happiness and smiles

I know it's after Thanksgiving, but I kind of wanted to wait for after that to post this. I love this video (It's one of the Mormon messages). They went up to random people on the streets in New York and asked them what they are thankful for. It makes me smile. It's refreshing to see people that are so real and honest and sincere. I think sometimes we forget to be thankful for the small and beautiful things in our everyday lives. Now that Thanksgiving is over, we should keep being grateful for all of our wonderful blessings.

Watch it. I promise it will make you smile.


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Now playing: Snow Patrol - You're All I Have
via FoxyTunes

Discrepancy of Media Ratings (a letter to the MPAA)

Mr. Glickman:

Although the movie rating system is effective to the extent that it helps parents become more aware of the typical content in movies, the ratings are not specific enough to make the difference needed.

The purpose of the ratings seems to be to provide information to parents that will allow them to make informed decisions about media content, in order to help them reduce their children’s exposure to content that may be inappropriate. The current rating system’s problem is that movies with a very large range of inappropriate material often get the same rating.

The 2009 movie Taken is rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.” Contrast this with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, rated PG-13 for “sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images”. There is a huge difference in the themes of the movies and in the amounts of violence and other material presented. These two movies should be considered appropriate for entirely different audiences.

The official rating statement states why a movie was rated that way, but that information is difficult to find. Most websites display the rating but not the content reason for the rating.

Also, the ratings don’t take into account consequences of violence. In the previous examples, the violence in Taken is glorified- the main character used cruel and unusual forms or punishment, and was still portrayed as the hero of the movie. In Harry Potter, the violence is presented in the themes of good vs. evil and in this sense the “good” characters are justified in their violence. The use of glorified violence in Taken makes the movie much less appropriate for younger and more vulnerable audiences.

The rating system should be modified to be more specific. It should be more specific in terms of consistency of ratings and in terms of conveying the content information to the general public.

Sincerely,

Alicia Rae

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Now playing: The Fray - Never Say Never
via FoxyTunes

Ellie and Carl

I finally watched Up! this week and I loved it! My favorite part, hands down, was near the beginning of the movie when there is a montage of Ellie and Carl getting married and living their life together.



Sometimes I think this major has turned me into a big "softie" but this clip was just so cute and so sweet. I feel like so many movies show things as "happily ever after" or they go the opposite way and focus on problems in marriages. I feel like this part of the movie showed more of a realistic view of a happy marriage. Carl and Ellie go on picnics together, hold hands while they're reading, make plans and dreams together, have shared interests and are so happy and so in love. But, they also face hardships. They work hard- they helped build their house, they dealt with disappointments, were not able to have children, and had to break their bank many times because of an unexpected expense.

I loved this- I feel like it compiles everythng that I have learned about good marriages in my classes. A couple of weeks ago, in Dr. Yorgason's Adult Development and Aging class, we talked about the top 8 characteristics that are found in successful long-term marriages (Kaslow & Hammerschmidt, 1992). They are: good problem solving and coping skills, trust in each other, permanent commitment to the marriage, good communication, time together, shared values, give and take, and a deep and abiding love. I just love this clip because I feel like it portrays all of those things, and shows the difficulties of marriage but that you can still be happy through it all.

Seriously, I just love this clip. I want a marriage like that.
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Now playing: Joshua Radin - I'd Rather Be With You
via FoxyTunes

my home videos

Yay for home videos! These are some of my recent favorites.

This is a music video that my friends and I did for a talent show this past summer. This video always makes me smile!

hopefully this link works, it wouldn't let me upload the video

This video is one I made with my family a couple of months ago. It's kind of nice to have to see some of our fun family activities.



Most of the videos I have on my computer are of my roommates doing embarrassing things, and for this reason I can't post many of them. This one is of a few of my friends at the Holi Color Festival at the Hare Krishna temple this past April. I like it because the video does a good job of capturing the environment, and it's nice to hear my friend's voices and see them in "real life", especially because two of these girls are on missions now!


