If you haven’t heard of Bo Burnham, there’s one of two things that is true about you.
- You’re probably older than a millennial.
- You’re really missing out.
For the uninitiated, Bo Burnham is a stand-up comedian, but he always sits and slouches. He’s probably my 2nd favorite comedian, right behind Dave Chappelle.
If the first thing you think of is “I’m Rick James, BITCH,” then I probably hate you.
(John Mulaney is 3rd for anyone that was wondering)
“If we want this to continue, I’m going to have to stick my finger… up your ass.”
Bo is one of the new breeds of younger comedians that are pushing the boundaries of what we think of when someone says “stand-up comedian.” His show involves a distinct mix of the standard stand-up routine, but then he also sneaks in some funny songs that harken back to the days of when he was first discovered. Bo Burnham was originally a YouTube sensation who broke into the scene with songs such as “I’m Bo, Yo”…
And he’s the greatest rapper ever.
and my personal favorite “My Whole Family.”
I feel a personal connection to the lyrics of this song.
Naturally, this evolved into Bo not only getting a successful 30-minute spot of Comedy Central Presents, but it also led to him getting his first ever full-length special Words, Words, Words.
Tag yourself. I’m “like.”
This special was full of exactly what we had come to love and expect from Bo. It featured his standard funny songs and his more “arrogant” onstage persona. However, on this special, he dug a bit deeper into the comedic form and starts off the show by even asking the question “What’s Funny” and then goes into other songs such as “Art is Dead” where he laments about how actors and comedians are just blowhards who steal money from the real hardworking people by standing up in front of audiences and demanding attention. His stand-up goes a bit out of the ordinary, but people would just expect that from a millennial… right?
what. just goes and blows that form right out of the water. what. is not a traditional stand-up special, hell it’s barely even stand-up at all. If we’re being completely honest, what. is a performance piece in every sense of the word. It’s a stage show. It completely challenges everything that you’d think makes a stand-up comedy show. I only wish I could revisit my first time watching it because it was truly an experience. It was so different, that I thought I didn’t even like what. at first. Once the dust settled and I listened to it again, knowing what to expect, I realized that it was truly genius. It had made me laugh and think in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
Brilliant.
There’s a bunch of really funny and introspective songs on here. Many are about Bo and his internal struggle with having to be entertaining and funny, while also having to reconcile the fact that many people view his as arrogant when inside he’s really just introverted and shy. In fact, a lot of his future comedy focuses on the fact that he realizes he’s just standing up in front of people trying to make everyone else feel happy when inside he doesn’t even know if he’s happy or if he even knows what happy really is.
One song really stuck out to me on this album, and I think it’s a severely underrated part. It’s not “traditionally” funny in the way that some of the other songs are. In fact, besides the miming intro and “We Think We Know You,” this is one of the songs that is less of a comedy piece and more of an example of performance art. It still does hit a lot of important parts and I believe it’s a lot smarter than people give it credit for. The comedy is not only in the lyrics but also in the music as well. I’m talking, of course, about “Left Brain, Right Brain.”
So how are we going to talk about this song? I’m going to drop a video of the song. I’ll give timestamps so that we can go along together and I can explain why I think some of the things that go on in this song make it a lot more important to the album than most seem to think. I’m going to focus on two things mostly; lyrics and music. I’ll do a little spurt about the actual performance of it afterward. Note that the version I will be showing is the VIDEO version. The VIDEO album and the CD album are both recordings of the same show at different locations. The version I am showing isn’t the one I’d prefer since the lyrics and vocals are less clean, but I think that seeing the overall performance is also important. There are also slight differences between the two I’ll point out.
You ready? Here goes nothin’.
(0:00 – 0:21)
LYRICS
So currently we are at the start of the song where Bo gets interrupted from his stand-up by a disembodied robotic voice. The reference to being “Patient 24602” is interesting and one that I’ve seen pop up a lot recently. In fact, to go on a tangent, the current lore of the Gorillaz band is that Murdoc is in prison. What prisoner number is he?
Now, musical theatre brain says that this must be an obvious Les Mis reference. In this show, Jean Valjean is a prisoner who jumps bail. His number? 24601.
Who am I… 24601!!!
I have just discovered at the moment as of writing this… IT IS A DIRECT REFERENCE. Here it is in a comment from Bo on an AMA he did.
