Sometimes creativity can thrive with limitations and constraints, and there's been no better example of that in 2021 than Bo Burnham's Netflix comedic special Inside. The experimental D.I.Y. one-room, one-man musical comedy showcase hit a nerve with a wide audience, serving as an amusing, empathetic, and cathartic outlet for many of the weighty mental health struggles and loneliness people have been dealing with during COVID times. And soon fans will be able to bring the music of Inside inside their home in a non-streaming way.
The physical album version of Inside (The Songs) will be released on December 3. It can be preordered via Burnham's website, but signed CDs have already sold out through his shop, and vinyl preorders have already sold out both at his shop and Target (though other outlets appear to still have stock). Copies will also be available on release day exclusively at Target, Urban Outfitters, and independent record stores.
Since debuting on streaming platforms in June, Inside (The Songs) has charted on the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks, including five weeks in the Top 10. "Bezos I" alone has racked up over 64 million listens just on Spotify. Netflix also released Inside in theaters as an event screening in July.
The stand-up special itself (though one might argue it's more accurately a movie as it wasn't performed live, didn't feature an audience, and has a narrative through-line) has garnered rave reviews - currently sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes (with a 94% audience score) - and six Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Variety Program, Outstanding Musical Direction, and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.
Outside of Inside, Burnham recently dropped out of playing the role of NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird in an upcoming HBO Max series about the Showtime era Los Angeles Lakers, citing "scheduling conflicts." It's also been reported he's writing songs for the upcoming live-action Sesame Street movie, and one of his scripts was in pre-production pre-pandemic at Paramount, but the status of that project remains unclear.
You can stream Inside on Netflix, and pre-order the album on vinyl or CD starting now.
Inside (The Songs) Tracklist:
1. Content
2. Comedy
3. FaceTime with My Mom (Tonight)
4. How the World Works
5. White Woman’s Instagram
6. Unpaid Intern
7. Bezos I
8. Sexting
9. Look Who’s Inside Again
10. Problematic
11. 30
12. Don’t Wanna Know
13. Shit
14. All Time Low
15. Welcome to the Internet
16. Bezos II
17. That Funny Feeling
18. All Eyes On Me
19. Goodbye
20. Any Day Now