Seven chipmunks twirling on a branch...

Thanks to Jon for the tag.

1. 'Get on the Snake' -- Soundgarden (Louder Than Love)

Cornell in Louder Than Live: "This song is from a movie that nobody saw." I have no idea what the lyrics mean, beyond any sexual innuendo, but they seem to be one of the first examples of Cornell fooling around with nonsensical lyrics for the sake of rhyming:

Get on the snake / Where the metal river bleeds
Get on the snake / Where you never will believe
Hey baby, what's your disease?
My heart's bleeding / I'm dying to leave

Sweet, bendy riff. And it's in 9/4 time (guitarist Kim Thayil: "You can't dance to it, but it sort of sneaks up on you anyway.").

2. 'Kill/Ride' medley -- MetallicA (Live)

A staple of their live shows in the late 90's, the medley seamlessly combines six songs from their first two albums (Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning) -- 'Ride the Lightning,' 'No Remorse,' 'Hit the Lights,' 'The Four Horsemen,' 'Phantom Lord,' and 'Fight Fire With Fire.' My favorite version is from the concert video Cunning Stunts, which substitutes 'Phantom Lord' with 'Seek and Destroy'. A concise and kickass way of running through their earlier, groundbreaking material.

3. 'No Shelter' -- Rage Against The Machine (Godzilla soundtrack)

Commerford's sly bass line, like a heartbeat, introduced RATM v3.0. Every one of their albums showed extraordinary growth as they evolved from a marriage of hard rock/metal and rap into an organic, grooving, hip-hop rock beast. This song set the agenda for their last two albums (Battle of Los Angeles and Renegades) and stands as the only good thing to ever come out of the Godzilla remake.

4. 'Curse' -- Meliah Rage (The Deep and Dreamless Sleep)

From their latest effort, The Deep and Dreamless Sleep, Boston-based Meliah Rage throws their old thrash fans a bone. 'Curse' is fast, heavy, loud, and a little bit ugly -- different from their leaner, more accessible modern sound. The lyrics are ham-fisted ("Nothing lasts forever/Better or for worse/Nothing lasts forever/Living is a curse"), but heavy metal's not known for its subtlety.

5. 'I Might Be Wrong' -- Radiohead (Amnesiac)

The opening yawns like a slow morning, with soft, ringing notes. The quiet is then cut in by a slinky, yet bouncy bass line that dominates the rhythm, giving the song a touch of electronic dance music, which is then contrasted by Yorke's quiet murmuring vocals. The outro temporarily shifts the mood and rhythm -- quiet arpeggios and Yorke's subdued yearning -- only to have that hypnotizing bass line return to show us the way out. Like a lot of Radiohead's later stuff, its a strange mix of styles, but they always seem to be able to make it their own (or they ripped off somebody else -- I'm just not well informed enough to know).

6. 'Down' -- Pearl Jam (Riot Act B-Side / Lost Dogs)

Dedicated to Howard Zinn, 'Down' is one of the most upbeat, uplifting songs Pearl Jam has written. The first half talks of desperation, addiction, hopelessness, and self pity. "Cry me a river," Eddie sings, "All's for naught." But instead of wallowing the lyrics in gloom and doom music, you can tell from the beginning that this song is different -- driving opening chords, the uptempo backbeat, the major chord progression. The second half is all about redemption:

Rise -- life is in motion, I'm stuck in line / Oh rise -- you can't be neutral on a moving train.
If hope could grow from dirt like me / It can be done.
Won't let the light escape from me / Won't let the darkness swallow me.

Instead of railing against the world, here they try and comfort and reassure, and it's a nice change of pace.

7. 'Lifeless Dead' -- Mad Season (Above)

A side project featuring Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), and Baker, Mad Season is one of the best collaborations to come out of the 'grunge' era. A lot of their music came from improvisation and jamming, creating a very organic sound for a hard rock band. 'Lifeless Dead' is actually one of the least improvisational, employing a rather standard rock structure, but the tone, hazy ambience, and Staley's slightly atonal harmonies put the song askance.
Three members of the band, Staley, McCready, and Baker, were either recovering or active addicts of alcohol and drugs, and their one and only album, Above, deals mostly with struggle and quiet acceptance of responsibility. Sadly, Staley and Baker both died from drug overdoses, while McCready made a full recovery. This album stands as the last great work of Staley.