Comedy is a wonderful way for both the listener and performer to express emotions and "escape" for however long the show in question is. It is a wonderful way of expressing ideas in an engaging manner that allows individuality and freedom of an artist. It is also a way to express opinions about the depressing world we live in, in a way deemed acceptable by many, and it is a way to reflect on the society we are currently in whilst laughing and joking with others.
I remember the exact moment I first listened to Bo Burnham. After a fire at our university (long story, #foundersfire) one of my best friends on my course was staying in my accommodation whilst hers was closed off due to the blaze. We had a wonderful conversation around the youtube, comedy and music we liked, which is when she told me I had to listen to Bo. We then for a few hours proceeded to listen to his songs on youtube. At first listen, I thought he was cool. I wasn't overly paying attention to the music I must admit, it had been a long day and I was rather tired and thinking about waking up at 7am the next morning. But I enjoyed what I was listening to. It wasn't until a few days later however, when I was listening to his material on my own that I realised how insanely amazing it was.
Bo is a, what I like to call, "musical comedian", where the majority of his comedy comes in the form of songs, skits and music/theatric related pieces. I had always been a fan of the combination of music and comedy, so once I had really started listening to Bo, I was awe struck.
Many comedians now-a-days just focus on events that happen in their daily lives, that none of us will ever probably experience, or stories that probably aren't even true or silly little make up puns. Not that this is a problem, obviously. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for comedy in all forms and even the worst joke usually gets me laughing until I'm crying.
But Bo is different. His shows are precisely constructed over a long period of time and then performed in a one hour time slot. He thinks very precisely about every movement, every note, every word and every light that the show entails and makes his overly-practised shows seem like they're spontaneous as far as he can.
The main reason however, that Bo in my eyes is such a wonderful comedian, is his content of music.
As many of you may know, I am one for mental health, sexuality, gender identity, equality etc. I am constantly advocating my views for these on social media, to my friends, around university etc and I am very passionate about topics such as this.
It is topics like this, that Bo includes in such a wonderful way that has made me love his comedy.
It is extremely difficult to find a balance between serious and calm in terms of these topics, but Bo does it near perfectly. In the majority of his best songs, he incorporates a message or advocation somewhere, whether it is the songs main focus or a line or two in the song.
His songs are catchy, interesting, different and so real. He touches upon such a vast array of topics that you never would really think about until heard. Bo has a way with words that I haven't seen in any musician to date. His voice incorporates an unserious tone, making the most serious of songs feel more lighthearted like they were made to be. And his talent in all these ways shows, with him being the youngest comedian to have a comedy special on Comedy Central (at aged 18). He is open about a love-hate relationship with the internet and life in general, not being afraid to call out problems with the world, especially with celebrity culture. In his song "Straight White Male", he touches on the issue of how the world is hard if you are a woman, a person of colour, LGBT etc in a very clever way. By highlighting his joke, petty issues like getting spam emails not marked at spam, compared to women wanting rights, LGBT+ wanting kids etc, he brings to life actually how "easy" life is for certain people, compared to out-groups who are still fighting for rights they should've been granted long ago.
Bo Burnham to me, is something in entertainment I had wanted to find for a long time. He is real, honest and not afraid to say anything he feels on stage. He says things that many of us are afraid to say aloud, especially when it comes to the topic of social media and the impact it has had on the world. His comments on social media, whether that be in interviews or in his performances, highlight the world we have been sucked into, where everything online seems better than it does in real life. Or how we rely on others to make us feel loved. A prime example of this is "Repeat Stuff", a dig at modern pop music and it's blatant copy and paste of each song, with a few different lyrics and tunes. "cashing in on puberty and low self esteem and girls desperate need to feel love" is a perfect example spilling the truth on pop music. I'll even admit myself, my main One Direction fangirl days revolved around me needing to feel like someone "cared" about me, and that's what their music did (still does not even sorry) to me.
An aspect I love is how he talks about not fitting the person he wanted to be. An almost encore to Make Happy, shows this in its entirety. "hey look ma I made it, are you happy?" and "you're everything you hated, are you happy?" show that happiness doesn't come from fame, from pleasing others. It comes from being what you want to be.
But, what I believe to be the most important factor in his shows, is his messages throughout, whether hidden or straight out. Even though the majority of his skits and songs (actually, probably all of them) contain a message, his words, phrases and actions throughout the performance itself, portray Bo's feelings itself, whether intentional or not. In "Make Happy", he contains a short segment before the finale, expressing his opinions in a no lights, actual talk with the audience, inadvertently trying to persuade them to live their life without the judgement of others. He acknowledges his role as a comedian, leaving Make Happy's ending with the bittersweet line "I hope you're happy", arguably referring to the fact that he knows his job is to make others happy, even if its at the cost of his own happiness. His performance has different metaphors that lead to different interpretations, meaning it is arguably different for all, an aspect I also love about his shows.