Anyways, the home video lecture just made me look back at all the "home videos" I have on my computer- all from college and there are tons of them. I wasted at least half an hour doing that, but it made me smile, so it's definitely worth it!

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Now playing: Dashboard Confessional - Stolen
via FoxyTunes

look at me!

I feel like I count on the media a lot to get positive reinforcement and attention from others. Case in point:
-This blog itself! I feel like I am always trying to think up the most creative titles and most interesting points to get others to read my blog and comment on it.
-Facebook events. Earlier this semester I had a double birthday party for me and my roommate, and we advertised it on facebook. We spent a long time perfecting the event page, making it look as favorable as possible so lots of people would come. We checked the guest list multiple times a day, to see how many people listed themselves as "attending"- more people equals more popularity!
-Facebook pictures. I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago, and she was asking me for my input on what to post as her album title. She wanted something creative so that people would want to look at the album, as opposed to just a boring title. I do the same thing, hoping that if my title is funny/creative/cool enough that more people will look at my pictures.

Anyway, I'm sure I could think of tons more examples, but I'll quit boring you to death with this feeble attempt to get media attention! Now, for the shameless question that hopefully gets you to comment on my blog, so that I feel validated! : Do you guys do this too? Do you think it's a bad thing that media lets us do this so easily, or would we just do the same thing in different ways without the media?
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Now playing: Sarah McLachlan - Possession
via FoxyTunes

Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk

I love using the Internet to find new music! I absolutely love listening to music, and occasionally I stumble upon a new group that I just love! Sometimes, when I hear a song I like or someone mentions a group I might like, I write it down and look it up later. I had some of these written down, and I have no idea where they came from. I looked up Joshua Radin on iTunes, and I really liked a lot of his songs. I came across a song that he sings with Schuyler Fisk, and I just loved her voice too! I now have quite a few new songs by these artists and I am absolutely loving it! I know tons of people use Pandora (I actually haven't ever used it) but it is just so satisfying to find new music! Anyone have any other artists to reccomend?
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Now playing: Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk - Paperweight
via FoxyTunes

Free Books!

I love books! Today I found out that you can download some books for free on Deseret Book's website. Yes, they are totally free and have the full text in PDF format! Although digital copies aren't as good as the real paperback thing, it's pretty awesome! Check it out!

http://deseretbook.com/free

They've got these books and some others, 8 in total! These really relate to our major and look interesting.



There is also another free book here http://freeldsbooks.com/dating

Haha, I just realized how excited I am in this post.... I sound like a commercial. But it seems like a pretty cool deal, I will definitely be spending part of tonight reading a couple of these!

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Now playing: Solillaquists of Sound - Look
via FoxyTunes

sexual content

I actually wasn't very surprised by what I found during the sexual content assignment. I found that there was only a couple of instances in the shows that I watched, and this didn't surprise me because I know that sex is present in the media. Today we had a discussion in class about getting desensitized towards sex in the media. I think that depending on the circumstances, some types of sexual content are kind of desensitized for me. Maybe it was just that what I watched was mild things like making out, which I don't see as a huge issue to be portrayed on TV. Although I don't think that sexual content is inherently bad, I do have a problem with many types of sexual content.

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Now playing: The Shins - Girl Inform Me
via FoxyTunes

me in high school

A couple of days ago, I rediscovered my livejournal and my xanga from high school, and I have been reading all the old entries. It is crazy how much I have changed. I used to use my xanga/livejournal a lot to let someone know I was mad at them, let off steam, make snide remarks to a friend, or to apologize to a friend. Of course, most of the entries weren't like this, I was just so surprised to see those entries that I did post!

