"Sudden backlash" honestly cant say I ever cared for Inside really. I liked his previous specials and I liked Outside but Inside wasn't something that I thought was much of anything special. Some songs were nice (although I never liked welcome to the internet but all eyes on me was good) yet that was about it + the one part of him reacting to himself over and over is also good too. Just kinda overpraised imo.
When you say "overpraised" thats the point i was making, it seemed like the most critically beloved thing on earth for a year or two before apparently a bunch of people decided "hmmm, actually, CRINGE" At least thats what it seemed like to me, lol.
But i mean if you didn't vibe with it from the get-go, then you're not part of the "some people" I was referring to, so you're chill. I could get deeper into criticisms I hear that I think are disingenuous but I'll try and spare the thread from any more rambling...
It's musically a drag and lyrically the least funny "comedy album" I've ever heard. I don't really care to hear rich comedian musing on his big revelation about the internet being gasp not exactly the healthiest place to be over flaccid synthpop cheese
Did you listen to the ablum alone or did you watch the attached special on netflix? I did when it came out, and calling it solely "comedy" isn't really accurate. Half the segments in the special are not musical, and lead into/add onto the songs that are there. What the special was was basically a project spanning the entire year of 2020, reflecting on how it felt to be going through the pandemic, the extended period of loneliness and how that affects your mental health, relying on the internet for everything and what comes of that, etc.
It was also his first project released after he announced he was retiring from standup because of the effect it had on his mental health and self-image, so that was also reflected on during Inside, everything that comes with being a public figure and the existential dread of having everybody watching your every move.
Listen idk how familiar with Burnham you are, if you've watched his standup before or not, but if you don't know the context and background to the album and haven't seen the actual entire project itself, imo you can't criticize it while grossly misrepresenting the themes and meaning.
Sorry for the essay, but "Inside" is a piece that means a lot to me. I watched it the day it dropped during 2020, with the person I had basically solely relied on for social interaction at that time, and it brought me to tears by the end. Yes its made by a """rich white comedian""" but it perfectly captures that horrible stagnant feeling basically everybody experienced in 2020, so I think it holds up even now for people who lived through that, hell a lot of it still rings true today.
Tl;dr: "Inside" is a visual and musical project, it's not meant to be taken solely by the album, or a comedy album, that's like trying to determine the message of a movie based solely on its soundtrack. Not telling you to watch the whole thing or that doing so would definitely change your opinion, just that you're really misrepresenting it. Also I like to yap.
Edited a bit after first posting since I misunderstood a bit.
Even as a non Bo Burnham fan, inside was a very compelling project imo.
Maybe BC I was also still wrestling with a lot of intense feelings from a traumatic breakdown on top of COVID and increasingly severe physical and mental health conditions...
But I also appreciate music musicians a lot, I grew up with Bill Bailey's funny, weird, sometimes distressing comedy and it was nice to see a modern comedian do something similar with a different spin towards it.
He literally exclusively covers hit music - one hit wonders, the fall of once culturally huge artists, and summaries of his feelings about billboard hits.
Funny you mention them. They have a ballad from 2000 called Feel So Low. Great song, very emotional, very sad. But there's a line right at the start that goes "But I hated every minute I was waiting for your e-mail" that always takes me out of the song. It keeps it from sounding timeless. It was the first thing I thought of when I heard Todd's comment
Yeah but Todd doesn't have a lot of grace with Broadway-esque songs. Remember, he put "Surface Pressure" from Encanto on the worst list of... whatever year that was.
Deeper understanding by Kate Bush (technically it’s just about the computer, as the greater concept of Internet much less an internet Culture was either Nonexistent or in very early infancy)
Honestly, I do get it, however, as dated as it is, I think some part of Virus Alert will be universal and good for as long as we have digital technology.
Yeah he’s kinda just flat out wrong about that one. tons of good music that is about the internet and a lot of it has interesting things to say about the internet at that
It’s interesting, because I feel like I can name hundreds of great songs about how bad technology is, but not one specifically about the internet. I feel like it’s because regardless of genre, as soon as you incorporate “memes,” “trolls,” or “being online” into your lyrics it pretty quickly becomes cringe
Only one I can think of is Stop Forwarding that Crap to Me, which other ones are there?
EDIT: Just remembered Virus Alert. Ringtone MIGHT count as well.
"Don't Download This Song". While it is largely about piracy in general it's specifically about file share sites. It also inspired MC Lars to make "Download this Song" which is about the changing delivery methods of songs switching to streaming and how the industry needs to stop thinking about music as individual products to sell and more as a service to sell access to.
