On the ‘New’ Stand Up

“By the time Bo Burnham sings “Welcome to the Internet” during his latest comedy special Inside, the feeling of existentialism is already high. He sits at his keyboard – an image of Burnham we’ve become used to since his early days on Vine – wearing John Lennon-style sunglasses, and is surrounded by small lights projecting dots of yellow and blue into the darkroom. The song has the sound of an Eastern European folksong, beckoning you into the circus of shit that is the internet. As the song builds, Burnham places the banal actions of the internet, like using Zoom, taking Buzzfeed quizzes, and catching up on the news, alongside the ease of becoming radicalised online; images of children killed by war or seeking refuge, and the unsolicited dick pics sent via DM. By the time the song ends, its polka rhythm slowing down like a heartbeat losing the will to live before a manic explosion of attention-grabbing sounds and lyrics, you feel both entertained and utterly depressed.”

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You can read the full column here.