The disembodied voice also brings up the idea of a treatment. Whether this is therapy or some new drug, we don’t know, but we do know it is based in mental health, considering Bo lists off many things one would say to a therapist. This sets the stage for the rest of the song, which will delve into a comedic form of his psyche. The disembodied voice, of course, calls him a “little bitch.” It’s funny not only because it’s not what you’d expect, but also because it’s what people who are like Bo are afraid of. People, especially younger men, are usually afraid to talk about their feelings and inability to relate to others because they’re afraid it is seen as unmasculine or just being a baby. Unfortunately, those that don’t understand mental health issues have a hard time relating and sometimes it comes off crudely.
MUSIC
Nothing special here musical wise yet. It does sound very robotic. It sounds exactly like some “mad scientist labs” would when you a patient finds themselves awake in there after being knocked out. This will stay the same until the actual song starts up.
(0:21 – 0:31)
LYRICS
Hooooooooo boy. This joke is interesting. This is actually one of the biggest differences between the Video version (which we are watching) and the CD version. The disembodied voice drops the dreaded n-bomb (thankfully without the unfriendly -er) to say that she (he? it?) is joking with Bo.
The differences are in the locations. This is a joke that manages to work in most locations. In the video, Bo is performing around Oakland, which has a very large African American population. He makes reference to that by saying that this is probably one of the WORST spots for the disembodied voice to get too friendly with their speech. The disembodied voice then reminds Bo that she (I’m just going to stick with she) is not actually human so she can say whatever she wants.
In the CD version, however, Bo is performing in Madison, Wisconsin. This area is predominately considered VERY white. The joke is turned completely on its head. Instead of Bo telling the voice to watch out because she might offend, he is chastising her for thinking that she is safe (or that it is acceptable) to use that language in a predominantly white area. She doesn’t make reference to being able to say whatever she wants in this version.
It’s considered funny for a few reasons. One, the crowd for Bo Burnham’s shows is usually predominantly white regardless of which city he is performing in. Two, people feel it’s ok to laugh at these types of jokes when it isn’t a real person saying it. In Avenue Q, there are racist puppets. It’s funny because we can disconnect the actual person saying something so vile because it’s being said through a non-human element. It’s the same way that Billy West was able to get away with saying so many things as the infamous Jackie Puppet and in his imitation of Marge Schott. The audience saw it as someone else.
I’m actually surprised this joke went over as well as it did and that I didn’t hear many negative things about it. It might be because Bo does it in a way where he is not condoning the voice for using a slur, but instead telling her it’s wrong. Maybe it’s because he shows later that he’ll lampoon everyone equally.
MUSIC
Nothing different. Let’s continue.
(0:31 – 1:15)
LYRICS
At this point, Bo is just begging with the voice to tell him what is wrong with him. He feels insecure. The voice tells him something that many of us struggle with on different levels; his feelings and his logic are at war. From my personal experience, this is the worst thing for me. It’s been one of the main issues I’ve been having with my mental health recently. My anxiety grows because of a certain situation (or not knowing the outcome of something) and then my logic tries to fill it in. However, my anxiety is at war with this logic, either always denying it, fearing it, or at worst interfering with it.
There isn’t much comedy here, besides the part when Bo asks the disembodied voice to make an appointment or at the very least not do a random countdown to a medical procedure while he is ON STAGE PERFORMING! However, this is exactly what the voice does and the process begins.
MUSIC
This moment becomes very trippy and is full of weird futuristic noises combined with electrical static. This really does bring to mind the mad scientist vibe, which feels pretty accurate considering Bo’s brain is currently being “split” right in front of us.
(1:15 – 1:45)
LYRICS
Here is where we learn about Bo’s Left and Right Brain (I’ll be referring to them as LB and RB from now on). These two personas are oversimplified comedic looks at what people think of when they hear about the left and the right brain. I believe that you’ve all heard about this, but if you need a quick refresher, it’s generally believed that the left part of the brain controls logical and analytical thinking, while the artistic and freethought parts of the brain are located on the right side. There are some elements of truth to this, but it’d be silly to think that all of these neurological functions are relegated to just one side of a brain. There is interworking, but for the sake of the song, let’s assume this is accurate.
We learn that LB is very smart. He’s analytical and he’s aware of the world around him. He knows how things are supposed to work. He doesn’t care how things get done, just as long as they’re done correctly. This also leads him to be an insufferable jerk.
We see that RB is silly and fun. His lighting changes from one that just illuminates Bo simply to a bright red with bunches of highlights. RB is aware of how people and emotions work, but sometimes he can get a little out of control (as seen when he tries to use his microphone as uh……). Since he thinks entirely in emotions, people view him as stupid.
There isn’t much fun here yet either, besides the comedic actions of RB during his intro. It just sets the stage for their personalities and also gives a pretty interesting look at how Bo will be portraying them and what their stage will look like when they are performing.
