THE 5: This Week on The Five Alex Hooper’s Top 5 Guilty Pleasure Pop Songs
Comedian Alex Cooper just released a new comedy album, “Calm Down Peasants” on Aspecialthing Records. Known for his rampant energy, positive attitude and dark humor, Alex brought it all to the stage in Pittsburgh to record the follow up to his debut ‘Hugs. Drug. Pugs’, with stories about the invention of the Lazy Susan, slacklines and life lessons, sex parties, drug wishlists and lots more.Hooper hails from Baltimore, MD. You’ve seen him on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle 2 and Corporate, New Girl, TVLand, Nickelodeon, and The Bad Girls Club. In January 2018 his Pug Yoga Calendar was featured on Ellen. Funny Or Die named him one of the 15 Funniest Comics to Follow. Good Deed Seats included him in their list of The 40 Best Up & Coming Comedians. He created CRAVE, a unique comedy and dance party experience, which has been recognized by The LA Times, LA Weekly and Thrillist and toured to multiple festivals. Alex is the author of “Roast Yourself to Happiness: A Comedian’s Guide to Finding Joy by Embracing Your Flaws”. Learn More at hoopercomedy.com
Alex is also this week’s guest contributor on The 5, tackling the absolute 5 best guilty pleasure songs.
Oh god not this song again! Hit skip immediately. Oh wait, no one is around. On second thought, let’s breathe deep into the diaphragm and belt this puppy as loud as we can. No shame or embarrassment. This is between me and the radio.
Celine Dion- My Heart Will Go On. While the Titanic sank to the bottom of the ocean, this song managed to float to the top of all of our souls. With mirror-shattering high notes and a chorus that never stops building, this has been a mainstay in my arsenal for years. If I’m ever doing a bar show where no one pays attention, I’ll start singing this tune and sure enough, everyone will be right there with me by verse 2. After all, “You’re here. There’s nothing I fear.”
Leann Rimes- How Do I Live? A long-haired Nick Cage battling John Malkovich and a terrible accent already makes for a solid film, but when this nuanced banger comes into play, this movie levels up to an automatic 10. The plane has crashed. Malk has been decapitated. And Nick is meeting his daughter for the first time. If you’re not already in tears, you are a broken human being.
Backstreet Boys- Everybody.. I can’t even pretend that this song doesn’t stimulate me in all the right places. I will rock my body any way you want me to, Five White Guys with Zero Personality. For me, it’s the questions that we have to answer. Am I original? Yeah. Am I the only one? Yeah. Am I sexual? Yeah. Wait. What? Did one guy just ask the rest of his group if he was sexual and they all responded with certainty? I’M INTO IT.
Dashboard Confessional- Vindicated. I’m not ashamed to admit when I was 18 I used to put on the first DC album and cry in my car while I drove around. I can only imagine what other drivers thought was happening as I screamed lyrics at the top of my lungs while water showered down from my face. This song, from the Spiderman 2 soundtrack, is absolutely perfect for pulling out every emotion inside of me. Guilt, Anger, Negativity be gone. I am vindicated.
Goo Goo Dolls- Iris. What is it with Nicolas Cage movies providing the most powerful theme songs of all time? I’ve karaoke this jam more times than I count, and every time, the reactions are overwhelmingly positive. While no one wants to like this ridiculous tune, it’s incredibly infectious. Crawl into my dark hole because there’s no way they’ll understand why I can’t stop listening to this. Best moment by far: “Yeah you bleed just to know you’re alive.” Wow GGD, way to carve your initials directly into my heart.
