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March 28, 2024, 01:20:11 PM

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Bo Burnham - Inside

Started by up_the_hampipe, April 28, 2021, 08:13:31 PM

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neveragain

Unashamed fan here (or was, haven't listened to his stuff in years). His piano playing is remarkable and lyrics often damn good too. I adore the bile in 'Ten Foot Cock and A Few Hundred Virgins'.

For the benefit of new-pagers, I am talking about Arthur Askey.

up_the_hampipe

Quote from: neveragain on June 20, 2021, 09:36:57 PM
Unashamed fan here (or was, haven't listened to his stuff in years). His piano playing is remarkable and lyrics often damn good too. I adore the bile in 'Ten Foot Cock and A Few Hundred Virgins'.

He's one of the few that has actually done some hilarious and insightful anti-religious material. Gervais could never!

peanutbutter

I liked Minchin's Darkside CD wayyyy back a lot and my instincts say it probably holds up, I think he has the same issue I've with loads of musical comedy that I don't really care for it beyond the first good show. It's been so long I might watch his biggest show and then go back to Darkside to see which seems better though


I know he's mentioned liking Hans Teeuwen before, so I found it hard to not think of him during the puppet bit in this show. Hans Teeuwen's manic energy is a much better fit for that kind of bit though.

Whug Baspin

My favorite example of Bo being funny is the Green Room show he did. As an aside I love these kinds of shows, it must be incredibly stressful, like a comedy waterboarding..Particularly Bo's funny comeback to a snipe from Marc Maron here, Marc perfectly represents a lazy bitter older generation of comics and their entitlements. It's such a quick comeback it got me wondering if he had set this up already as he specifically mentions the sock colour, so perhaps a deliberate trap, but still seems wonderfully off the cuff to me.

Minchin was tolerable when he did well-crafted funny songs about relationships or blow up dolls. When he started on god and science I realised "Oh! You're one of those comedians.... Fuck off." A real Robin Ince.
I can't find it online, but they all remind me of "Trousers, I'm wearing trousers. They're very elegant and made of crimpolnene. Trousers, I'm wearing trousers. You probably don't know, you probably don't know, you probably don't know what they are!" piano man from Absolutely who reminded me of the awful old bollocks who used to sing similar songs at the end of That's Life.
Basically, they're all modern day Ivor Bigguns.

bakabaka

Quote from: Largely Babble on June 21, 2021, 01:19:12 PM
Basically, they're all modern day Ivor Bigguns.
Who wish they were Ivor Cutler.

dothestrand

Burnham turns up irregularly in other work too - Promising Young Woman, of course, but also this great Key and Peele sketch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zda8H32pyeI

Have a safe weekend

The Mollusk

Watched this last night and thought it was superb.

I will say this to the people who've criticised it here (can't be arsed to mass-quote and pick apart, just read my shit please): Gripes with Burnham only addressing certain sides of isolation in the pandemic and white people problems are precisely the intention. You'd think that would be glaringly obvious when one of his songs here literally addresses how full-circle self-reflective and terrified of criticism he is, but here we are. The issues addressed in this special are not meant to be game-changing eye-openers to solving mental health issues or bringing the world together in harmony; they are simply a reflection of all the awful shit that's been whirling round inside one person's head for the last horrible year. If it doesn't feel broad enough for you or it's overly self-aware, that's the point. He never shies away from the fact that he's just presenting "here's a bunch of ways in which the last 12 months have really fucked my brain up". It's not an invitation for that sort of criticism, and agin he addresses this directly in the interlude song where he says he doesn't care if you're paying attention to it or not. It is a vent. It just so happens to be a vent where the content is fantastically written and produced.

Similarly for people criticising the disingenuousness of him looking sad and reflective and crying, tha doesn't matter. It is heavily implied that at some point - many points - during all this mess, he has genuinely broke down and felt his mind unravelling. It's fine for him not wanting to film himself actually sobbing and lying in bed all day but it's equally fine that he'd want to recreate that as a reflection of his very real experiences. People who call that stuff disingenuous are, whether they like to admit it or not, simply discounting the mental health struggles of other people, in this instance apparently because rich people with access to therapy don't have an excuse to not be happy. That assumption is ludicrous.

Blue Jam

Quote from: neveragain on June 20, 2021, 09:36:57 PM
Unashamed fan here (or was, haven't listened to his stuff in years). His piano playing is remarkable and lyrics often damn good too. I adore the bile in 'Ten Foot Cock and A Few Hundred Virgins'.

