Movies

'Bo Burnham: Inside' Album Being Released This Week, So You Can Stop Listening To Bootlegs On YouTube

Bo Burnham Inside Album
By Chris Evangelista/

Bo Burnham: Inside, the latest comedy (?) special from Bo Burnham, is loaded with wall-to-wall songs. And while one or two of those songs have been officially uploaded to the Netflix YouTube page, the rest are currently unavailable. Every now and then, someone will upload a bootleg of one of the songs to YouTube, or a cover version. But the bootlegs are swiftly deleted, and, let's get real, the cover versions aren't very good. But here's some good news: the official album is dropping this week.

Bo Burnham: Inside Album

I finally watched Bo Burnham: Inside over the weekend, and it took me completely by surprise. I know who Burnham is, but I haven't watched any of his comedy specials before, so I didn't really know what to expect. But whatever I was expecting, it wasn't this. The special has some issues – it feels about 20 minutes too long, and it's often very self-indulgent. And yet, it's also one of the few things I've seen that accurately captures what it's like to feel utterly hopeless about, well, everything. I think that's what struck me the most about Inside – I can't remember the last time I watched a comedy special that felt so hopeless. Even specials released by the most cynical of comedians have an element of catharsis. But there's nothing cathartic here (even though I've seen some folks claim otherwise). The bottom line seems to be that we are all doomed, and that the clock is winding down.

I know none of that sounds very funny, and Inside isn't big on laughs. But it is loaded with memorable, humorous songs – many of which I immediately wanted to listen to on Spotify. But the songs aren't on Spotify, or anywhere else for that matter, save for two songs officially released by Netflix. My favorite song from the special – the dire, dark, and weirdly beautiful "Funny Feeling" – was uploaded in bootleg form to YouTube, where I listened to it on a loop. But the bootleg has (understandably) been removed, and all that's left are a series of covers that – to be blunt – suck.

So I'm thrilled to tell you that the Bo Burnham: Inside album will officially be released this Thursday, June 10, 2021. Burnham made the announcement himself.

What Is Bo Burnham: Inside?

Inside is a feature-length special that Burnham wrote, directed, filmed, and edited himself. He shot the entire project in his house for a full year, and the special is a surreal, funny, bleak representation of our current times. It's a special that highlights the pandemic, politics, and the inevitable death of us all. Like I hinted at above: it's not exactly hilarious! But it is remarkable in its bluntness. It won't be for everyone, and honestly, if you suffer from clinical depression and have bouts of suicidal thoughts, I would recommend not rushing to watch this, because it might send you into a downward spiral.

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