Dodecahedron, "Interlude"
Dodecahedron is a black metal band that plays in the very dissonant end of the pool like a bunch of my favorite metal bands. It's all murky noise and ugly churn, warty and unpredictable. They only have two albums out, and I've only got this one based on a positive reivew I read somewhere, but I like it pretty well.
A Forest of Stars, "Drawing Down the Rain"
Almost seems wrong to put this in the same genre of black metal as Dodecahedron, doesn't it? I mean, there are blast beats and tremelo picking, I guess, but there's something resembling melodies here, not to mention some clean singing, strings, and other non-grim shit. If you played this to somebody who had no exposure to modern metal, it would at least make some sense. Dodecahedron? Not so much.
The Police, "Don't Stand So Close To Me"
Still kinda surprised this was as big a hit as it was, given the lyrics. But, I guess popular culture doesn't think too deeply about songs.
Buck-o-Nine, "Pass The Dutchie"
We've talked a lot about ska covers mostly being kind of shitty, as they're mostly sneering and pointless. But Buck-o-Nine is fundamentally such a cheerful band that doesn't have any kind of mean streak, so this is just fine. Pointless, maybe, but not sneering at all, and upbeat and fun.
Refused, "New Noise"
Refused's landmark The Shape Of Punk To Come makes a bold claim in their title, but they backed it up. There are bits of hardcore in the album, parts of metal, and just a ton of energy and innovation. For a record that came out in 1998, it sounded a million years ahead of its time. Outside of maybe the Dillinger Escape Plan, nobody has really sounded like this, but maybe the punk to come just hasn't yet. At any rate, it's a great record.