No shame in liking Tim Minchin, I'm a fan too. Is liking him supposed to be shameful? Does it just go against the CaB concensus? Or is it because he was associated with that whole Skeptic thing?

phantom_power

Quote from: The Mollusk on June 26, 2021, 08:24:07 AM
Watched this last night and thought it was superb.

I will say this to the people who've criticised it here (can't be arsed to mass-quote and pick apart, just read my shit please): Gripes with Burnham only addressing certain sides of isolation in the pandemic and white people problems are precisely the intention. You'd think that would be glaringly obvious when one of his songs here literally addresses how full-circle self-reflective and terrified of criticism he is, but here we are. The issues addressed in this special are not meant to be game-changing eye-openers to solving mental health issues or bringing the world together in harmony; they are simply a reflection of all the awful shit that's been whirling round inside one person's head for the last horrible year. If it doesn't feel broad enough for you or it's overly self-aware, that's the point. He never shies away from the fact that he's just presenting "here's a bunch of ways in which the last 12 months have really fucked my brain up". It's not an invitation for that sort of criticism, and agin he addresses this directly in the interlude song where he says he doesn't care if you're paying attention to it or not. It is a vent. It just so happens to be a vent where the content is fantastically written and produced.

Similarly for people criticising the disingenuousness of him looking sad and reflective and crying, tha doesn't matter. It is heavily implied that at some point - many points - during all this mess, he has genuinely broke down and felt his mind unravelling. It's fine for him not wanting to film himself actually sobbing and lying in bed all day but it's equally fine that he'd want to recreate that as a reflection of his very real experiences. People who call that stuff disingenuous are, whether they like to admit it or not, simply discounting the mental health struggles of other people, in this instance apparently because rich people with access to therapy don't have an excuse to not be happy. That assumption is ludicrous.

I did find some of the emotional bits too obviously staged and it took me out of it a bit wondering how cynical it was but reading what you say there makes perfect sense and it is more likely a recreation of how he felt at times when the cameras weren't on rather than just fabrication

The Mollusk

Yeah totally. For me the bit that brought it home the most was the live gaming stream sketch, which captured how I felt throughout so much of 2020. The days are so empty that having an emotional outpouring actually felt like an event of sorts, just fuckin crying and feeling at my lowest was like a sort of landmark in a sea of days where nothing else happens. The way the game scene ends as if to say "that's all there is to do, I didn't feel like I could achieve anything beyond this" was heartbreaking.

I think it's hard sometimes to connect to someone else's pain and I totally get that, but this is the real deal for sure, even if what we see is a staged recreation of it. That dude really has cried and cried and felt absolutely lost and hopeless.

Dusty Substance

Quote from: Dusty Substance on June 18, 2021, 07:41:54 PM
Made it as far as the 20 minute mark. Abhorrent stuff. Tom Lehrer for Millennials.

A mate's praise for Inside convinced me to watch the rest of it. Look, I can fully appreciate that it's a technical accomplishment, with Bo Burnham doing virtually everything by himself (editing, lighting etc.) but there's very little for me to like. I can handle one or two comedy songs in a set but when they take up the vast majority of a 90 minute special, then it's clearly not my cup of tea.


Deliciousbass

#102
Quote from: The Mollusk on June 26, 2021, 08:24:07 AM
Watched this last night and thought it was superb.

I will say this to the people who've criticised it here (can't be arsed to mass-quote and pick apart, just read my shit please): Gripes with Burnham only addressing certain sides of isolation in the pandemic and white people problems are precisely the intention. You'd think that would be glaringly obvious when one of his songs here literally addresses how full-circle self-reflective and terrified of criticism he is, but here we are. The issues addressed in this special are not meant to be game-changing eye-openers to solving mental health issues or bringing the world together in harmony; they are simply a reflection of all the awful shit that's been whirling round inside one person's head for the last horrible year. If it doesn't feel broad enough for you or it's overly self-aware, that's the point. He never shies away from the fact that he's just presenting "here's a bunch of ways in which the last 12 months have really fucked my brain up". It's not an invitation for that sort of criticism, and agin he addresses this directly in the interlude song where he says he doesn't care if you're paying attention to it or not. It is a vent. It just so happens to be a vent where the content is fantastically written and produced.

