ALEX'S 7 SONGS

This just in - our first response to the 7 songs meme! And jolly good it is too:

Dimples D, "Sucker DJ". This must be one of the most innocent rap songs ever written; quite Betty Boo-ey, and it’s my current favourite dance-song-they-would-never-play-in-an-actual-club. And I love the ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ sample.



Nina Rota, "Theme from Amarcord". A bit too Italian for its own good, but works well on an iPod when strolling along on a hot day, and brilliantly as an ironic counterpoint on a shit day.



Kate Bush, "Coffee Homeground". Because it’s funny even on the twentieth listen, and I love the lyric and intonation on “you won't get me in a hole to rot / with your hemlock”.

Verka Serduchka, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai". After watching this year’s pooey Eurovision I was reminded that last year’s runner-up was fun, catchy, mildly daring and even subversive - the nonsense title is designed to sound like “Russia Goodbye”. Not good exactly, but it’s been in my head for much of the early Summer.



Petula Clark, "Colour My World". A song that makes me wish I could hold a tune.



Baby Dee, "The Earlie King". Safe Inside the Day has more brilliant lyrics than almost any album I could name, but it takes a long, long time to adjust to Baby Dee’s dreadful voice. I’m still not there yet, but it works better on this than most, which has the aura of a dark fairy tale put to song.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, "Polly Come Home". I was dragged to see them live, even though I think the album is a tad overrated, but I do love this heroically slow song. They didn’t sing it at the concert, though.



So there you go. A daft rap, a swoony piece of Italiana, a campy refusal to drink poison, a drag queen, a gay icon, a transsexual and a token gruff male vocal. And Grace Jones was unlucky to miss the cut.