It's kind of comforting to look back and see how much I have changed. Now, if I was mad at someone, I would never post it in a public place! I would talk to them about it in person, and not let the whole world know! I guess all of my experiences in reading these online journals the past couple of days have taught me that the media is a great place to find memories (some of those posts are valuable as journal entries, and it's fun to remember things that happened that I forgot about). But, the media can also be used to harm relationships.
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Now playing: Dj sammy - We're in Heaven (techno remix)
via FoxyTunes

you've been watching too much CNN

Yesterday as I was reading a nonfiction book, I came across this passage that totally reminded me of Gerber's cultivation theory and the mean world syndrome. It was interesting to see something that related so well to a concept we recently covered in class.

"Dilara informed us that she keeps abreast of world events by watching CNN... Over a period of an hour Dilara gradually approached the subject of life in the United States. It felt like she was tap dancing around something; finally, it came out. 'Life in America must be... difficult with so many guns and all those gangs.' ...'You've been watching too much CNN,' September replied conversationally; then shot me a meangingful glance. 'A lot of us are guilty of that.' ... She told us that in spite of all the 'obvious' dangers, she even planned to visit the United States someday. 'I'm certain that some parts of the U.S. are safe,' she explained. 'By the way, could you please tell me which parts those might be?'" - 360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World (page 124) by John Higham

This book is a nonfiction account of a family who took their two children, ages 11 and 8, on a trip around the world for an entire year. This family is in my home ward, and I used to babysit their kids. I recently started reading the book, and I love it! It discusses many cultural differences we find across the world, and wraps it up with the hilarity that only real life can bring.

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Now playing: Michael Franti & Spearhead : Say Hey Music Video
via FoxyTunes

So Much Cooler Online

I heard Brad Paisley's song "Online" on the radio today, and it reminded me of the lecture where we talked about social networking sites. The lyrics are pretty funny:

I work down at the Pizza Pit
And I drive an old Hyundai
I still live with my mom and dad
I'm 5 foot 3 and overweight
I'm a scifi fanatic
A mild asthmatic
And I've never been to second base
But there's whole ‘nother me
That you need to see
Go checkout MySpace

'Cause online I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6 foot 5 and I look damn good
I drive a Maserati
I'm a black-belt in karate
And I love a good glass of wine
It turns girls on that I’m mysterious
I tell them I don't want nothing serious
'Cause even on a slow day
I could have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I’m so much cooler online
So much cooler online

When I get home I kiss my mom
And she fixes me a snack
And I head down to my basement bedroom
And fire up my mac
In real life the only time I’ve ever even been to L.A
Is when I got the chance with the marching band
To play tuba in the Rose Parade

Online I live in Malibu
I pose for Calvin Klein, I've been in GQ
I'm single and I'm rich
And I've got a set of six pack abs that would blow your mind
It turns girls on that I’m mysterious
I tell them I don't want nothing serious
'Cause even on a slow day
I could have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I’m so much cooler online
Yeah, I'm cooler online

When you got my kind of stats
It’s hard to get a date
Let alone a real girlfriend
But I grow another foot and I lose a bunch of weight
Every time I login

Online
I’m out in Hollywood
I’m 6 foot 5 and I look damn good
Even on a slow day
I could have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I’m so much cooler online
Yeah, I’m cooler online
I’m so much cooler online
Yeah, I’m cooler online

Yeah, I’m cooler online

Yeah, I’ll see ya online

Watch Music Video Here

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Now playing: Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say
via FoxyTunes

relationships

In many of our lectures, we've discussed the effect of different types of media on relationships. In the New Media lecture, we talked about the social penetration theory and the model that discusses how new media relationships start with facebook friends, then IM, texting, and phone calls. That reminded me of a friend that I had a couple of years ago. We had a friend in common, who gave him my number. He called me once. After that, we became facebook friends. We wrote on each other's walls all the time. After awhile we started to text back and forth a lot. Eventually, we started to talk on the phone a lot. I just thought it was kind of funny to see this situation using that theory, because, really, we wouldn't have been friends without the new media (we actually hadn't ever met until after all that went down).

