Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)

My latest Thanksgiving tradition is to watch Inside by Bo Burnham (available on Netflix) every year around the holiday. I have the soundtrack, too - which I like to listen to - but there's a lot you don't get unless you watch the feature. Not just the visuals, but shorter snippets and spoken sketches, too. You should definitely watch it first, in its entirety, to get the full effect. Then you can sample its tracks piecemeal, as your inspiration dictates, with knowledge of how it all fits into context.

My experience sharing it so far is that this comedy special is divisive (so it's okay if you hate it - you wouldn't be the first), but honestly I think it's brilliant. I don't know what that says about me - I might be biased, as somebody who has lived as a hikikomori (shut-in). But I think it's the best thing to have come from the pandemic.

I worry that it might be heavily dated, but having lived through that period, it's like a time capsule. And though it's a comedy, what it attempts to make light of are some very serious issues. In addition to evoking that sense of isolation and anxiety we all experienced throughout 2020, it addresses mental health awareness, and also life in the early 21st century, learning to operate as nodes in a digital society (itself spurred on by the physical distancing we experienced during COVID).

Subjects broached include social justice (especially navigating that minefield as a conscientious yet privileged white guy), climate change ("you say the whole world's ending - honey, it already did"), Instagram culture ("is this heaven, or is it just a white woman's Instagram?"), video chatting ("I'll waste my time, Facetiming with my mom"), sexting ("it isn't sex, it's the next best thing"), generational shifts... all with a self-deferential humor that nevertheless does not erase the significant weight of these issues (the impact of which is visible as Bo's mental state deteriorates throughout the piece).

There isn't really any part of it that I don't like. And I enjoy how the whole thing is tied together by the concept of being trapped inside ("tryna be funny and stuck in a room") - for a period of time that just keeps dragging on longer and longer ("it'll stop any day now") - and trying to maintain your sanity while using the not-very-promising gift of being a comedian to try to address the collapse of modern civilization ("should I be joking at a time like this?"). It's not really rock music, but I consider it a rock opera (a comedy opera?).

Anyway, I've boiled it down to my top three favorite songs, that work best out of context of the rest of the piece, just to give you a taste of what it's about. Here they are (in the order they occur in the special):

How The World Works
Welcome To The Internet
That Funny Feeling

And, for the holiday*, here's an extra video - my favorite song from the Inside Outtakes (also worth watching):

The Chicken

*I know, it's the wrong type of poultry, but oh well...

Love Neil Young

I started this list as a playful jab at Neil Young's exhaustingly prolific discography, but the reality turned out to be even more outrageous than the parody. So now, in celebration of Neil's birthday, I present to you the top 30 Neil Young songs with the word "love" in their title. XD

As a disclaimer, although I like grouping songs by theme, I don't enjoy ranking them. But I made an exception in this case. Just know that the rankings are a general estimation. Thirty songs is a lot to put in order from best to worst (especially when some of them are over 10 minutes long).

Also, I'm focused more on song composition than particulars of a performance - so live versions have been ignored (except where, as in some instances, a studio recording is not available).

Top 30 Neil Young Songs With The Word "Love" In Their Title

1. Love And Only Love & Love To Burn [Ragged Glory, 1990]
Comments: Tied for first, because I sampled 31 songs and didn't want to have to chuck one off the bottom of the list. But also because I have a hard time picking one over the other - they're just both so good. Love And Only Love has a great, uplifting chorus ("love and only love will endure"), but of the two, I can play Love To Burn on guitar. Regardless, they're both top tier Crazy Horse jams from Neil's 1990 comeback album, Ragged Glory. They're not just great Neil Young songs with "love" in their title, but great Neil Young songs period.

2. When You Dance I Can Really Love [After The Gold Rush, 1970]
Comments: Originally released on Neil's third album, After The Gold Rush (incorrectly titled with "You" instead of "I"), the reach of this classic was amplified (literally) when Crazy Horse performed it on the Rust Never Sleeps tour in 1979. An ode to dance floor romance, it's hard not to listen to it without singing along and swaying to the rhythm.

3. Standing In The Light Of Love [Toast, 2001*] (*first released in 2022)
Comments: From a shelved turn-of-the-millennium Crazy Horse project (a contemporary to Are You Passionate?, which featured Neil's tribute song to 9/11, Let's Roll) that only managed to reach the light of day a couple of years ago. It's short, but it's heavy, with a strong riff, and a chorus that sticks with you.