MUSIC
This is where things get interesting. Here we learn of the leitmotifs that will play on while either LB or RB are speaking. They don’t sound anything alike.
LB’s music is analytical and techno. He thinks in absolutes like a robot, so he gets an electronic type song. The beat is very fixed. Nothing much changes. It’s there to set something consistent that works and will allow him to say his piece. It isn’t about entertainment, it’s about work.
RB’s music, on the other hand, is full of wonder and fun. It’s full of flourishes and different chords. These little bits make it feel more creative and like it was someone who was just having fun composing as opposed to using the music as a means to an end. Not everything always feels the same and it doesn’t feel like every note is in exactly the right place like LB’s music. In fact, it feels almost… out of time. Like seriously, I feel like the internal metronome is a little off, but maybe it’s just because I want it to be.
These leitmotifs are important because they show a difference in these personas and performances down to the last bit. LB’s music is methodical while RB’s is meant to be different. We’ll notice more of this distinct differences in when the lyrics come in.
(1:45 – 2:20)
LYRICS
Here we hear the two sides of Bo’s brain introduce themselves. LB mentions that he is there to do every job correctly and that “the right way is with the left brain’s might” (be prepared for a lot of jokes about being “right,” it’s a subtle pun speaking to the subject matter). Meanwhile, RB likes “Oreos and pussy” (yes, in that order) and he’s emotional. He admits he’s all over the place, but he has his positives and he’s look for love… or sex.
Obviously the funny parts are mostly going to be whatever RB says, so let’s just skip past the comedy bit for a second. Let’s talk about how the lyrics are pretty smart for making both characters believable. LB’s lyrics are perfect, almost TOO perfect. They make complete sense, the syllables fit right in perfectly, every rhyme is tight. It’s methodical. Like the music, it shows how he’s going to do everything perfectly the “way it should be.”
Meanwhile, RB is all over the place. Sometimes he doesn’t rhyme, sometimes he does, sometimes he does something called a “slant rhyme.” I don’t know if I have to explain this, but a “slant rhyme” is a rhyme that is created by using words with similar sounds, but not exact sounds. So while LB is rhyming “might” with “right,” RB is rhyming “pussy” and “three.” It’s more creative. It shows a willingness to work outside of the lines. Remember, this song is essentially creativity and emotions vs. logic and reasoning. To see this theme even go down to the rhymes used is really smart.
MUSIC
The backing music is the same, so we don’t really have to focus much on it. I would like to point out that once again, the creativity of RB shines through with the little tempo changes and stylistic changes after the “Toy Story 3” line. Once again, creativity versus function.
What I want to focus on here is how both LB and RB are singing. Let’s start with LB. We’ve been talking about perfection vs. creativity, so let’s go back to that. LB sings every note right on cue, right on pitch, and with perfect clarity. You can understand every word he is saying and it all fits in perfectly where you think it would. His tone also doesn’t change much. This isn’t to say that he isn’t hitting different notes or creating a melody, but he actually seems to hold a monotone throughout the entire thing.
Over to LB, he’s once again just a goofy mess. Sometimes he mumbles through his lyrics, sometimes he gets sidetracked by whatever he’s thinking about. He doesn’t always sing “correctly.” He’ll break into random moments of yelling or goofy noises to show that he’s just having fun. It’s not that he isn’t taking it seriously, he just is doing his job with his own flair. We all have those conflicts where we know we have to do something a certain way, but we want to make sure it has a signature feel to it that let’s everyone know that it is us.
(2:20 – 2:53)
LYRICS
So here we learn about how each side views love and… Oh boy is it something.
While it isn’t necessarily a comedy line, I do find LB’s line about what to do when a girl comes introspective and humorous. What is it about us as people that when we see someone attractive come past and we are on our own, we immediately pull out our phone and check it. It’s as if we don’t want to show interest, which is completely counterproductive to the point of even finding someone attractive anyway. However, LB goes right ahead and ruins it by mentioning the elephant in the room. While there are feelings and emotions associated with it, the thing we are really trying to do is find the best possible mate to create the best offspring for our species. We ain’t nothing but mammals, after all.
RB talks about the whole emotion of it. He falls into love at first sight, as weird or as inconceivable as that may seem. We’re also led to believe that RB will basically fall in love with every female he finds. It is extremely funny (and also kind of saddening) that when RB says he can’t describe why he finds her so amazing at first, LB just interjects with “tits.” We hate to admit it, but a lot of love at first sight is really predicated on our “tastes” in the preferred partner. Maybe love at first sight is a misnomer, and we really mean love at first talk. However, LB’s interjection is a perfect little bit of clarity into why we sometimes immediately feel the way that we do about people. RB once again shows his humor though by having a complete breakdown of image at the end. While he’s gushing about love and emotions, he does show that sometimes he just wants to feel good with sex too. Nothing wrong with that.
