In this day and age, it’s always important to take a break and laugh a little––Bo Burnham makes it easy. Here are some reasons why Bo should be your favorite comedian!
1. His puns.
2. He talks about real issues.
In his song “Straight White Male”, featured in his Make Happy special, he addresses the issues about those who are not heterosexual, cisgender, white men:
Walking around, I’ve got no one to talk to
There’s everyone, and then there’s just me
If I could change, don’t you think that I’d do it
God only knows why he cursed me to be
A straight white man
I state my problems
Other people roll their eyes
Three trips to the mall
And zero khakis in my size
I’ve never been the victim
Of a random search for drugs
But you can’t say my life is easy
Until you’ve walked a mile in my UGGs
Straight white man, I know the road looks tough ahead
The women want rights
The gays want kids (what?)
Can’t you just leave us alone?
And also, no, to the things you asked for
Everyone thinks that I’ve got it easy
Just cause it’s true, doesn’t mean that it’s right
So pull up a chair, and put down your pitchforks
Give me a chance to show you what it’s like
To be a straight white man
3. His self-deprecating humor.
Here’s an excerpt from his second comedy special titled ‘what.’:
I moved to Hollywood recently from Boston, where I grew up.
And I heard about these sort of wild Hollywood party nights that people would have.
And I didn’t think they were true until I moved to Hollywood and I started having them.
Anyway, this is a song about a crazy night that happened a couple months ago.
It’s called “What Did I Do Last Night?”
Yeah, yeah, yeah
What the f**k did I do last night?
I cried myself to sleep
4. His brutal honesty.
And it’s refreshing. Here is an excerpt of the lyrics to his song “Country Song (Pandering)” in which he takes down the entire mainstream country music genre:
Instead of people actually telling their stories, you just got a bunch of millionaire metrosexuals that have never done a hard day’s work in their lives. But instead of just sort of figuring out the phrases and the words that they can pander in their crowd with, they just sort of list thee words and phrases off, mad-lib style in every song and pander to them. Words like
Dirt road
A cold beer
Blue jeans
Red pickup
A rural noun, simple adjective
And then when you’re not singing you just talk in the middle like this
No shoes
No shirt
No Jews
You didn’t hear that
You also didn’t not hear it
I walk and talk like a field hand
But the boots I’m wearing cost five grand
I write songs about riding tractors
From the comfort of a private jet
5. He may come across as problematic, but the point he makes is a profound one.
He has a song called “Kill Yourself” and in it he advocates for people to seek professional help for mental health concerns instead of idolizing celebrities and believing that doing so will erase your problems.
6. His newest show (on Netflix) ‘Make Happy’ is so real.
He puts words to problems we know exist but don’t actively acknowledge.
7. His perfectly-timed shows.
8. You can listen to his specials on-the-go.
9. His perfectly snarky attitude toward his audience.
Here’s a little secret: we love it.
10. He’s inspiring in his own way.