Comedian Bo Burnham Hits The Bulls-Eye In Modern Country Critique
Musician, comedian, actor and writer Bo Burnham is known for mixing comedy with music in his stage shows and popular YouTube channel to deliver a cutting and hilarious perspective on modern life. And in a new special just released to Netflix called Make Happy, Burnham puts the modern state of country music directly in his crosshairs.
“I think some of the greatest songwriters of all time are country artists,” Bo says about 20 minutes into the hour-long special. “Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, you know? And if you’re writing honestly, that is art, and I would never bash that. The problem is, with a lot of modern country music, what is called stadium country music—the sort of Keith Urban brand of country music—is that it is not honest. It is the exact opposite of honest. Where instead of people actually telling their stories, you’ve got a bunch of millionaire metrosexuals who’ve never done a hard days work in their life.”
You can tell Bo Burnham’s perspective on country music is a bit from the outside looking in, and he may have some of the nomenclature wrong (it would probably be better to call it Bro-Country as opposed to “stadium country”), but his diagnosis is nonetheless spot on.
“They figured out the words and the phrases they can use to pander to their audience, and they list the same words and phrases off sort of Mad Lib style,” says Burnham. “And every song is raking in millions of dollars from actual working class people.”
He then launches into a parody song probably titled “Panderin'” that’s pretty damn side splitting and accurate.
You can see the entire 4-minute country music segment of the Make Happy special below, but the whole thing is probably worth checking out. P.S., watch for some language.
June 5, 2016 @ 6:44 pm
Burnham is relentless with his critique of country music. His cameo on Parks and Rec as Chipp McCapp is hilarious. On that episode, he made fun of country’s obsession with American pride, even if it was a shoehorned line in a party song (“Chicken Fired”, “You Ain’t Worth the Whiskey”)
“I’ll bring the girls, you’ll bring the beer…. And the troops will bring the freedom.”
June 5, 2016 @ 6:48 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ2R1dCmzOU
June 6, 2016 @ 5:19 am
Excuse me, but what’s so funny about Patriotism and appreciation of our troops? Maybe cunts like Beyonce and this sissy comedian could learn something from folks like Cole Swindell.
And is that comedian saying anything dozens of people on this very site don’t already say regularly?
June 6, 2016 @ 9:54 am
Making money singing songs about American troops who have been sent to fight for spurious reasons is the opposite of patriotism.
And, using language like that says more about your character than any entertainer you despise.
June 6, 2016 @ 4:41 pm
These assholes keep singing about the troops when they aren’t willing to put on a uniform or do anything other than slapping a bumper sticker on a car or singing a jingoistic song that panders to the mouth breathers.
April 2, 2018 @ 12:56 am
How does any of this comedic song have anything to do with Troops? I think some of you have totally missed the premise of the message. its about the fakeness in the entertainment industrial complex, nothing more.
July 16, 2018 @ 12:00 am
The Troops thing is a line from a song that his character (who I would describe as an extra-douchey, country Justin Bieber) sang during an appearance on, “Parks and Rec,” designed to show how jingoistic some country music can be.
June 26, 2016 @ 1:30 pm
Are you kidding me. Cole swindle. You choose the most unoriginal person in “country” music . Bo’s song sounded just like a Cole swindle song.
June 5, 2016 @ 6:46 pm
So spot on. From the country buzz words to the second verse rapey vibes to the prefacing it with support of honest songwriting. I love Bo Burnham and country so this is amazing.
June 5, 2016 @ 6:54 pm
That was hilarious! I went and watched the special on Netflix earlier today, it was good! I liked it.
June 5, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
Bo is a genius if there ever was one as far as comedy is concerned. He nails it with this song too. I think it’s all stuff that we’ve said in posts on this site.
June 6, 2016 @ 6:25 am
Why is it when Bruce Springsteen sings about a fucking turnpike it is “art”….?
And if you’re writing honestly, that is art and I would never bash that.