In the finale to the "Make Happy" special, Bo "mimics" a rant by Kayne West to reflect his own life. Within the 7 minute song "Can't Handle This", Bo portrays the metaphor of struggling to fit into the mold of what he wants to be, and constantly being overwhelmed almost at this prospect (or at least that's how I interpret it), shown through a "silly" metaphor of Pringle Cans and Burritos, "I can't fit my hand inside of a Pringle Can" / "I wouldn't have got half this shit if I knew it wasn't gonna fit in the burrito". Emphasising the metaphor, Bo emphasises that he wouldn't have gotten into his career if he knew how his health would've been impacted. Further on in the song, he almost argues with himself, singing "I want to please you, but I want to stay true to myself. I want to give you the night out that you deserve, but I want to say what I think, and not care what you think about it", publically saying that he wants to be his own comedian, but also wants to please his fans.
In the same song, my favourite Bo lyrics of them all. "I don't think I can handle this right now. Look at them their just staring at me like come and watch the skinny kid with a steadily declining mental health, and laugh as he attempts to give you what he cannot give himself." By diving more up front into his personal issues, Bo straight up says what performing is doing to him. What it is to him. As a comedian, his daily involves making people happy. People (me included) pay to see him and other comedians as escapism and a way of feeling happy. It is obvious this would take its toll on anyone, but you never really think of a comedian feeling sad or experiencing mental health difficulty, which they do.
His finale in "what." also conveys a wonderfully powerful message. "We Think We Know You" comes from the perspective of people judging him without really knowing him. The song even starts with three "people" (prerecorded voices" right out speaking to him and making judgements of who he is "it's cause you're an arrogant prick". The song is a performance in itself, carefully constructed and acted to make a masterpiece worthy of ending a performance of a lifetime (seriously, watch the damn thing.)
Also, wanting to give a mention to Left Brain, Right Brain (I'm a psychology student, pls), From God's Perspective, #Deep, Sad and Lower Your Expectations, for all once again, being masterpieces in their own right. But the final piece I want to touch upon is one from his "Words Words Words", the first special he aired (Comedy Central ftw), ART IS DEAD.
Art is Dead is not meant as a comedy piece. It is a short, fast paced song that highlights what it actually is to be an artist. At the time of this, Bo was 18, so lyrically, the song is perfect to what Bo would have been when writing. He would've been rather new in the comedy field at this point, thus highlights the whole "comedian" thing that someone would dream, the money, the attention.
He constantly refers to money in this piece "some people think your funny, how do we get these peoples money" / "the show has got a budget, and all of the poor people way more deserving of the money won't budge it, because I wanted my name in lights, when I could have fed a family of four for fourty fucking fortnights", and arguably portraying how unfair society is in the way that people are willing to spend millions on a show, when there are many people homeless and impoverished in society. My favourite line of the song comes in the form of "my drugs attention, I am an addict, but I get paid to indulge in my habit." Many people have bad habits that keep them feeling somewhat okay, whether this be drugs, alcohol and more. But Bo highlights how he is encouraged to partake in his addiction, by writing specials.
Bo Burnham is a genius. I said it. His words have genuinely changed how I view the world (urgh that's sappy). Even though I knew people aren't always as happy as they seem, it to me, highlights that even famous people feel this way. Bo has opinions, and unlike others he chooses to express them. As time passes, his songs contain more real world and mental health metaphors, showing his decline in health as he carries on. But his songs to me mean so much more, in ways I cannot really describe. I constantly am listening to them and singing along, because I feel the things he portrays. It just clicks and sits right with me.
And even though in his song "Kill Yourself", he highlights how you shouldn't rely on celebrities to make you feel happy and that one song can't fix everything, his music does to me. He does to me. He makes me feel better than I have done in a long time, because of his personality, his words, his honesty and his presence. His focus on mental health "suicide is an epidemic and I don't wanna be misconstrued, signs of depression go overlooked, so if you're depressed then you need to book a therapy session", world hate "who needs a thousand metaphors to figure out you shouldn't be a dick", and LGBT+ "wears a cape made out of a rainbow flag" (+ straight white male), is something that is SO important to me and has really helped my recovery from depression and anxiety.
Bo Burnham is important.
I love you Bo (well the idea of you) and I hope you're happy.
"you're everything you hated, are you happy?"
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Watch Bo's Comedy Specials "what." and "Make Happy" on Netflix, it's worth it.
You can also listen to him on Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/artist/2Waw2sSbqvAwK8NwACNjVo?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open
Twitter: https://twitter.com/boburnham
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/boburnham (or type his name in)
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