Incubus crooner Brandon Boyd is more than just a pretty face. The alt-rock frontman is known and well revered as an artist as well as deep thinker with several published written works and art books. So, it comes as little surprise that the singer with the surfer hair selects nine “eye-opening” TED talks. And acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design, the non-profit organization started in 1984 is “devoted to ideas worth spreading.”

Several times a year, the organization holds conferences known as the TED Talks where the world’s most “fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less.” The U.S.-based TED Conference calls home to Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, while the TEDGlobal conference returns to Edinburgh UK each summer.

Boyd recently created a playlist of nine of his favorite, choosing stories from philosopher-comedian Emily Levine talk about science, math, society and the way everything connects to Jae Rhim’s mushroom burial suit to Joshua Klein on the intelligence of crows.

The singer is in good company as other notable TEDTalks playlists have been curated by U2 frontman Bono, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, Peter Gabriel, Bill Gates, Ben Affleck and more.

– Jay Tilles, CBS Local