Inside by Bo Burnham

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Bo Burnham showing signs of mental illness and depression
Bo Burnham in his home studio,

Inside by Bo Burnham is a comedic music album published in 2021. It’s a 57-minute album with a total of 21 songs. The Inside Deluxe Version has a full length of 1 hour and 55 minutes and 46 songs. The Deluxe Version was published in 2022. The singer wrote, recorded and produced the album in 2020, during the COVID-2019 quarantine. Inside is an album which reflects on depression, denial and anxiety under the cover of comedy. Bo Burnham uses it as a way to express his mental problems. The singer also approaches the topic of relationships.

How mental health can influence our relationships

Bo Burnham talks about his relationship with his parents. In the Inside Deluxe Version, he has a song called 1985. It seems in the beginning to be about White Men in general. But at the endthe singer revealed that the song is actually about his father. Also, multiple songs mentioned his relationship with his parents on the main album. For example, Bo Burnham explicitly said in the song Facetime with my Mom. However, it is more implicit in the song White Woman’s Instagram. He has trouble communicating with them and the reverse is also true. 

But Bo Burnham also speaks of his relationships in general. The Album is about him struggling forming emotional attachment, and even when he does, he tends to ruin it someway. He explained, always in a comedic way, that he has trouble going out of his house. It prevents him from forming real and stable relationships. It’s something that has been bothering him but also finds comfort in his depression. Because depression is all he knows, and in some way, finding happiness and joy is scaring him.

Bo Burnham and his depression

Most importantly, the album is about his mental health and his mental disorders. The bad relationships with either his parents or others, is just a symptom of his depression. In many songs on this album, he mentioned multiple times that he has trouble socializing. But he has other symptoms of depression like hygiene and taking care of himself. In the Song That Funny Feeling, he explained what derealization is and how he suffers from it. Look who is inside again is the most explicit one on his mental health. Another song where he is explicit about his situation is in All Eyes on Me. He explained the reasons for his break from music and stand up career. He said it was because of his panic attacks on stage he had to quit. 

The name of the album seems clear when we surpass the comedic aspect of the songs. Bo Burnam named it Inside because depression and anxiety is isolating us and to trap us inside our own brain. 

Criticism of American overconsumption

The album does focus on multiple aspects of anxiety. Inside explores how the political climate can generate anxiety. It also criticizes the American system on a global level. But also the capitalist system of America and how it has its consequences on the Entertainment industry.

America is famously known for their entertainment industry. Between the music, Hollywood and fashion, America really has a hold on the world with their entertainment industry. They also have a grip on money, counting that the most famous billionaires are Americans. Bo Burnham talks about it in his song Bezos I and Bezos II. They are ironic songs about the CEO of Amazon Prime. It also criticizes American capitalism in general, as Jeff Bezos and many other Billionaires act like celebrities. For example, Jeff Bezos showed up at the Lords Of The Rings TV Show premiere. He did not contribute in any way in the production and making of the series, outside of owning it.

Bo Burnham mocks American capitalism in his album, like in the songs How The World Works and Unpaid Intern. It’s a pessimistic song about how average Americans are being exploited in their work. While people like Jeff Bezos just buy the credits of a franchise and show up at its premiere. Just because it’s his favorite one. The singer does also criticize capitalism and overconsumer society in general. It’s not as explicit like the others, but the song Welcome to the Internet talks about this aspect. The song shows, with an American point of view, that America is addicted to the internet and consumption. Whether it be productive content or dangerous and damaging.

Political Anxiety and fear of the future

All of this combined adds to his anxiety, like he said on the second song of the album, Comedy. In this song, he explicitly said that he is “Dealing with Comedy”. As a way for him to cope with his anxiety about not just himself, but also the world. He also mentioned his anxiety about global warming on the same song, How the World Works. It’s a shared experience for this new generation, where the youth can relate. Bo Burnham succeeded in placing the good words to make his message clear. 

If we look deeper into the lyrics, the name Inside is more relevant. Like the mental issues, we are inside this political problem, capitalism, global warming, racism and other forms of discrimination. We’re inside of it, and this hopeless feeling we can not change anything about. It’s the message Bo Burnham wanted to make, and use comedy to express it.

But like every piece of art, to understand it we have to look deep into it. That was also a point he wanted to make, not so many people are ready to do it. Because of the consumption society in America who needs anything and everything more and more faster. So they can consume another content before finishing the one they started. And concerning his album, many people took it as funny and silly songs, songs we can laugh on. Instead of an entire autobiography about his mental issues and his worry of the future. 

The Album is free on YouTube, but you can also listen to Welcome to The Internet here.

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