It’s hard to get one’s brain started on a Monday (especially if you stayed up to watch Curiosity last night). To get synapses firing, here are three killer spoken-word performances from last month’s TEDxBoston.

Kemi Alabi: Unlovelies in the Key of C Major
Boston University student and slam poet Kemi Alabi takes us to the world of the unlovelies, where she discovers beauty in the ugly.

Franny Choi: POP!goesKOREA!
Writer and slam poet Franny Choi mixes up fast-flung words and Korean drinking games in an exploration of cute culture in Seoul.

Marlon Carey: About Time
And finally, spoken-word poet Marlon Carey ruminates on our clockwork existence — while solving a Rubik’s cube.