1. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
M.I.A is incredible. She isn’t afraid of trying anything musically and sometimes it doesn’t work but Paper Planes is magical. I recently heard a UK band called ‘The Hoodlums’ do an acoustic cover of this for this show we both did called ‘Indie Ghetto’ and it moved me so much I wept. It is just that beautiful and it makes you realise the power of good songwriting. ‘Paper Planes’ has some dark subject matter but The Hoodlums make it sound like a love song. All of these tracks I have picked because they move me. Music has no point if it doesn’t move you.

2. Smokey Robinson - The Tracks Of My Tears
OMG when the sad guitar riff kicks in at the start of this song it makes me just want to hug it. It is so sad. Smokey has this ability to convey sadness that very few people have and I can really connect with that. Same reason people love Adele I guess. The lyrics to this are very powerful to me because I am sometimes all show and ‘tits and teeth’ when inside I am just a complete vulnerable mess- but no-one needs to know that, ok? Just listen to the lyrics and see if you don’t well up.

3. Outkast - Roses
Ah how this song got me through! It reminds me of when I was spending lots of time out in LA recording the Strum albums that never really were. I became a bit OCD about learning the piano riff at the start of this track and used to practice it all the time to keep me sane. I loved the video, Andre’s style and the silliness of the lyrics. Proof that you can put any lyrics you want in a chorus, even ‘poo’. Genius.

4. Amy Winehouse - Valerie
Ok, so I loved the original and The Zutons in general- played with them at The V Festival way back and they are so very sweet. However, Amy’s version is just brilliant and summery and will never date. I actually chose this track before she sadly passed away recently. R.I.P. Amy, you will be missed . I saw her life once at a Jew do and fell in love. As you can see, I love quality cover versions of songs. I really don’t see why people get all snobby about artists doing covers. If you can reinvent the wheel and make it just as marvellous, what’s wrong with that? Just keep it round, ok?

5. Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover
I am a HUGE Prince fan but I equally love Corinne Bailey-Rae’s version of this track which I confess I first heard in Top Shop the other day! ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ is just honest and simple and great. I see purple when I hear this song.

6. Lady Gaga - Government Hooker
If I was still a recording artist now, I would give up, purely because Lady GaGa exists. She is incredible and makes some of our Brit lady singers look like they are punching way above their weight. I name no names. GaGa is an icon and I discovered her through my longtime supporter and friend, Perez Hilton, and through his website. He was on her case relentlessly about a year before she broke. Get that for having faith in the artists you believe in! Government Hooker is just so hypnotic and I love the highly camp guy singer she has dragged in for the track- I imagine he only wears spandex. Some of the songs on ‘Born This Way’ sound like they need to be enjoyed in a Berlin disco and I do like that. It makes me want to bleach my eyebrows.

7. John Lennon, Yoko Ono & The Plastic Band - Instant Karma
I was going to pick ‘Imagine’ but this is supposed to be an upbeat (ish) Strum megamix so I went with Instant Karma instead as it is jangly and uplifting and has a really shit, old-fashioned video from olden times with Yoko. Check it out. I only just recently got into John Lennon, I know, I know, way behind the curve there but in preparation for my role in the forthcoming Eva Cassidy musical, ‘Over The Rainbow’ where I have to sing, ‘Imagine’ I wanted to check his music out a bit more so I could get a feel for his work and learn the chords of course! I am definitely pro-Yoko btw. She is kind of sexy in a weird way.

8. David Bowie - Sorrow
This song is for someone in particular. He knows who he is. We are both big Bowie fans and I had this track on my ipod but it wasn’t till this guy forced me to listen to it one quite wonderful day together and he told me how much he loved it that I really got it. It makes me think of him every time I hear it. In my heart and my head it is now his anthem.

9. Grace Jones - I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
I loved this song from when I first heard it in a Harrison Ford film, ‘Frantic’ and it is the sexiest song in the sexiest film ever. Fact. Believe me, if someone puts this song on and you are in the room with them, it is an historical inevitability that you will sex them. I would worry if it was just you and Grace Jones in the room though because you would probably never recover. Oh and it has some French in it, so this is the point where I can drop in that I speak near fluent French. Sorry, did I mention that I speak French? Sexyyyy.

10. Alexis Strum - Cocoon
Ahhhh a gem from the Strum album that never was!
Do you know what, for a couple of years after this never came out I couldn’t even listen to any of those songs I had recorded and I became a bit anti-music in fact. It was sad and I had to work through it and fall back in love with music again. The one song I am really proud of now is this one- pretty much every instrument on there, bar the drums, is played by me and I scored the string part myself. That album was my life and I put my little heart and soul into it but the song remains and I like it. Now. It makes me feel the right side of sad. Good sad. It was inspired by a line from the film, ‘Marathon Man’ actually which is a horrid scary film and this torturer keeps asking, ‘is it safe, is it safe?’. I have spent my whole life wanting someone to tell me that I am safe and mean it.

11. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Bloody X Factor. Ruined this track. As did every other frikkin reality show. They always use this song in their emotionally uplifting montage section dagnammit and I hate to think of Coldplay reduced to that. Mind you, it serves young Mr Martin right for snubbing me. I was recording next door to him once and summoned all my courage up to put a little letter under the door saying how much I loved his music yadda yadda and he TOTALLY IGNORED IT!!! So here is your X Factor montage comeuppance Chris! Still love the Coldplay though. Always will. I am middle class so don’t judge me.

Alexis is an actress now but is ‘still writing for other pop folk occasionally and writing for tv now- soundtracks to The Inbetweeners and other bits and pieces.’ The Eva Cassidy musical she stars in starts at the 3rd of September.

And here’s the full version of Cocoon because a snippet really doesn’t do it justice…

Alexis’ (all new) homepage
Dates & Info on Over The Rainbow