Uh huh. And what is this song about a “fucking turnpike?” All I can think of is State Trooper and Open All Night, which just mention the New Jersey Turnpike. I think the Massachusetts millennial thinks he’s being deep by showing appreciation for real country music, but he’s OK with taking a gratuitous shot at that “overrated mainstream guy” from New Jersey.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:32 am
Yeah, Jack, I can do without the shot at the Boss, who is still more country than…well, you know.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:43 am
Right, Scott. For example, there’s all those covers of Bruce songs by country artists, such as Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Mavericks, Hank3 and Whitey Morgan, for starters. I’m guessing Bo doesn’t know about those.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:39 am
I think you missed the point he was making there, which wasn’t to denigrate Springsteen. The point was that singing about the themes common to country is every bit as artistic as what Bruce does as long as it’s honest but people don’t give country the same credit for it.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:48 am
I love it when someone tells me I missed the point.
Nope. Not buying it. His comment was dismissive and reductive. And when did Bruce ever sing “about” a fucking turnpike?
June 6, 2016 @ 10:03 am
I guess we’re all products of our own perspective, but I didn’t take that as a shot at Bruce Springsteen. In context, I thought he was trying to say that just because someone is singing about rural themes doesn’t somehow make it low class.
But ultimately, this is a comedian, and so he’s going to offend certain people and cause collateral damage. That’s his shtick. I don’t think we can read too much into any of it. That’s not the point. The point is to laugh.
June 7, 2016 @ 7:20 am
Yep. And my perspective is that of someone who grew up on the NY/NJ border, has a pet peeve about snooty people from other parts of the NE taking pot shots at NJ, knows the complete Bruce Springsteen catalog, and knows that none of his song are about the NJT in the way that some country/western songs are about a horse. But everyone knows he’s from NJ, cars/racing play a part in a lot of his songs, and the NJT is something most people have heard of, so close enough, I guess. Artistic license and all that. My first impression while was that this guy is probably some privileged millennial hipster who thinks he’s being contrarian by showing love for real country music and uses that overrated boomer Springsteen as a prop to show his edginess.
The song was OK.
July 9, 2016 @ 8:25 am
“Probably some privileged millennial hipster.” So basically, you’re just a really bitter person. I’m from the NY/NJ area too, and I love Springsteen. But yeah, he sings about the “turnpike” thing a lot. Does he specifically say “turnpike” often? No, but to act incredulous at the suggestion that Springsteen’s lyrics have a lot in common with country is disingenuous. He sings a lot about driving on the open road as an escape or a means to freedom. He sings a lot about being working class, struggling, but having your girl as your saving grace. Those are common themes to country. The “turnpike” to me, is the metaphor for how people get away. They drive to somewhere new, or they just drive to drive. And they drive fast and far, and to do that from Jersey, you’re either on the Turnpike or the GSP.
So calm yourself.
July 16, 2018 @ 12:03 am
I love how everyone is losing their shit over, “Springsteen never sang about a turnpike!” It’s called comedic hyperbole. Untwist your panties. Bruce is still the best ever. Shhh…. shhhhh…. everything will be all right.
June 6, 2016 @ 6:42 am
That’s spot on. Excellent
June 6, 2016 @ 7:35 am
The problem is that the mainstream, AC, bro-country stuff sells better. H.O.L.Y. has been a massive commercial success. Blake, which is terrible, easily outsold Riser, which was pretty decent. Stapleton aside, time and again, it seems as if the mediocre stuff outsells the good stuff. Music is art, it’s also part of the entertainment business, and if you want to pay bills (and I don’t just mean the “superstars”) you have to give the people what they want.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:41 am
*Black, not Blake (although of course you can put Blake into the group, more AC than Bro-country though)
June 6, 2016 @ 8:03 am
As someone who would generally consider myself a fan of Dierks, Black really is complete garbage. What a disappointment. Riser wasn’t even that good, outside of the excellent “Here on Earth,” but it’s a masterpiece compared to everything that’s on Black.
June 6, 2016 @ 5:44 pm
Judge me if you’d like, but Dierks has always been up there as one of my favorite country artists. I’m 22, so I’ve basically grown up listening to him. But anyways, I was sorely disappointed with Black. It’s by far my least favorite Dierks album.