Pixel Affection - Yeule (most of yeules songs mention the internet in some way)
Deeper Understanding - Kate Bush
Secrets- Magdelena Bay
Pamplemouse - FKA Twigs
And arguably Virtual Angel by ARTMS
This is Bo Burnham erasure.
Is it, though?
He said no GOOD songs
Yeah, "Welcome to the Internet" is a great song.
So is "I'm Afraid of the Internet" by K.Flay, for that matter.
I wish we could erase that album
Why? Never understood the sudden backlash to Inside from some people...
"Sudden backlash" honestly cant say I ever cared for Inside really. I liked his previous specials and I liked Outside but Inside wasn't something that I thought was much of anything special. Some songs were nice (although I never liked welcome to the internet but all eyes on me was good) yet that was about it + the one part of him reacting to himself over and over is also good too. Just kinda overpraised imo.
When you say "overpraised" thats the point i was making, it seemed like the most critically beloved thing on earth for a year or two before apparently a bunch of people decided "hmmm, actually, CRINGE" At least thats what it seemed like to me, lol.
But i mean if you didn't vibe with it from the get-go, then you're not part of the "some people" I was referring to, so you're chill. I could get deeper into criticisms I hear that I think are disingenuous but I'll try and spare the thread from any more rambling...
On some level, its just people internalizing pop-culture media's build-and-wreck-and-"reappraise" cycle.
It happens to a lot of celebrities and works.
It's musically a drag and lyrically the least funny "comedy album" I've ever heard. I don't really care to hear rich comedian musing on his big revelation about the internet being gasp not exactly the healthiest place to be over flaccid synthpop cheese
Did you listen to the ablum alone or did you watch the attached special on netflix? I did when it came out, and calling it solely "comedy" isn't really accurate. Half the segments in the special are not musical, and lead into/add onto the songs that are there. What the special was was basically a project spanning the entire year of 2020, reflecting on how it felt to be going through the pandemic, the extended period of loneliness and how that affects your mental health, relying on the internet for everything and what comes of that, etc.
It was also his first project released after he announced he was retiring from standup because of the effect it had on his mental health and self-image, so that was also reflected on during Inside, everything that comes with being a public figure and the existential dread of having everybody watching your every move.
Listen idk how familiar with Burnham you are, if you've watched his standup before or not, but if you don't know the context and background to the album and haven't seen the actual entire project itself, imo you can't criticize it while grossly misrepresenting the themes and meaning.
Sorry for the essay, but "Inside" is a piece that means a lot to me. I watched it the day it dropped during 2020, with the person I had basically solely relied on for social interaction at that time, and it brought me to tears by the end. Yes its made by a """rich white comedian""" but it perfectly captures that horrible stagnant feeling basically everybody experienced in 2020, so I think it holds up even now for people who lived through that, hell a lot of it still rings true today.
Tl;dr: "Inside" is a visual and musical project, it's not meant to be taken solely by the album, or a comedy album, that's like trying to determine the message of a movie based solely on its soundtrack. Not telling you to watch the whole thing or that doing so would definitely change your opinion, just that you're really misrepresenting it. Also I like to yap.
Edited a bit after first posting since I misunderstood a bit.
Even as a non Bo Burnham fan, inside was a very compelling project imo.
Maybe BC I was also still wrestling with a lot of intense feelings from a traumatic breakdown on top of COVID and increasingly severe physical and mental health conditions...
But I also appreciate music musicians a lot, I grew up with Bill Bailey's funny, weird, sometimes distressing comedy and it was nice to see a modern comedian do something similar with a different spin towards it.
no this is bo burnham recognition
90% of Bo Burnham’s discography would like to have a word with him
💯
I thought this immediately upon hearing him say that. 😆
Magdalena Bay would like a word Todd.
https://preview.redd.it/6r4vplmtrm8g1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=a663f018927dafb79b78901d2505da31c9f6d93e
they're doing incredible things online
Their website is peak internet interactivity.
https://i.redd.it/saj81zxcrn8g1.gif
AGREE
Absolutely! For having the pulse of pop music, he’s been surprisingly silent about Magdalena Bay over the past ~4 years.
I love my disk.
The entirety of Fear Of A Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree begs to differ
I doubt Todd knows who they are
He’s comparatively more likely to know than the average person. It’s his job to know obscure music.
He reviews mostly pop music and the only times he really gets obscure is for One Hit Wonderland.
He reviews nearly exclusively popular music.
He literally exclusively covers hit music - one hit wonders, the fall of once culturally huge artists, and summaries of his feelings about billboard hits.
[deleted]
nah that’s gotta be coheed, tool, or dream theater
That doesn’t mean Todd, a guy who thinks the Veronicas biggest hit is too fast, is aware of them or this song in particular.