Similarly for people criticising the disingenuousness of him looking sad and reflective and crying, tha doesn't matter. It is heavily implied that at some point - many points - during all this mess, he has genuinely broke down and felt his mind unravelling. It's fine for him not wanting to film himself actually sobbing and lying in bed all day but it's equally fine that he'd want to recreate that as a reflection of his very real experiences. People who call that stuff disingenuous are, whether they like to admit it or not, simply discounting the mental health struggles of other people, in this instance apparently because rich people with access to therapy don't have an excuse to not be happy. That assumption is ludicrous.

I think it's valid to criticise a performance as feeling false, I don't think that's the same thing as saying the emotional reality behind that performance is false. For example, corey feldman  seems to be someone who is in serious need of mental health care, but his art is a complete failure (for me anyway) and doesn't convey his anguish in a way that's easy to empathise with. I don't think it's fair to say such criticism is 'discounting mental health struggles'.

Blue Jam

Any VR gamers here? Someone has made a custom map of Sh*t for Synth Riders. Hahahaha:

https://synthriderz.com/beatmaps/3212

MoreauVasz

Quote from: The Mollusk on June 26, 2021, 08:24:07 AM
I will say this to the people who've criticised it here (can't be arsed to mass-quote and pick apart, just read my shit please): Gripes with Burnham only addressing certain sides of isolation in the pandemic and white people problems are precisely the intention.

And yet he'd have gotten stick had he tried to speak for non-White people or try to claim that his observations were universal.

We really need to come up with a term for seeing something, thinking 'I don' t like this', and then trying to articulate your dislike in weirdly universalising terms that try to suggest that something is objectively bad and that tge people who like it are therefore bad people.

Kelvin

#105
Sorry for the bump, but I finally watched this over Christmas, and I thought it was superb, maybe the best comedy "thing" I've watched in many years. Now, possibly that's because it touched on a lot of issues I've had myself with creative projects, but I really felt profoundly affected by the whole thing, and the deft way it shifted from light and throwaway, into darker and more satirical, and then finally into really bleak and introspective. The way he framed the images, lit the scenes, edited it together, it really was masterful in the context. The only thing I didn't think worked so well were the staged insert shots that have been mentioned above.

Anyway, yeah, I loved it and haven't stopped thinking about it for days.     

MrsWarboysLover

Quote from: MoreauVasz on August 08, 2021, 08:05:02 AMAnd yet he'd have gotten stick had he tried to speak for non-White people or try to claim that his observations were universal.

I didn't love Inside as much as some people, but it does my head in when I see people criticise it this way.
If he speaks about his own problems and thoughts, people shoot it down for him supposedly speaking from a position of privelige and just being another self obsessed white guy who thinks his own thoughts are profound.
But if he speaks about other groups, people would shoot it down because how can he as a middle class straight white guy understand their problems?
so the alternative would just be that he's not allowed to make any art at all.

billyandthecloneasaurus

I've enjoyed a lot of B B's stuff (especially his coming of age movie), but I'm finding this a bit of a slog to get through.

More generally, there was something about him that put me off but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  I watched that clip of him doing his angry Art is Dead song on that talk show with all those old comedy legends like Gary Shandling, and all the top rated youtube comments were like:

"I love how all these people are like "he sounds so nervous"

No, he's furious. Watch the way you can see him get progressively more and more aggressive with the song."


"Imagine playing one of the most painful songs you wrote about how fame eats you out inside and exploits the poor, and the exploiters are laughing at you with no self awareness"

Firstly, I know, I know, getting annoyed by youtube comments, but they did piss me off.  It's like...your man goes on a comedy show, does a (admittedly angry) comedy bit, and you're annoyed the audience are laughing...what do you want them to do?  And while it's obviously massively unfair to have a go at him for YOUTUBE COMMENTS, it did really help me identify what wasn't sitting right with me about his act.

I really doubt Burnham himself was angry his passionate comedy rant got laughs like the youtube divs were, but I do have a strong sense that he massively overrates how IMPORTANT and SIGNIFICANT his comedy is.  There's loads of really excellent, poignant, well observed stuff, but I could say the same about Half Man Half Biscuit.  And Nigel Blackwell's fans ain't queueing up to berate people for laughing at his jokes.

I know I can't expect everyone to be glib and ironical, and earnestness isn't an inherently bad thing, but it sometimes just feels a bit MUCH.  I thought about Doug Stanhope's bit where he's pouring beer in his eye, disconsolate that people just didn't GET IT, but I think the that works cus (deliberately, I reckon) Stanhope combines genuine anger with this sort of mad old cunt shouting bollocks presentation.  I dunno.  Sorry everyone, I'd just been thinking about this shite for a week or so, and wanted cleverer people to make sense of my incoherent, half formed thoughts, and say what they think.

