MTV Awards: Even Bob Dole Would Approve : Backstage: Stars get candid about MTV awards show--’It’s not all Oscar-like,’ Dr. Dre says.

NEW YORK —  To see the stars’ true colors at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, you had to be backstage--or at least below stage. After (or in some cases before) making their appearances, many of the nominees, performers and presenters trotted down below, where they fielded paparazzi and gave their candid, sometimes surprising impressions of the goings-on.

For instance, you might expect those notoriously down-to-earth dudes in R.E.M., recipients of this year’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, to be put off by the fabulousness of an event like this one. But singer Michael Stipe insisted that wasn’t the case.

“I kind of like the schmooziness of it myself,” Stipe said. “Some people here really love what they do, and others are just stars--which is OK too.”

For Stipe, a highlight of the evening was meeting the young women in the hip-hop/R&B; group TLC for the first time. “That was very exciting. They’re from Atlanta and we’re from Athens [Georgia], so it was great to meet people who are from our home turf.”

Best male video winner Tom Petty said that he doesn’t enjoy awards shows much as a rule, but admitted, “It’s nice to be patted on the back. And this show is better than all the other ones, ‘cause it’s not about who wins. It’s just very entertaining.”

Dr. Dre enjoyed the laid-back vibe of the ceremony in particular. “Everybody’s just comin’ by and havin’ fun,” he said. “It’s not all Oscar-like, you know?” But the winner of this year’s best rap video award added, “MTV still doesn’t play enough hip-hop. Period.”

Other stars were wowed by some of their peers’ live performances. Michael Jackson’s opening routine was a big favorite with artists ranging from Seal and Polly Jean Harvey to sister Janet.

“I was standing up the whole time screaming,” she said, laughing. “It was like when I saw him at Wembley [Stadium in London], and I was louder than anyone in the audience--screaming and cursing! It was such an amazing opening that I lost control.”

And what about Madonna? Her Blondeness, whose heartwarming reconciliation with Courtney Love was a high point of the off-stage television coverage, wanted everyone to know how impressed she was by Alanis Morissette.

“Watching Alanis perform tonight gave me goose bumps, and I felt really proud,” purred Madonna, who happens to own Maverick Records, the label that signed Morissette.

Incidentally, Madonna’s buddy, NBA star Dennis Rodman, was among the numerous sports figures attending the awards, and he bumped into his old flame that evening. “She has this new love now,” the basketball star demurred. “But you never know!”