Today's Pick

"The Reason" is the hit 2004 single by the modern rock band Hoobastank, off their 2nd album "The Reason". Hoobastank formed in 1994 in California, with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. The song is Hoobastank's most commercially successful single, peaking at #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks, and they have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
In "The Reason," the band members stage a diversion so they can carry out the elaborate theft of a ruby gem from a pawnshop, but those facts are only clear after enough of the action unfolds, because nothing is as it seems. In the beginning of the video, a girl gets hit by a car and then turns out to be an accessory to the crime. After the "accident", while everyone's attention is diverted, the band members execute the heist. The viewer then realizes that she was in on the operation, as she gets up and rides off with an accomplice on a motorcycle at the end. The presumed owner of the pawnshop displays a look of realization, and the song ends with the band admiring their new acquisition, holding it up to the light and projecting red light-rays onto the ceiling. The accident "victim" is also present. They then hear police sirens from above, and the video fades out.

"Broken" is a song by post-grunge band Seether with Amy Lee of Evanescence. The original acoustic version is the 12th track on Seether's debut album "Disclaimer". It was then re-recorded with Amy Lee, the future girlfriend of Seether vocalist Shaun Morgan, for The Punisher: The Album in March 2004. This version includes electric guitar and violins.
The Nigel Dick-directed music video features Morgan sitting in an abandoned car playing an acoustic guitar with Lee appearing behind him as her vocals fade in. For the remainder of the video, Lee and Morgan wander through a dilapidated landscape that was revealed on the "Disclaimer II" DVD to be a real-life trailer park incinerated by a crystal meth lab explosion. Although there are shots of the band and Lee performing together in a clearing, the underlying theme of the video is Lee and Morgan searching for each other in this landscape and never finding each other. It's rumored that Amy Lee wears her black wings as an image of Morgan viewing her as an angel in his dreams.

Evanescence is an American alternative rock metal band founded in Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. "My Immortal" is the 3rd single from Evanescence's the 1st full-length major label debut album, "Fallen". The song was selling over 500,000 copies.
The music video was shot in Barcelona and played in black-and-white. In an interview with Rock Sound magazine, Amy commented on the video's concept: "You know what? When you see the video it's really amazing irony, how much it makes sense. We're all separated and wandering the streets looking like it's the day after a funeral, with Ben in a suit and bare feet, and I'm never touching the ground. I'm sitting on a phone booth or lying on a car, to hint that I'm dead, that I'm singing from the dead. It's all about separation. It's almost like the director knew what was going to happen, but he can't have known. It's just one of those fate things."
Other favorite singles from Evanescence:"Bring Me To Life", and "Hello".

Josh Groban was born on February 27, 1981 in LA, to a Polish-Russian father and a Norwegian mother. "You Raise Me Up" cames from his 2nd studio album and 3rd overall album "Closer" which was subsequently recorded by Daniel O'Donnell, and released on November 11, 2003. This popular Christian-themed song was a hit throughout Ireland and the UK.
Groban uses his voice based on the first B flat above middle C. I love this song, it's so beautiful and powerful. Please visit his MySpace, and follow his Twitter for more info.

Pure is the first internationally published album by Hayley Westenra who was born on 4/10/87 at Christchurch, New Zealand. In 2004, it was the highest selling New Zealand Album and so it privileged Hayley with an award from the New Zealand Music Awards of 2004. It was distributed in the United States by Universal Classics in 2004. During its first week of sales it sold 19,068 copies. As of 2007, Pure is the best selling classical album for the 21 century in the UK.
Hayley Westenra is one of my favorite singers. My favorite songs include "Heaven", "My Heart Belongs To You", "Never Say Goodbye" and "Amazing Grace".
Let's enjoy the song "Heaven".

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in London, England in 1998. "Clocks" was released in the U.S. as the 2nd single from their 2nd album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head". Built around a repeating piano riff, the song features cryptic lyrics of contrast and urgency themes. "Clocks" won Record of the Year at the 2004 Grammy Awards, and, to date, is one of Coldplay's most successful songs.
A music video was filmed in support of the song. It was directed by British film maker Dominic Leung, and shot at Docklands' ExCeL Building in London. It features the band performing the song, with a laser show, in front of a staged audience, mostly local college students. Stage effects and blue-red light transitions give the video a surreal feel, not to mention the stoic crowd that make up the audience. Other favorite singles from Coldplay: "Viva la Vida" and "Speed Of Sound".

John Mayer was born in Connecticut on October 16, 1977. The "Your Body Is a Wonderland" is the 2nd single from his debut album, "Room for Squares" in 2001. This song was inspired by his ex-girlfriend, the actress/singer Jennifer Love Hewitt. John won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Your Body Is a Wonderland”in 2003. In his acceptance speech he remarked, "This is very, very fast, and I promise to catch up."
The video starred the actress Holly Lynch. John also won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for "Continuum" and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change" in 2007. I like his blues-rock styles, such as "Gravity", "Say", "Free Falling", and "Daughters".