MUSIC
Nothing too different here from either side. RB does show a lot more of the emotion associated with singing, but then properly shows the “animalistic” side coming out by grunting out his sexual pleading.
(2:53 – 3:40)
LYRICS
And here is where the breakdown between these two occurs. LB is obviously getting sick of RB’s shenanigans and calls him out on it, but RB reminds him that he just wants to have fun. This is where the song suddenly becomes less funny and more introspective and smart.
This is a very common breakdown that we have as people. Our brains work so hard to do what we want and give us what we want through our hard work. On the other hand, those same brains are also in control of our emotions, which can interfere with doing what we want to do. You can see where the conflict would come in. LB feels he is doing everything right to make Bo work and get him by, but, in his eyes, RB is interfering by injecting emotion and feeling into it. To RB, that is just being alive. You need to have those moments of insanity and fear to have the moments of clarity and happiness. RB is fighting against this loss of control that he feels LB is taking away from him. While LB is concerned that RB is doing too much, RB is concerned about the exact same thing when he mentions at the end “I hope that you’re happy… ’cause he’s sure not.”
MUSIC
By now, you’ve probably picked up on what I’ve been saying about how the style of music and the tone of the voices convey the different “personalities” that both LB and RB portray. However, there is a quick point I wanted to make since it applies here.
Notice how LB’s music never changes. I know we’ve gone over this before about how it’s all perfect, but notice that even when he’s yelling and claiming his superiority over RB, the music never changes. No tonal shifts. Meanwhile, RB’s music is welling up with emotional sounds. It goes to more strings and it does a large build up while RB tries to convey how much the overworking can hurt Bo’s overall well-being.
(3:40 – 4:42)
LYRICS
Oh boy, it hits the fan. We get to go back to the comedic feeling for a bit here with the argument between LB and RB. You can tell that this mental separation was a long time coming considering how quick they seem to be at each other’s throats. Notice how they pick on each other though. It’s funny because LB is picking on RB for being a “pussy” because he is so emotional. We can also use LB and RB as masculine and feminine symbols too. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes for men it is harder to admit how they are feeling for fear of being seen as less masculine.
RB responds to LB’s jabs with mocking him over the one thing he claims to have superiority over. Remember earlier, when LB said that he was the adult and RB was the child? Well RB is immediately smacking him back with how he still “plays with toys” (he’s wrong, Rubik’s Cubes aren’t toys at all, shut up).
This incensed LB.
The song suddenly loses the little bit of comedic charm it had picked up and goes right back to the introspection. LB finally has his lash out moment, and he spits venom. LB talks about how all he does is his job and that RB is failing Bo. He points out the supposed hypocrisy that surrounds the idea of LB being at fault for Bo feeling down when RB is supposed to be in control of that anyway. He then drops the dagger. He knows that Bo hates his emotions.
Haven’t we all felt that way?
I don’t mean that to be funny, I mean that seriously. Haven’t we all at one point felt like maybe it’d be better to just put our nose down and do things instead of feeling emotions? I know we all love the high ones, but sometimes the low ones are so low that we’d rather not feel anything at all. It is strange though. By having Bo feel such strong emotions, RB is TECHNICALLY doing his job right. Bo is just supposed to feel things, it isn’t necessary that he always feels positive. In fact, it’d be weird if he always did.
RB then cries because he’s a wuss. LB responds with the adult equivalent of “don’t tell mom.”
MUSIC
There are two major moments here that musically really set the tone. In the beginning, it’s all normal like it has been, but these two moments really stand out to me.
- When LB lashes out, notice how his music actually changes. It gets deeper. It gets a little more out of control. It’s finally changed from a form that is to serve as a function to something that carries a bit of weight. It’s showing a dark change from LB. It’s also showing the two sides working together (even though it hasn’t been explicitly mentioned yet, that will be more along with #2).
- Notice how when LB apologizes to RB, the music doesn’t change. Up until this moment, even when they were being introduced by the disembodies voice, the music always changed whenever one was being referred to or speaking. For the first time, the music carries over between them. I don’t know if there’s much relevance to it being RB’s style of music (LB making a compromise that is to come?), but it is interesting. This is a moment that foreshadows the idea that both sides will work together.