I was also thinking about how media probably can drive us apart a little bit. I kind of laugh when I see the way my roommate and I are with each other. We're both a little bit obsessed with our computers and the Internet. Most of the time we spend in our room we are both sitting in front of the screen, looking our own stuff up on the web. The other night, we both stayed up really late on our computers. She told me, "I'm so glad you're awake too, it gets so lonely when I'm the only one up." It was kinda funny, because we weren't even talking to each other. I'm also reminded of a guy that I used to date. I got really frustrated with him because I felt like every time we hung out, he would be on his computer or watching football on TV or something. A lot of times I feel like media drives a small wedge in relationships when someone pays more attention to the media than to you when you are with them.

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Now playing: Brandi Carlile - Closer to You
via FoxyTunes

Balloon Boy

In case you haven't heard of this story, I'll quickly recap it. On Thursday, a Colorado family launched a hot air balloon that they had made themselves. After quickly discovering that their 6 year old son was missing, they put two and two together and realized that the boy must be on the balloon. They called up the police and there was a two hour long wait for the balloon that finally landed 60 miles away. When it landed, the parents quickly discovered that the boy was not on the balloon, and soon found him hiding in the attic.

Later, several interviews were performed with the family. The most notable one was on Larry King Live. When asked why he didn't come out when his parents called for him, the 6 year old said, "You guys said we did this for the show." Watch the video here, skip to about 30 seconds in to see his infamous line.

It turns out that this family has been on wife swap before, and has tried (unsuccesfully) to launch their own reality TV show. This family seems to crave media attention, and whatever their son means by saying they did it "for the show", this event seems to fulfill their desire for more attention.



When I first heard about this story, I immediately thought of this class. I thought it weird how addicted some people are to certain types of media that they would go to any length just to get some kind of news coverage or material for a TV show. I feel that the media makes us selfish to some degree. I think it's a natural aspect of being human to want to have the attention of others, but the media just blows this kind of attention out of proportion, and that makes some people just go crazy.

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Now playing: Boys Like Girls - Love Drunk
via FoxyTunes

Video Games

I've never been a fan of video games. I never had them in my home, and I never planned on having them in my future home.
I feel like being in this major, we have heard all about the evils of video games. I can think of many different classes that I have taken at BYU that have convinced me even further that video games are horrible and your children will be more violent and have worse grades if you allow them in the home.
I found yesterday's lecture kind of refreshing, actually. Previously I had had this hugely negative view of video games. The same might be true, but now I realize that there are some merits to some types of video games. I think that really, the distinction needs to be made in my mind that not all video games are mindlessly and graphically violent, or highly addictive. Many are educational and can help with spatial reasoning, among other benefits. Although I will still hold a negative view of that group of video games that portray violence, and the highly addictive MMORPG type games, I can now feel good about having positive opinions about games like RockBand and Wii Sports, and other games.

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Now playing: Jay Sean feat. Lil' Wayne - Down
via FoxyTunes

Hymns

I listen to music all the time. I listen to it while I'm getting ready, walking to school, sitting around at home, driving, and even while doing homework or eating. You know, it's kind of ironic. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about how obsessive I was about listening to my iPod, and how I couldn't seem to escape the thrill of using it as an escape tactic. Well, my iPod broke last week. I have learned to live a little bit more without music.

That doesn't make it easier. This semester, I'm taking an organ class. Every week I have to go to the organ lab and read through lessons on the computer in addition to my practice. I usually end up in the organ lab for 1-2 hours. It's really hard for me to sit for this long, so I usually get really restless. The worst is when I'm just sitting and reading the lesson- there's no background music and I just start to go crazy. The other day I discovered the coolest thing: the electronic organs have hymns on them that you can set to autoplay!

Ever since that discovery, I have been listening to hymns while I do my reading assignments. It has made such a difference in my concentration and the way I feel! The hymns are amazing, as soon as they start to play on that organ I feel myself instantly calm down, feel the Spirit, and feel able to concentrate. I love it!