4. She Showed Me Love [Colorado, 2019]
Comments: A relatively big investment with its 13-minute runtime, despite hailing from an album only five years old (from an artist that hit it big over ten times that long ago), this sounds like a classic extended Crazy Horse jam. The lyrics aren't afraid (as Neil never is) to broach the subject of environmental activism, but the delivery is softer than in some other songs. For an old white guy, Neil is doing more than his part to ensure that we HAVE a planet for our children to live on (if only that were enough).

5. Peace And Love [Mirror Ball, 1995]
Comments: In 1995, Neil Young swapped out his backing band Crazy Horse to record an album with Pearl Jam - an appropriate collaboration for the man who has been dubbed "the Godfather of Grunge". This song starts out with moderate energy, but picks up intensity, and is raised by the novelty of hearing Eddie Vedder singing on a Neil Young song.

6. A New Day For Love [The Monsanto Years, 2015]
Comments: Don't let the quirky opening fool you - once the guitar kicks in, this song rocks. Not having been previously acquainted with Neil's "Monsanto Years" - featuring the band Promise of the Real - I was pleasantly surprised by how good the two tracks I sampled were.

7. Gateway Of Love [Toast, 2001*] (*first released in 2022)
Comments: Our second entry from Toast, the turn-of-the-millennium Crazy Horse album that almost never was. This track is another extended jam. I feel like it has the vibe of Broken Arrow-era Crazy Horse. That album (from 1996) was good, but didn't really spawn any standout hits. Although I remember the accompanying live album from that tour being pretty tight.

8. Don't Take Your Love Away From Me [Bluenote Cafe, 2015]
Comments: My research indicates that this song was written for Everybody's Rockin', Neil's '80s experiment in rockabilly - but issues with the label prevented its inclusion. Which is unfortunate, because I like it. I actually have two versions. One was included on a compilation of '80s material titled Lucky 13, released in 1993. But I prefer the version from Bluenote Cafe, a live album released in 2015 that was recorded on tour for This Note's For You in 1987-88.

9. Act Of Love [Mirror Ball, 1995]
Comments: Interestingly, in more than one case I've encountered Neil Young albums that include two different songs with the word "love" in their title. This is another track from Neil's collaboration with Pearl Jam, Mirror Ball, and it's a straight-up, no-nonsense rocker.

10. People Want To Hear About Love [The Monsanto Years, 2015]
Comments: More of a rant than an anthem, I feel like this is the kind of stuff that guy that begrudgingly bought my Living With War t-shirt in a yard sale (he liked that it was Army green) meant when he said he wished Neil would just shut up. I, on the other hand, am on board with Neil's political and environmental activism. As Neil sang on A New Day For Love, "it's a bad day to do nothing."

11. Lookin' For A Love [Zuma, 1975]
Comments: Apart from Cortez The Killer (which is choice), Zuma is a mid-range Crazy Horse album from the mid-'70s, and this is a mid-range slow tempo rocker. Not bad, not necessarily great, either. But it's easy to sing and bounce along to.

12. Lotta Love [Comes A Time, 1978]
Comments: Before we get to the bottom half of this list, I just want to point out that a song doesn't have to be a hard rocker for me to like it - but when it comes to this softer fare, there's a good way and a bad way to do it. Not too much country, a good beat, fun lyrics to sing along to, and Neil's voice in prime condition? I can dig it.

13. Love In Mind [Time Fades Away, 1973]
Comments: Part of Neil's "ditch" trilogy of albums, which he recorded in the aftermath of the success that Harvest brought (along with the singles Heart of Gold and Old Man), and the last to be released on CD, Time Fades Away features this track, a moody piano ballad. It's short, but I like the somber mood that it creates.

14. Razor Love [Silver & Gold, 2000]
Comments: On the surface, this gentle acoustic ballad (that introduces the "greedy hand") wouldn't seem to be my kind of song, but for some reason I like it. It's pretty. I'm not even sure what exactly a "razor love" is (other than that it "cuts clean through"), but it's just a really intriguing image.

15. Only Love Can Break Your Heart [After The Gold Rush, 1970]
Comments: From After The Gold Rush, it's not nearly as good as When You Dance I Can Really Love, but I do like the lyrics. They're fun to sing along to. There's not much else going on in this song, but that's something. If you like the sentiment, I recommend you listen to Miley Cyrus on Mark Ronson's Nothing Breaks Like A Heart.

16. Love Is A Rose [Decade, 1977]
Comments: Recorded in 1974 for an album (Homegrown) that went unreleased until 2020, this song was compiled on Neil Young's Decade compilation in '77. Linda Ronstadt scored a hit with her country version of it. It's not the kind of song I'd usually go for, but I have a soft spot for it. It's a catchy little ditty, and I like the lyrics.

