Bo Burnham (album)

Bo Burnham

Live album by Bo Burnham
Released March 10, 2009
Recorded September 18–21, 2008
Tempe Improv, Tempe, Arizona
(live portions)
Genre Comedy[1]
Length 42:35[1]
Label Comedy Central Records
Bo Burnham chronology

Bo Fo Sho
(2008)		 Bo Burnham
(2009)		 Words Words Words
(2010)

Bo Burnham is the eponymous debut album by American comedian, Bo Burnham. Released on March 10, 2009 by Comedy Central Records, the 2-disc album contains the Compact Disc musical album, and a DVD with Burnham's Comedy Central Presents special, all of his YouTube videos, and other performances.[2]

In a 2009 interview with The A.V. Club, Burnham explained that most songs on the album were similar to his YouTube videos because "I wanted it to still have this very small, homegrown, kid-in-his-bedroom feel. I wanted to show respect for the online community".[3] The live portions of the album were performed and recorded at Burnham's September 18–21, 2008 gig at the Tempe Improv in Tempe, Arizona.[4]

Track listing

  1. "I'm Bo Yo" (Studio) – 3:55
  2. "My Whole Family..." – 3:58
    • The cult hit that "propelled Burnham to Internet stardom"; originally debuted on YouTube, December 21, 2006.[5][6][7]
  3. "Bo Fo Sho" – 3:08
    • Originally debuted on YouTube, September 24, 2007[8]
  4. "Love is..." – 3:58
  5. "The Perfect Woman" – 3:26
  6. "High School Party" – 2:52
  7. "Klan Kookout" – 2:45
  8. "New Math" – 3:36
  9. "I'm Bo Yo" – 3:31
  10. "A Love Ballad" – 2:33
  11. "Rehab Center For Fictional Characters" (Studio) – 3:19
  12. "Welcome To YouTube" (Studio) – 3:33
  13. Bonus Track – 2:01

DVD

The DVD accompanying Bo Burnham contains an uncensored version of Burnham's Comedy Central Presents episode, the music video for "High School Party", his original videos from YouTube, and his live 10-minute performance at the Tempe Improv.[10]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com [10]

Critical response to Bo Burnham has been mostly positive. Punchline magazine's John Delery praised both album and artist, calling the former "hysterical", and the latter as "the sole teenager in America these days that can speak in longhand."[11] About.com's Patrick Bromley spoke well of Bo Burnham within its genre of musical comedy, saying that while the novelty or shock value of the traditional comedy album wore thin with repeated listenings, Bo Burnham was so dense with wordplay and double entendres that it begged for repeats. Though Bromley was less generous with Burnham's "edgy humor", he felt the teenaged comedian worked best with his self-deprecating material.[10]

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Bo Burnham gold (video longform, for having sold 50,000 units) on May 27, 2010.[12]

Chart positions

Chart (2009) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[13] 105
U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums[13] 1
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums[13] 12
Chart (2010) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Comedy Albums[13] 1

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bo Burnham [Explicit]". Amazon.com. Seattle, Washington, USA. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  2. ↑ "Bo Burnham". Amazon.com. Seattle, Washington, USA. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  3. ↑ Heisler, Steve (2009-04-04). "Bo Burnham". The A.V. Club (Chicago, Illinois, USA: The Onion). Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  4. ↑ Tobey, Matt (2008-09-15). "Bo Burnham to Record CD in Tempe, AZ". Comedy Central Insider. New York City, USA: Comedy Central. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  5. ↑ Hastings, Katy (2008-10-13). "Teen Comic Signs Hollywood Deal". Sky News Online (London, England, United Kingdom: Sky News). Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  6. ↑ Kahn, Joseph P. (2008-02-13). "Nonfamily humor, straight from home". The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts, USA: P. Steven Ainsley). Retrieved 2009-01-25. Irreverent songs win Hamilton youth a cult following
  7. ↑ Burnham, Robert (December 21, 2006). "My Whole Family...". YouTube. San Bruno, California, USA: Google Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  8. ↑ Burnham, Robert (September 24, 2007). "Bo Fo' Sho'". YouTube. San Bruno, California, USA: Google Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  9. ↑ Burnham, Robert (2008). "High School Party" (iTMS). Comedy Central Records. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Bromley, Patrick. "Bo Burnham: Bo Burnham - Review". About.com. United States: The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  11. ↑ Delery, John (2009-03-04). "Bo Burnham: Self-titled". Punchline. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  12. ↑ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - January 01, 2011". Washington, D.C., USA: Recording Industry Association of America. 2011-01-01. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Bo Burnham - Bo Burnham | Billboard.com". Billboard. United States: Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2010-12-27.