You Can Be My Wave

This one I'll admit is a little bit out of my wheelhouse considering that it is a comedy, musical, soundtrack, thing. But if I'm being honest, Bo Burnham's Inside has been living rent free inside (nice pun) my head ever since I first saw it. I'm enamored with the special for many reasons but seeing how this is a music journal, I would like to just comment on the music side of things. Now when I say 'comedy,' you may already be envisioning songs that sound really quirky, something one could only enjoy ironically. Sure, there are a few cases of that on this record, but with every passing song in the special, I became more aware of just how talented and brilliant a producer Bo Burnham is. A great deal of these tracks are legitimately amazing pop songs. And when I say pop, I really mean the full gamut of pop genres that include modern electronic pop, 80s synth-pop, indie-pop, R&B, and folk. No matter which genre Burnham is messing around with, it is pulled off so convincingly.

While this special was conceived during the isolating period of the pandemic, surprisingly none of the songs really touch on experiences living through the pandemic. This is more so the overarching theme presented in the moments between songs in the special (which I won't really touch upon). Instead, Burnham writes about a myriad of other topics including life as a content creator, internet and online relationships, capitalism, and mental health. In all honesty, not much about this album is particularly funny. It's like the musical equivalent of the meme with the dog sitting inside his flame-engulfed home declaring "this is fine." There are a few silly reprieves though, like FaceTime With My Mom (Tonight), which is presented as this smooth, sensual, R&B tune in which Burnham highlights the things 'moms' do when operating technology; holding the camera too close to their face or covering the camera with their thumb for example. White Woman's Instagram is produced (appropriately) like a piece of T. Swift pop which serves as the backdrop for Burnham's list of 'basic' woman stereotypes or, more specifically, what can be commonly found on their Instagram pages. Sure, making fun of technologically illiterate parents and basic white girls may seem like low-hanging fruit comedically, but no one can take away from the fact that both are expertly produced songs that are incredibly catchy and fun to listen to. These two songs, and maybe a few others, are outliers though as most of these songs succeed more at cultivating a sense of existential dread.

Unpaid Intern and Bezos I, which were ingeniously placed side by side, highlights the two sides of a hyper-capitalist society. The character portrayed in the former is aware of their perceived low self-worth and buys into it with a self-deprecating joke at the end. The latter, however, is much more triumphant in tone as we champion an actual Superpower in the form of (former) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The commentary on capitalism feels timely especially during the pandemic since the working class struggled to earn and make a living under public restrictions while those at the top seemed to be thriving. Income inequality was an issue that seemed to be amplified during this time and in a very tongue-in-cheek way, Bo Burnham is commenting on it. These two tracks are short and soaked in satire, but sting a little nonetheless.

All Eyes On Me is one of the few songs where Bo Burnham addresses his mental health; specifically touching upon leaving comedy due to suffering panic attacks on stage. It is a chilling, spacious, auto-crooned ballad that might go down as my favourite song of 2021. Seriously. It's heartbreaking hearing Bo Burnham drown in his anxiety to the point that he becomes so apathetic to what is going on around him. "You say the whole world's ending, honey, it already did," he laments as gorgeous auto-tuned harmonies swell up to numb the pain. Burnham's outburst towards the end signifies (to me) a mental break of sorts; becoming hostile towards the crowd and laughing hysterically before abruptly cutting off the end of the song.

There's so much to talk about when it comes to these songs and that would still barely scratch the surface on how I feel about the special as a whole. In short, I think the world of it. If you feel like the rating doesn't quite reflect that, it could be because I feel some songs are a little more impactful when coupled with the visuals and within the greater context of the film. Therefore, I must recommend that you watch this special. It truly is a phenomenal piece of art and easily Bo Burnham's best special to date.