(4:42 – 5:25)
LYRICS
Finally. Compromise. The comedy finally “comes back” in a way that not many may have expected. It comes back as a concept, but not in actual function (not yet anyway). This is a really magical moment that some people have where they realize they can have both “sides” of their brain coexist and function together on something that they enjoy. In Bo Burnham’s case, it’s comedy. For me, it’s doing this Filmvestigate blog. I get to write seriously on things I care about and analyze them, while also actually getting to ENJOY those things as a whole. This is something that comes in many forms for many others, so don’t think this song specifically only “works” for comedy. It works this way because Bo Burnham is a comedian, but the idea can be extrapolated elsewhere.
There’s not much to really explain here. LB sets all out on the table perfectly. It’s a welcome and honestly optimistic part of the song. It offers hope to the audience that Bo’s psyche will be ok because comedy allows him to comfortably use all parts of his brain. It gives the audience hope that maybe they can find something like that too.
As a small side note, I found the addition of George Carlin as an example nice. For those that know me, I am not a Carlin fan AT ALL. I don’t find him very funny. But the example works because many consider him one of the best “smart” comedians. It also seems to be right in line with Bo’s personality he’s shown us since he also mentioned Carlin in the song “Art is Dead” from Words, Words, Words. That song is also very similar to the idea of deconstructing comedy.
Oh… wait. This song is about juggling?!
MUSIC
As you can see, the foreshadowing did its job. Both LB and RB are now compromising and you can hear it in the music. LB is starting to loosen up by actually singing a little bit off form compared to his robotic style in the beginning. You can also hear how the sounds are intermingling. I actually never really noticed it until this recent listen, but if you REALLY focus, you can hear the little “beeps and boops” of his mechanical sounding motif make appearances in the background. The styles are working together. The piano playing is very robotic and right in tempo, but then the strings come in and tie it all together.
(5:25 – 5:53)
LYRICS
Just kidding. It’s about comedy.
There’s really not much to say here. It seems the experiment has miraculously worked! Bo has now reconciled the two parts of his brains and now realizes that comedy is what really ties it together.
Great Empire Strikes Back reference at the end there for those that can pick up on it. Perfect Han Solo line that really fits LB’s personality.
MUSIC
The mad scientist sound is back. It’s bringing about a feeling of closure to a song that has been a wild ride.
PERFORMANCE
As a whole, this is a great piece of performance art. There are bits about it that make it so interesting. The way that Bo changes his voice and “persona” so quickly really makes you believe that there are two different people. In fact, when listening on CD sometimes I really need to differentiate in my head the idea that it is just one person. On the visual performance side, however, you can even tell from Bo’s actions and his facial expressions that he’s trying to convey two different people. It’s, all in all, a really cool effect that lets you suspend your disbelief and truly feel like you are hearing both parts of Bo’s brain talk. The lighting is a cool effect and shows the differences in personality and demeanor almost immediately.
If you find yourself really interested by this song and you’re curious about what the rest of what. is like (amazing), then make sure you check out the WHOLE SHOW ON YOUTUBE. And guess what? It’s actually supposed to be on there! Bo released the whole special on his YouTube channel and you can watch it in its entirety. The embedded video below proves it!
You’re welcome.
So, if you couldn’t tell already, I really enjoy Bo Burnham. “Left Brain, Right Brain” isn’t my favorite song on the album (that would probably have to be “#deep”), but I think it’s an underrated part of the performance. It doesn’t have as many downright hilarious moments like the rest of them do. Starting with “Art is Dead” in Words, Words, Words, it has felt like Bo really needs these introspective songs in his set to make people relate to him. “We Think We Know You” is another great example in what. , and his tribute to Kanye at the end of Make Happy along with “Are You Happy?” show these moments as well. Bo Burnham is a younger guy, but he’s smart. He’s funny as hell too. But in this day and age, it can be hard just making people like you and feeling comfortable in your own skin as a normal person. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like for someone in Bo’s position. Hopefully, songs like this help us to understand him (and ourselves) just a little bit better.
My next post should be coming soon. It’ll most likely be an anime series discussion on social anxiety and how it is portrayed.
Thanks again for reading everyone! I’d really appreciate it if you took the time to post a comment or tell your friends about this blog. I’ve been enjoying the start of this, so I really want to share my work with others. A follow of any sort would be appreciated, either through e-mail or WordPress itself! Not required at all, but just letting you know my appreciation. As always, feel free to use the Contact link to ask any questions, voice concerns, or send any recommendations my way. My last post was actually written by DadKro 11 years ago! If this piques your interest, check out #TBT “Wii Man… Part 1”. If you’re interested in reading my last (serious) post about how a corny action movie made me think about the future, check out Demolition Man: How Will the Future Remember Us?
~Jer
Filmvestigate 