My final Phoebe Bridgers selection is her cover of one of the most insightful and poignant works of art to come out of the pandemic: Bo Burnham’s ‘That Funny Feeling.’
Burnham is the talented multi-hyphenate who wrote and directed the film Eighth Grade. He got his start posting comedic songs on YouTube and eventually released several albums of his material. In 2021, he dropped the comedy special Inside, which he conceived and produced without a cast or crew during the Covid pandemic.
The special features comedic bits but turns serious as it chronicles Burnham’s mental deterioration in the face of prolonged isolation. Today’s song comes near the end, and catalogs a laundry list of bizarre observations about America in the 2020s.
Bridgers performed the song, accompanied by Burnham, during a surprise live performance at the Largo in Los Angeles. She later added it to her own shows and, in late 2021, released it as a single with proceeds benefiting abortion advocates in Texas. She began dating Burnham in December of 2022.
That officially wraps my brief Phoebe Bridgers deep dive. I’m very much looking forward to the upcoming Lost Weekend, which promises to build on the excellence she has displayed in both her solo and collaborative work.
🎵 Part of the Phoebe Bridgers Deep Dive 🎵
This post is part of my exploration of Phoebe Bridgers’ studio catalog.
→ Return to the Phoebe Bridgers Deep Dive
Stunning 8K resolution, meditation app
In honor of the revolution, it’s half-off at the Gap
Deadpool’s self-awareness, loving parents, harmless fun
The backlash to the backlash to the thing that’s just begun
[Chorus]
There it is again
That funny feeling
That funny feeling
There it is again
That funny feeling
That funny feeling
[Verse 2]
The surgeon general’s pop-up shop, Robert Iger’s face
Discount Etsy agitprop, Bugles’ take on race
Female Colonel Sanders, easy answers, civil war
The whole world at your fingertips, the ocean at your door
The live-action Lion King, the Pepsi Halftime Show
Twenty-thousand years of this, seven more to go
Carpool Karaoke, Steve Aoki, Logan Paul
A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall
[Chorus]
There it is again
That funny feeling
That funny feeling
There it is again
That funny feeling
That funny feeling
[Verse 3]
Reading Pornhub’s terms of service, going for a drive
Obeying all the traffic laws in Grand Theft Auto V
Full agoraphobic, losing focus, cover blown
A book on getting better hand-delivered by a drone
Total disassociation, fully out of your mind
Googling “derealization,” hating what you find
That unapparent summer air in early fall
The quiet comprehending of the ending of it all
[Chorus]
There it is again
That funny feeling
That funny feeling
There it is again
That funny feeling
That funny feeling
[Outro]
Hey, what can you say?
We were all overdue
But it’ll be over soon
You wait
Hey, what can you say?
We were all overdue
But it’ll be over soon
Just wait
Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da-da-da-da-da
Hey, what can you say?
We were all overdue
But it’ll be over soon
Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da-da-da-da-da
Meet Me In Montauk 
I vaguely remember hearing Burnham”s version of this song. Interesting that they are together.
Interesting deep dive on Phoebe. Can’t say I’m a fan of her music but she’s definitely interesting 😊