It's a great album, but it does have the occasionally clunky line (ex. "XBox is a god to me.").
The whole point of the meme agrees! It's this sub's reaction to Todd's words.
I know but I can’t resist another example of why it’s such a terrible take
Funny you mention them. They have a ballad from 2000 called Feel So Low. Great song, very emotional, very sad. But there's a line right at the start that goes "But I hated every minute I was waiting for your e-mail" that always takes me out of the song. It keeps it from sounding timeless. It was the first thing I thought of when I heard Todd's comment
This is Avenue Q erasure
Grab your dick and double click
Beat me to it (no pun intended)
My thoughts exactly
Yeah but Todd doesn't have a lot of grace with Broadway-esque songs. Remember, he put "Surface Pressure" from Encanto on the worst list of... whatever year that was.
I wonder if he means there’s no songs about how GOOD the internet is.
Welcome to the Internet isn’t exactly a positive song 😅
he was talking about Eldest Daughter, which also isn’t positive towards the internet, so I doubt he meant that
TWRP's Online featuring Tom Carry and Montaigne is about banging over the Internet at least
Peak mentioned
The Human Touch is also about sentient white goods missing it's owner after being replaced. That's borderline internet
Virtual insanity by jamiroqui - “ am I a joke to you?”
Ninajirachi would like a word
This is what happens when the US charts are full of Country songs. Meanwhile the rest of the world is having a rave
Exactly the same thing happened last year while everyone was having a Brat summer but the charts were full of shite
There's no good radio top 100 songs about the internet.
can someone tell me a good song then?
i don't like the BO Burnham one and it's the only one i know.
Life: The Biggest Troll by Childish Gambino is a pretty hard closer to his concept album about an internet poisoned nihilistic nepo baby
E-mail my heart
ight i'll hear it soon and tell ya
Online by TWRP. Fun Nu Funk song about rooting over the Internet
Hacker by Death Grips
And I've Seen Footage
Culture Shock is my pick. Absolutely prescient.
Deeper understanding by Kate Bush (technically it’s just about the computer, as the greater concept of Internet much less an internet Culture was either Nonexistent or in very early infancy)
welp Kate Bush is someone i trust in music
Silent Running by Gorillaz!
"I'm Afraid of the Internet" by K.Flay.
intresting
i think i have heard it in the background of a video but i don't renember
Honestly, I do get it, however, as dated as it is, I think some part of Virus Alert will be universal and good for as long as we have digital technology.
I perked up when he said that because I remembered *NSYNC's "Digital Get Down" which is firmly in the "too silly to hate" camp for me.
I Love My Computer by Ninajrachi erasure would like to have a word with him
Yeah he’s kinda just flat out wrong about that one. tons of good music that is about the internet and a lot of it has interesting things to say about the internet at that
Todd Rundgren's 'I hate my ISP' is the only song about the internet that I can think of. Pretty good though IMO.
It’s interesting, because I feel like I can name hundreds of great songs about how bad technology is, but not one specifically about the internet. I feel like it’s because regardless of genre, as soon as you incorporate “memes,” “trolls,” or “being online” into your lyrics it pretty quickly becomes cringe
Weird Al has done multiple songs about the internet.
Only one I can think of is Stop Forwarding that Crap to Me, which other ones are there? EDIT: Just remembered Virus Alert. Ringtone MIGHT count as well.
Ebay, Craigslist, White and Nerdy.
Ebay is an al-time favourite of mine
"Don't Download This Song". While it is largely about piracy in general it's specifically about file share sites. It also inspired MC Lars to make "Download this Song" which is about the changing delivery methods of songs switching to streaming and how the industry needs to stop thinking about music as individual products to sell and more as a service to sell access to.
Pixel Affection - Yeule (most of yeules songs mention the internet in some way) Deeper Understanding - Kate Bush Secrets- Magdelena Bay Pamplemouse - FKA Twigs And arguably Virtual Angel by ARTMS
Christtt Erasure.
What, like Because the Internet by ...
Okay I stopped caring halfway through writing the comment. Todd's right guys.
Downloading porn with Davo
Internet by Les Trois Accords!
Internet by Post Malone is a great one IMO.
I really don’t like ayo technology, but I don’t know if that’s a song about the internet
Hacker by Death Grips came to mind for me
“One Day in the Universe” Machinae Supremacy
Empty by Janet Jackson
“No Hiding Place” by Elvis Costello
Judas Priest - Panic Attack
The punk band Snooper have a bunch of songs about the online world.
Disagree on the basis of the entire vicki leekx mixtape