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Now playing: The Ataris - The Boys Of Summer
via FoxyTunes

Roald Dahl

For quite a while, my favorite book during childhood was Matilda. Matilda is a story by Roald Dahl (an author that I loved in childhood!) about a little girl named Matilda. Her parents are absolute scum who treat her horribly, and she finds a sort of escape in her teacher at school, and they develop a friendship. Matilda goes through many adventures, including those with her parents and her horrible headmistress Ms. Trunchbull. At some point, Matilda discovers she has a magical power to move things with her mind, and she works on developing this supernatural talent.
I think one of the reasons this book was a favorite was because of the writing style. As mentioned previously, I loved all the Roald Dahl books that I read in childhood. All of his books were funny and interesting. I loved the fact that this book combined something so real wi(troubles at school and at home) with things that are so ridiculous and comical. I loved the ending of the book- Matilda has such a hard life for a young girl, and at the end of the book she ends up being able to go live with the teacher that she loves, and they both live happily ever after.








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Now playing: Lady Antebellum - I Run to You
via FoxyTunes

Taken

Yesterday I watched Taken for the first time. I was really excited because I have been hearing about this movie for months. I told my roommate that I was really excited to see it, because I've only heard good things about it.

As the movie started, I found myself really enjoying it. The plot was interesting and suspenseful, and it really made you think about your relationships and how you might act in certain situations. However, at a certain point in the movie, I realized that there was much more violence than I expected.

First Brian killed about 10 people inside of the Rue de Paradis house, each in a different and vulgar way (sticking a knife up one's throat, shooting another one with the hand of an already dead man, etc.). Later, a man was shown being quesitoned by Brian, and Brian tortured him by submitting him to the electric chair. This was shown onscreen several times. As the victim pleads for mercy because he honestly does not know the answer to Brian's question, Brian says "I believe you.... but it's still not going to save you" and turns the electric chair back on and leaves the room. In addition, Brian shot at a coworker's wife, in a situaiton where the wife had been nothing but kind to him, and she had nothing to do with the issue at hand.

Frankly, all this violence bothered me. I felt like there were so many instances where the movie seemed to be too graphic. In addition, I realized that Brian was not the hero that I once thought he was. Brian was cruel and showed unusual forms of punishment. Not only did he kill people in inhumane ways and injure those who did not deserve it, but I feel that these gross displays of violence were glamorized. Brian is the hero of the movie, so every time he brutally murders one of the "bad guys", his image as a hero increases. He shows no remorse.

All in all, I did enjoy the plot and premise of the movie, but the violence just seemed to overshadow everything- I thought it was too much. Did anyone else get that impression from the movie?

Media Socialization

Today I realized that friendships and conversations rely a lot on the media. I was talking with a few friends today, and we spent probably ten minutes talking about TV shows. This happens often with music and movies too- I don't think we can go a day without having some conversation about media!

television

I've never watched very much TV in college. Freshman year, we didn't have a TV; my roommates and I watched a couple of our favorite shows online. The past two years, I've had a TV, but not very many channels. Again, I watched a couple of shows on the internet. Since then, I've only regularly followed one TV show (the title of which I may or may not be too embarrassed to mention here). In reality, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not a big TV watcher.

I guess you wouldn't assume that if you had seen my in my house the past couple of days. I've been glued in front of the TV for a couple of hours now. As I was thinking about what to blog about, so many things from class came into my thoughts. How children are exposed to hours and hours of TV because of the background environmental factor. Right now, my roommate and I are both on our computers with the TV on in front of us, neither really watching it. I'm experiencing what it is like to have the TV on in the background. Both of us are involved with multiple forms of media at the same time. I'm also noticing which commercials grab my attention, and why. And wondering what the effect of these commercials might be in the middle of NCIS and wondering if that classifies as violent TV or if the effects might be the same because the content is so intense.

Basically, I will never be able to partake of the media in the same way without all of these thoughts from class in my head.... and we're only a month into the semester : )

escape the iPod!

I'm pretty sure I will be one of those people with moderate hearing loss by the time I'm 40.... I always listen to my iPod way too loud. It's not just that I like loud music. It's that I like the feeling of escape I can get from the music- escape from my thoughts.

