Hello everyone! It's Monday, which means it's time for another medley.

To start up, I have a song from Finnish power metal exemplars Nightwish. I should start by saying that Nightwish isn't my favorite power metal band, but they are without a doubt the most famous. They have a name that resonates even with the less initiated, even with those who never listen to metal. Let me also say that I pretend like the last three or so albums never happened. Once operatic vocalist Tarja Turunen left the band became a shell of its former self, hawking a mediocre poppy sound with an inferior replacement vocalist. That said, their older albums are still excellent. This song is from their 2007 album Oceanborn. This is "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion."

Now for a change of pace, let's slow it down just a bit. I've made no secret of my love for the music of Modest Mouse, a band that's often tragically thought of as a one-hit-wonder band due to the massive success of their song "Float On." (Funnily enough, when I saw them in concert they didn't even play that song) This song from an earlier album features a brooding guitar riff underlacing the narrator's malaise ("I get up just about noon / my head sends a message for me to reach for my shoes and then walk / gotta go to work gotta go to work gotta have a job"). This is "Custom Concern"

In 1999 rapper and producer El-P (now famous for being half of Run the Jewels) co-founded a new underground label by the name of Definitive Jux (a play of sorts on DefJam Records) and proceeded to sign a number of innovative underground acts mostly clustered around New York City. At present the label is unfortunately not active (though not officially dead), but at one point they counted among their acts the likes of Aesop Rock, Camu Tao, C-Rayz Walz, Despot, El-P, Rob Sonic, and the Weathermen. This song, a remix of Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire's "Huzzah" features a few Def Jux alumni as well as their friends. Roll call: Despot, Kool-AD (of Das Racist), Heems (of Das Racist), Danny Brown, El-P (featuring cameo by Killer Mike), and Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire. Personal highlights include Heems deeming himself "worst rapper on the track, third coolest" and El-P cleverly counting up to 16 using a number of word devices.

And lastly we have a terrific song by an asshole (sorry, Billy, you know what you are). This is Galapagos by Smashing Pumpkins.