So I wrote this post last night and I woke up this morning with a mash-up of both these songs (the new ones, "Words Words Words" and "Oh Bo") stuck in my head. I can't help but be both impressed and annoyed, and I'm curious as to what you guys think of this guy, so let me know in the comments!
I first heard about Bo Burnham when a friend sent me the above video in November of 2008. My response to the email: "Ha...pedophilia..."
(For context, that video was posted on YouTube in July 2008, more than a year and a half after this kid posted his first video in December 2006 at age 16 to amuse his older brother, who was away at college.)
Despite my caustic response, I enjoyed the video; the quips are quick and the puns roll off almost effortlessly. He's obviously got talent. About a year later (fall 2009) I looked him up again to find, along with a slew of other videos and appearances, this:
I mean, c'mon. That's hilarious. It looked like the kid's career was really taking off. I then forgot about him again until this week.
Turns out Burnham's been busy. In 2008 (before I'd even seen the first video), he headlined an episode of Comedy Central Presents. That was four days after he turned 18, making him the youngest stand-up comic to be on that show. Ever. He also released an EP, "Bo Fo Sho," via Comedy Central. (He's got an agent and a record deal for three more.) In 2009 he released a self-titled CD/DVD and had a bit part in Judd Apatow's 2009 flick Funny People and in his spare time, he wrote a script (an "anti-high school musical") that Apatow might (maybe) produce. To top it off, this month Burnham released a third album, Words, Words, Words, that has already hit #1 on the Billboard Comedy charts (a chart I'll admit I didn't know existed), paired with yet another Comedy Central special (aired October 16th), and he's launched his second national tour, making a stop in Chicago next Friday.
Whew. Did you get all that?
The point is...
I've decided that I want this kid to succeed. Sometimes it takes a few listens to get into (and to catch all the jokes), but I think he's legitimately funny, and I appreciate the heavily satirical and un-PC subject matter. I especially appreciate that he considers himself a comedian (way) before a musician, but he can still hold it down on the piano.
Not to mention that he's 20 years old. Twenty. He's got a better comedic sensibility than the collective mind of the Saturday Night Live writers room at this point and he's just starting out. He's not a household name but, as they say, he's doin' it right. There are two videos off the new album and this one is legit funny, well-produced and well-directed (warning: not safe for work):
Even though his intended audience is in college, I'd bet a decent number of Canadian dollars that a large portion of his fanbase is under 18, and so the same sexual references that I find hilarious are also being watched by my 10-year-old cousin. But I mean, I would have loved this guy when I was a teenager. So who am I to say?
Though I'm not really sure what to make of this one...
P.S. It doesn't hurt that he's much cuter at age 20 than he was at 16. Just sayin'.
(That's not creepy, is it?)
(Hi Mom.)
UPDATE
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