I always listen to my iPod while walking to and from school. I usually turn it on even when I don't want to. I've realized that the reason I do this is because the times when I am walking to or from school are the times I have to really think about things. I've got about a 20 minute walk, with nothing else to do but cycle through my various thoughts. Why would this be a bad thing?

I'm not really sure the answer to this question. What I do know is that nearly every time I turn on my iPod, I actually think to myself, "Now I can escape from my own thoughts." Over the past week or two I've been a little upset because of some things going on, but instead of thinking through it, apparently I would rather escape by blasting my favorite tunes at top volume. Surely this isn't healthy.

Living Without the Media

Yesterday I got a letter from a friend who has been on her mission for about three months. I'm going to quote part of it because it reminded me of this class.

"How's the world? Has Iran attacked Israel yet? Or has North Korea accidentally blown itself up yet? Has Obama declared himself king yet? I've only been out of it for 3 months and I feel like I have no idea what's going on in the world."

At first I thought this was funny, because I never really relied that much on news or felt super involved in world events. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that what my friend was trying to say is true- we depend on the media for a lot of our knowledge, and if it is taken away from us, we may feel very confused and "out of it".

Her letter also made me think more about all of those that serve missions. It must be weird to be so involved in the media- newspapers, television, movies, books, music etc.- and then be expected to give that all up for two years. Living without the media really would be a huge sacrifice- I use so many forms of it everyday!

my new favorite website

My Life is Average.com

I dare you to click on it. Chances are you will spend hours perusing its amazingness.

My life is average (aka MLIA) is "a place to share your everyday mediocrity. It is a place to post the mundane things in your life, and read about what makes life normal for other people. "

Its contents include short vignettes contributed by average readers about the bizarre or average things that happen to them. MLIA celebrates sarcasm, irony, out of the box thinking, childhood dreams, and awkward situations.

Who couldn't love a site that says things like " Today, on the way home from school, I was stuck in traffic for about an hour. When I finally reached the cause, I saw that it was a police car that had rear-ended another police car, and that the police were just standing around looking at this in shock. MLIA"?

Star Trek

For months, I've been hearing that Star Trek was the best movie of the summer, hands down. Even people who didn't expect to like it ended up loving it. I finally got around to seeing it yesterday, and I loved it! Most science fiction/action movies don't impress me much, but this movie did.

My favorite part of the movies hands down was the character development that they showed. I loved the way they developed the characters- the movie started off showing the history surrounding James T. Cook's birth and some key aspects of his father that had an impact on him. This really added to the movie because you could really identify with it when, for example, Christopher Pike said, "Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mothers and yours. I dare you to do better."

The movie also depicted one scene of James and several scenes of Spock from their respective childhoods. I felt that each of these scenes were picked well- they showed some of the different influences, struggles, and desires of each of the young boys. The movie went on to follow several of the characters and how they began their involvement with the USS Enterprise. It also showed the developing relationship between Spock and James Kirk.



For me, being one who knows a little bit about Star Trek but has never been a fan, these instances of character development and history behind the Enterprise made the movie much more enjoyable. It was much easier to follow, because I could understand the character's intentions better.

Some of my favorite songs

Music is probably the media that I participate in the most. I listen to music on my way to class, when I'm at my computer, and while driving. I spend hours every day listening to music. Here's some of my favorite music right now.

All I Ever Wanted - Basshunter
Day 'N' Nite- Kid Cudi vs. Crookers
Boom Boom Pow- The Black Eyed Peas
Breakeven- The Script
Come On Get Higher- Matt Nathanson
Nothing Better- The Postal Service
Knock You Down- Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West & Ne-Yo
Save The Last Dance For Me- Michael Buble
Message In A Bottle - Sting/The Police
Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love - Coldplay
Nothing Else Matters - Apocalyptica
Gives You Hell - All American Rejects
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
You Found Me - The Fray