip-hop," Gotrich said of the current scene.

Nationally, Drive-By Truckers and Bubba Sparxxx seem to be the hottest performers emerging from Athens.

Franklin Bunn, who recently toured with the band Rocket 350, disagrees with Gotrich about the local music scene. Bunn feels that it's very hard for any musicians who hail from Athens to make it mainstream -- much less to the VMAs.

"Athens has no punk scene," he said. "Punk is dead. Athens has no country or bluegrass scene. Rock scene? No way. Blues scene -- nope. My advice to any wannabe musicians is: Rent an apartment in Athens and then hit the road. If you want to make money in Athens and play music, get a law degree."

Bunn said he feels Athens is dominated by a four-year cycle that's propelled by students rocking the bars for little or no money, while real musicians aren't able to survive on the leftovers.

Taylor Coggin, of the band Beijing, agreed.

"The only musicians making a living in Athens are the waiters and dishwashers," he said.

However, Coggin disagreed with Bunn on the state of music in Athens, saying that non-student musicians considered music an art.

"We don't want to be famous," he added. "We want to be almost famous. It's all about playing in bars, drinking beer and picking up chicks. Well -- not really picking up chicks -- but having a good time."

While most musicians admit Athens is all about music, the consensus is that the VMAs aren't a local act.

"It's not about being a rock-star with tailor-made music or the obvious sell-out grab," Richmond said. "Athens is about people in the indie scene who keep it small and do their own thing."

The VMAs air live on MTV at 8 tonight.