17. Love And War [Le Noise, 2010]
Comments: For an album titled Le Noise, you'd expect it to be more energetic. Instead, it's slow and somber. I like the sentiment of this song, though - although it could be described as "mopey", who among us hasn't known the feeling of trying to speak out, and having it just fall flat? I know I have...

18. Look Out For My Love [Comes A Time, 1978]
Comments: Although not scoring as high as the other song from Comes A Time on this list, I don't dislike it. I really think Neil's voice was sounding great on this album. I can't believe this is where I stopped buying his albums chronologically, especially because it's the final link connecting his prime material to Rust Never Sleeps, after which follows the experimental '80s period (where all but the diehard fans could be excused for dropping off).

19. Quit (Don't Say You Love Me) [Are You Passionate?, 2002]
Comments: From the album Neil intriguingly recorded with Booker T. and the MGs, during a time when he was reportedy going through some problems with his marriage. This song doesn't break ground, but it's got a nice, slow shuffle, with a good groove. And I like the guitar lead sprinkled throughout.

20. Sign Of Love [Le Noise, 2010]
Comments: There are songs on this list that I like more than you'd expect, and then there are others that I'd have expected to like more. I like the sound of the feedback on Le Noise - especially compared side by side to some of these other songs, but overall I just feel middling about it. I don't think the vocal effects are doing this song any favors.

21. Fool For Your Love [Bluenote Cafe, 2015]
Comments: Our second track from the Bluenote Cafe live album recorded in the '80s on tour for This Note's For You. Obviously, from its placement on this list, it's not as good as the other one. Not enough guitar, too much brass, a wooden backbeat...

22. Little Thing Called Love [Trans, 1983]
Comments: I'm sure it has its defenders, but Trans (as in Transformer Man, not transgender - unfortunately) is probably one of the most universally panned of Neil's questionable genre experiments in the '80s. The only thing that redeems this song is the slight edge to the guitar, and that it's got a pretty catchy chorus.

23. Train Of Love [Sleeps With Angels, 1994]
Comments: Dedicated to Kurt Cobain after his unfortunate suicide, you'd think this album would be like a Tonight's The Night for the '90s. Although there are a couple of memorable tracks (this isn't one of them), it kind of occupies a limbo space in my mind - despite featuring Crazy Horse.

24. Will To Love [American Stars 'N Bars, 1977]
Comments: I don't hate this track on principle (from the album that brought us Like A Hurricane), but every time it starts playing, my first instinct is to hit "skip". It's just a slog. For a song that's seven minutes long, there's no development. Being an acoustic song, it lacks the energy and the fire of Neil's electric jams. There aren't a lot of acoustic songs that can keep my interest for that long.

25. Love Earth [World Record, 2022]
Comments: I think there's a pattern, where I like Neil's rockers, but not so much his piano ballads - especially the ones that feature country flare. You know, for a singer that's put off a lot of listeners, I was never bothered by Neil's "shakey" voice - in his younger years. But now that he's getting older, the "grampa" voice doesn't do it for me.

26. I've Loved Her So Long [Neil Young, 1968]
Comments: On Neil's solo debut album, I don't think he'd quite developed his sound independent of his work with Buffalo Springfield yet (that wouldn't happen until he recruited Crazy Horse for his second album). With a choir and symphony, and Neil's voice at its shakiest, this definitely isn't one of his best tracks.

27. Hold On To Your Love [Trans, 1983]
Comments: The other track from Trans that made this list had the benefit of at least sounding superficially like a rock song. This song suffers from too much synthesizer - like something you might hear on the merry-go-round at the carnival. I give it a pass.

28. Don't Forget Love [Barn, 2021]
Comments: The first time I listened to Neil's first post-COVID album, the dominant impression was, "damn, he's getting old." In my head I was thinking, this could be the last album he ever records (thankfully, it wasn't). Even in his old age, Neil can still rock out - as evidenced by some of the other songs on this album - but this one is far too gentle for my tastes.

29. The Ways Of Love [Freedom, 1989]
Comments: From the album that brought us Rockin' In The Free World, with pedal steel guitar and harmonies courtesy of Linda Ronstadt, this acoustic ditty - which sounds halfway between Harvest and Harvest Moon - is far too light and countrified for my tastes.

30. For The Love Of Man [Psychedelic Pill, 2012]
Comments: A mostly forgettable track from 2012's otherwise memorable album, Psychedelic Pill - which was Crazy Horse's big resurgence post-2003's Greendale (which covers both times I've seen them live). With a slow shuffle, it's like a melodic funeral dirge.

Now, can you list 30 songs with the word "love" in their title by one of your favorite musical artists? I bet you can't. :-p