With the return of The CW's humdrum spin-off soap 90210 this week (March 9), we guilty-pleasure seekers are likely to be treated to a season of catfights, trysts, and--most importantly--new music cameos.

Like its contemporaries Gossip Girl and The OC, the new 90210 has made an obvious effort to include of-the-moment soundtracks sprinkled with the occasional live band performance. Lest we forget the nighttime soap that started the trend, we give you an ode to the best live performances from the original nighttime teenage soap, Beverly Hills 90210.

Though the list mainly comprises so-bad-they're-good episodes from the first series, simply omitting the new version's musical contributions would do the franchise an injustice. So they'll receive a few shout outs here as well.

Flaming Lips: She Don't Use Jelly on Beverly Hills 90210 from Chris Buly on Vimeo.

1. The Flaming Lips: Performed at The After Dark during "Love Hurts" (Beverly Hills 90210 Season 5, 1995). This intense episode (attempted rape, friend betrayals) was made much more pleasant with a Transmissions from the Satellite Heart-era performance by the Flaming Lips of perennial hit "She Don't Use Jelly." The appearance marks a peculiar moment in the Lips' road to stardom, nestled in between the group's early days as psychedelic acid-dropping troublemakers and its current gig as universally-respected rock megastars. Best line of the night (uttered by blonde frat boy Steve Sanders, natch: "You know, I've never been a big fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!"). Last year singer Wayne Coyne reminisced about that fateful performance on another Web site, stating: "It was absurd, it was kind of humiliating, it was kind of fun, it was kind of ridiculous." 

2. Color Me Badd: Sang a cappella while sitting on backwards-facing chairs in the Peach Pit during "Things to Do On A Rainy Day" (Beverly Hills 90210 Season 2, 1992). The '90s R&B group was chock full of rainbow colored sports coats, gelled hair, and god awful lyrics-- but who can resist pop hits such as "I Wanna Sex You Up" or "I Adore Mi Amor?" The latter was performed for Donna Martin after her crestfallen discovery of an affair between her mother and another man. Kelly Taylor saves the day by sneaking into the Badd hotel room and somehow convincing the group to serenade her BFF at their favorite local diner. 

3. The Cardigans: Play Kelly's 1920s style grad party during "Graduation Day" (Beverly Hills 90210 Season 7, 1997). After Baz Luhrmann's angsty Romeo + Juliet hit the big screen in 1996, it seemed like every teenage girl had The Cardigan's sweet refrain "Lovefool" on repeat all summer long. What better to way capitalize on this trend than with angsty teen lexicon, Beverly Hills 90210. The Cardigans, an adorable Swedish outfit fronted by cherub-cheeked pixie Nina Persson, played its memorable hit for a crowd of suicidal (Valerie Malone attempt to off herself before the performance) fornicators (Donna loses her virginity in this key episode).

4. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds: Performed at a carnival during "Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington"(Beverly Hills 90210 Season 4, 1994). Edmonds performs his hit "When Can I See You Again" in this explosive two-part episode during which David Silver experiences some pretty exceptional highs and lows in a 24-hour period. Silver's asked to play backup keyboards for Babyface, then gets caught cheating on his girlfriend with a groupie/record exec. Random fact - Babyface has two sons, one named Brandon and one named Dylan (also the names of two main characters on the show). Is it an eerie coincidence or an attempt at forever commemorating his appearance?

5. The Cramps: Played the After Dark during "Gypsies, Cramps and Fleas" (Beverly Hills 90210, Season 5, 1995). The goth-punk band performed, fittingly, during a Halloween episode. Though the New York rockers, fronted by Lux Interior, reached legendary status in the underground music world, the Cramps were merely a freaky blip in the lives of these Beverly Hills co-eds -- their set is largely overshadowed by a brawl amongst Donna's boyfriends. Interior does, however, get a choice line in before the group's performances of songs "Mean Machine" and "Strange Love." With a black-lipsticked smirk he asks, "Hey boys and ghouls, are you ready to raise the dead?"

6. Kara's Flowers (Maroon 5): Play the After Dark during "Forgive and Forget" (Beverly Hills 90210, Season 8, 1997). Kara's Flowers (the band later morphed into Maroon 5) performed during another hectic episode of the classic program--replete with an avenging boyfriend (Brandon Walsh) chasing down a drive-by shooter and lurid affairs (Valerie and Noah's quickie). In 2007 singer Adam Levine discussed the group's appearance with Rolling Stone: "I was a bit star-struck. Tiffani-Amber Thiessen [Valerie] thought we were all on cocaine...And there was Brian Austin Green [David] -- he wanted to talk to me about music. I remember him telling me that his new album was coming out. I was enthralled [laughs]."

7. Jamie Walters: Played "Ray Pruit" during a 39-episode Beverly Hills 90210 arc that took him from stage-frightened valley bumpkin to egomaniacal touring musician to jerk girlfriend-beater. Walters was having the time of his life in mid-1990s. His single "How Do You Talk to An Angel?" was a hit and Aaron Spelling created a crunchy country-rock character specifically for him. It was a cross-promotional dream. But with fame came the immediate backlash as young girls around the world started confusing him with his alter ego. During a 1999 MTV interview he explained the dilemma: "I'm like trying to sell tickets on our tour, and there's like teenage girls out there who think, like they really think I'm an abusive guy you know, and they'd hold up signs saying like 'leave Donna alone.'"

8. Brian Austin Green: Plays the beach club during "Castles in the Sand" (Beverly Hills 90210, Season 3, 1992). Green played recurring main character David Silver but something magical happened when our beloved music geek attempted an ill-advised go at stardom during a handful of beachy summer episodes. In this particular episode he played a little keyboard ditty known as "Be My Love." Note that Green did eventually attempt an actual offshoot music career with the atrocious rap album, One Stop Carnival.

9. Tilly & the Wall: Performed at Naomi Clark's birthday party during "We're Not In Kansas Anymore" (90210 Season 1, 2008). The tap-dancing Omaha quintet managed to outshine even the bitchiest of West Bev students with its infectious "Pot Kettle Black." Tilly & The Wall played the series premiere of the new 90210 and kicked it off with a bang, or should we say a stomp? The group affectively ushered in a new era of 90210, where the fashion was bright and the music indie rock-approved. 

10. Little Jackie: Little Jackie played the homecoming dance during "There's No Place Like Homecoming" (90210, Season 1, 2008). Sultry vocalist Imani Coppola sings danceable hip hop jams "The World Should Revolve Around Me" and "The Stoop" during the new class's first major school function. While Coppola struts, Annie Wilson and Ethan Ward make a love connection while Ethan's ex Naomi fumes. Drama!

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