I hope trigger reviews it because I really would like to hear his take on it.
June 6, 2016 @ 7:44 am
I find Bo Burnham to be occasionally hilarious, but most of the time I find his comedy tasteless and his ego gigantic. He knows he’s funny. He knows he’s intelligent Unfortunately, he thinks he’s funnier and more intelligent than he actually is.
July 21, 2017 @ 8:07 am
That’s his play though. His gigantic ego is his shtick. He acts higher and mightier and better because it works for his act. C’mon, you had to realize that.
June 6, 2016 @ 8:18 am
Pretty good. Glad I’m not the only one with a mistaken scarecrow experience. I blame mine on myopia and Jack Daniels.
June 6, 2016 @ 6:47 pm
I like the term “stadium country” better than bro country. It groups in a lot more of the trash.
June 7, 2016 @ 9:32 am
The problem with country these days is that it doesn’t take any effort or heart to sing it. All it talks about is girls,trucks,beer, and sex . don’t get me wrong that’s not every artists but if you don’t sing about those four things you will be a nobody. Country used to be about a way of life and you could hear the heart and soul of the artist when they would sing,like Merle haggard every song he sang you could feel the passion but now its about sitting on a beach and crap if I cared about a beach I would go there myself I miss the good stuff
June 20, 2016 @ 5:48 pm
Stadium Country sadly hits the target market of teens that think Luke Brian’s “Bye But…sex first” as good. The sentiment has been given in C&W countless ways but clever double entendres are so much cuter!! Bellamy Bros “If I said you had a beautiful body” was much better!
I gag everytime I hear “money-maker” in C&W and with “a drop of honey” on it⁉️
Makes one crave bleach & rubber gloves!!
Ronnie McDowell’s “Older Women” (& men) not the 18-25 set are who mourn what was!!
Ya know, back when King George was kicked out of a band for not being Country enough! FGL is the Cancer that all the symptoms warned us about!! Way back when you stopped (while watching someone count) to grab someone, hit the floor & Waltz!!
July 29, 2016 @ 9:50 am
LOL. I was going to send this to you because I heard it in the car this morning and thought, “this is exactly what SCM rails on about!” Turns out I’m late to the party.
August 13, 2016 @ 2:30 pm
Actually the song is spot on. Can’t listen to country today for more than 30 seconds before getting nauseous. However, his swearing is also pandering to comedy fans who expect that kind of thing.
July 21, 2017 @ 8:09 am
Actually he swears pretty nonchalantly anyway.
February 23, 2017 @ 12:30 pm
These hucksters nowadays put on that fake vocal inflection that makes me want to punch every one of them in the forehead. They just don’t get it. Merle was from fucking California. He didn’t fake an accent. He sang about universal themes and didn’t need to drop tractor references to be “country.” When you hear a Merle or a Johnny or a George, you know straight away who it is. The old guard had real character and told stories with sincerity. I can’t take this stuff that sells now. It’s like grape Kool-aid, cheap and sugary and lacking of substance. As a musician myself I just can’t imagine a scenario where a man willfully engages in creating that kind of music. 30 seconds in and I want to puke. Seriously. I get that it sells, but so does crack. Doesn’t mean it’s good. Corporate radio can suck it hard, because they’ve taken a true piece of Americana and reduced it to a caricature of it’s former self.
April 14, 2018 @ 6:58 pm
It’s just too bad the music for this song was stolen. Five years before he did this show, a “suspiciously similar” musical backing was used in a Touhou fan album. Oops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxZVW5d_1JQ
July 16, 2018 @ 12:09 am
Not hearing the similarity. Possibly the problem is that Bo’s music is designed to be the most generic type of country crap you can play. The instrumentation on the video you linked, while not my favorite genre, is a good song with some complex riffs with a somewhat melancholy feeling, which Bo’s song has none of. (The more I hear this though, the more I like it).
March 14, 2024 @ 5:41 pm
There was another song similar to this not so long ago(maybe a year ago?). Can anyone remind me of the name of it? It was mentioned on this site if that helps…