For over twenty years, Judah Friedlander has been burning up the comedy scene with his lax style of stand-up. We're pretty positive that the secret to his success has got to be his confidence. And let's be clear, Judah is confident as fuck. Sure you might know him from his kick-ass book “How to Beat Up Anybody,” the six (plus) years he spent on NBC's “30 Rock,” or from one of the many movies he's been in but what you need to know him best for (if we may make a suggestion), is for being The World Champion. Because hands down, he is. If you don't believe us, you can see him with your own eyes at the Irvine Improv this Friday through Sunday (June 28th- 30th) and decide for yourself. Matter of fact, we're pretty confident as well so we're going take it a step further and sway your decision ahead of time with Judah's “Top 5 Songs That'll Pump You Up So You'll Feel Like A Champion.” After this my friends, you'll no doubt be hyped to see him in action this weekend. Actually, after this list, you might even want to vote Friedlander for President.
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5. Joe Esposito, “You're the Best (Around)”
Judah Friedlander: I respect any song that has parenthesis in the song title. I also like how it's kind of an insult really because they're saying that you're the best…in the near vicinity. They actually put “around” in parenthesis so it negates “the best.” It's just like saying around here you're the best but nearby, there is someone a lot better. So to the casual listener it's inspiring but ultimately, it's demoralizing. This song has a lot of depth to it.
4. No More Kings, “Sweep the Leg”
Now this is a real song to really get you pumped up because it's about real karate. Remember the bad guy from The Karate Kid? Johnny the blond guy? Well he directed the music video for this and let me tell you, it's a real fucking video. The storyline for “Sweep the Leg” is basically twenty-five year later, after The Karate Kid movie. What if Johnny had actually won the tournament instead of lost? So it's got all of the guys from the original Cobra Kai in it. If you really want to get jacked, this is the song. I don't care what anyone says, Cobra Kai had more natural talent in that dojo than Daniel LaRusso had. No offense.
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3. Guns N' Roses, “Getting the Ring”
This whole song is pretty much about Axl cussing out different critics that have written shit about him. It's like Axl Rose has a grudge, he doesn't let it go, and he just lets it all out. So this song is just him yelling at all of these music critics and he's telling them to fuck off. This song is good because it can build self-esteem. It's really about sticking up for yourself and fighting for what's right.
2. Poison, “Nothing But a Good Time”
The key to being a winner is never worrying. You know when you're the best, you never have to fucking worry. You don't even really have to concentrate, you just do shit. That leads to a lot of partying so you have to go with “Nothing But a Good Time” by Poison.
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1. Meco, “Star Wars (disco version)”
Besides just being great music, Meco perfected the good music that John Williams provided by improving on the original. It is one thing to be the greatest athlete and karate hero like me, but this song reminds you that you should always be fighting for a bigger cause than just yourself. Star Wars is about saving the whole galaxy from evil. That's why in my act it's not just me talking about the amazing things I've done. There's a real point to it and that's why I also talk about my presidential campaign for 2016. Also if you really look at Star Wars, it's about conformity and doing your own thing. You could be traveling all over the world where there is all of this cool robot and human interaction or, you could just have this boring and corporate Darth Vader robot rule the world. You don't want that. It's ultimately about rebellion and the disco aspect adds a celebratory angle to it. You're not worried about it because you know if you fight and you get people together as a group, you can defeat it. That's why this song has to be number one. It's fucking amazing.
Judah Friedlander performs at the Irvine Improv on June 28th-30th, 71 Fortune Drive Irvine, CA 92618, (949) 854-5455. For tickets go to www.Improv.com. Grab the paperback version of Judah's book “How to Beat Up Anybody: An Instructional and Inspirational Karate Book by the World Champion” on Amazon and for more info, check out his website www.JudahFriedlander.com and follow him on Twitter: @JudahWorldChamp.
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Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.