Milo

I watched this again recently and was quite struck by the way it told the story of the way we've all gone a bit crackers during the recent unfortunate circumstances. All Eyes on Me is a brilliant bit of work for the context.

"you say the whole world's ending, honey it already did" and "got it? Good, now get inside" is the sort of furious despair that most of us have either suffered from or just about kept at bay.

Barry Admin

Bump. Big thanks to @Kelvin for recommending this to me in the Gervais thread today. Just finished watching and absolutely adored it! Lots of background details to pause for in the first ten minutes, which hooked a pause jabber like me in immediately.

I'm just this week starting to get out again and get over the pandemic, so this was very well timed and resonated with me. I found it to be inspired throughout, and was incredibly impressed by how visually entertaining he was able to make it despite the limitations. Loved the songs.

Didn't expect it to be so introspective, and at times depressing. I can see why it was brought up when I asked what woke comedy actually was, but I found that whole side of it massively refreshing. Just the whole anti-corporate stance, and the focus on the actual human impact that technology has on us - brilliant, and rarely touched upon in comedy.

I actually can barely watch comedy now because smartphones and the internet have made my ADD so much worse over the years, so yeah, I loved this so much.

By the time "White Women's Instagram" kicked in, all my preconceptions about Burnham had fallen away. I realised how much that younger comics like Burnham have to say about the world around us and the increasingly invasive role that technology plays in it. Very impressive show.

Kelvin

#110
Quote from: Barry Admin on May 25, 2022, 12:10:03 AMBump. Big thanks to @Kelvin for recommending this to me in the Gervais thread today. Just finished watching and absolutely adored it! Lots of background details to pause for in the first ten minutes, which hooked a pause jabber like me in immediately.

I'm just this week starting to get out again and get over the pandemic, so this was very well timed and resonated with me. I found it to be inspired throughout, and was incredibly impressed by how visually entertaining he was able to make it despite the limitations. Loved the songs.

Didn't expect it to be so introspective, and at times depressing. I can see why it was brought up when I asked what woke comedy actually was, but I found that whole side of it massively refreshing. Just the whole anti-corporate stance, and the focus on the actual human impact that technology has on us - brilliant, and rarely touched upon in comedy.

I actually can barely watch comedy now because smartphones and the internet have made my ADD so much worse over the years, so yeah, I loved this so much.

By the time "White Women's Instagram" kicked in, all my preconceptions about Burnham had fallen away. I realised how much that younger comics like Burnham have to say about the world around us and the increasingly invasive role that technology plays in it. Very impressive show.

So glad you liked it, I'm kicking myself now for not recommending it to you sooner. I was buzzing for weeks after I first watched it.

Kelvin

#111
Oh, and just to be clear, I cited it as an example of "woke" comedy, but that wasn't a criticism  :)

Songs like "Problematic" impress, in part because they have something new to say after generations of comedians like Gervais losing their edge and making the same tired points they always have. It feels so fresh. And of course, Burnham's comedy has an edge of its own, its not like he doesn't reference controversial or sensitive subjects in the show, he's just not relying on them as the tent-poles for his act. 

up_the_hampipe

So glad that more people are getting on the Bo Burnham train because he's very easy to dismiss. His other two Netflix specials are highly recommended too. It's not just musical comedy. He was very creative even in the live medium.

up_the_hampipe

#113
Quotea year ago today, i released a special called inside. i've spent the last two months editing together material that i shot for the special but didn't end up using. it will be on my youtube channel in one hour. i hope you enjoy it.

https://twitter.com/boburnham/status/1531426724457480192

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XWEVoI40sE

Yes, there's new songs!

selectivememory

Oh wow. Whole hour's worth of stuff. Will be watching that tonight.

up_the_hampipe

The sketches and the parodies of YouTube ads throughout are brilliant. There's some really funny stuff that didn't make it, and fascinating to see just how much work went into the whole thing, so I'd say this is essential viewing for anyone who enjoyed the original.

batwings


Pimhole


I love the way she ends it

Kelvin

The deleted song about his girlfriend is really good, although I'm glad it was cut, it would undermine the sense of isolation if he had made more references to his partner. I'm not sure the show would work anywhere near as well if he hadn't made that decision.

EDIT:  This one: 


lauraxsynthesis

He's also now released a 'deluxe edition' Inside soundtrack with dozens of songs/versions. Some of them have grown on me and I've ended up buying it https://t.co/4Rzlm1ukWx