We're starting today's medley off with a bang, in the form of Swedish viking metal band Amon Amarth. This song, "Fate of Norns," from the album of the same name, is without a doubt the band's most emotionally charged song, and demonstrates that death growls, in addition to communicating anger can also serve as vector for more complicated and nuanced emotions, in this case grief. The song tells the story of a viking warrior whose son dies ("he was just six winters old") and of his descent into the stages of grief, culminating in the final stage, acceptance, when the warrior understands that the "fate of Norns" comes to all people eventually, however unfair it might seem that a father must bury his son.

Next up is a song from alternative/indie rock/pop group Panic! At the Disco. The song and accompanying video are an interesting synthesis of the sounds and sensibilities of modern pop with big band music, as Brendon Urie plays the role of crooner. This is "Death of a Bachelor."

For our third song we have a fresh-off-the-presses release from my namesake rapper, California based Duckwrth. This song, "Tamagotchi" is a delightful romp of a rap, with a video that takes the rapper across the arid American West in a red convertible. This guy hasn't blown up yet, but he's getting closer and closer to critical mass with every release, and I have full confidence that he'll be a household name in a few years.

Up last is a song by Swedish electronica artist Basshunter. This song was quite an earworm back when it first hit. The story about the song is that the artist was once in a chatroom with a person he believed to be a bot, and even though the "bot" was then revealed to be a real person, "Anna," he would continue to think of her as a bot, leading to the nickname Boten Anna. This is "Boten Anna."