Influences

I don’t want to be a comedian or a musician. I want to write and direct movies. Lately I’ve found real true inspiration from a certain comedian and a certain musician though. I’m talking about Bo Burnham and Reeve Carney. I think in this last week I’ve just been so shocked and amazed by their way with words. I think I’m an ok writer, but after seeing and listening to their work, I realize I must do much, much better. So, I thought I’d share some of my feelings toward them. I’ll start with Reeve first.

When it comes to music, so much of it is about love, money, or parties. It’s fine to have that and all, but I just don’t want to hear an entire CD full of it. I’ve talked about my love for this band before, but I feel they’re worth mentioning again. When I listen to Carney, there’s actual substance in the material. The lyrics in their songs are just so amazing and relatable. It can tell a story in just a few lines, and Reeve’s voice can express every kind of emotion in those stories. I want my stories to resonate with people and for them to find a lesson and maybe apply it in their lives. I’m so inspired by him and Carney’s music. I want to be able to write without words and still move the story along. When I listen to great people like them, I want to do better. Thank you Reeve, Zane, Jon, and Aiden for helping me out.

Bo Burnham is just an all around ground breaking genius comedian. He’s doing things regular comedians wouldn’t do in their acts. He jokes around and then gets serious, then makes you think, and then he gets back to the jokes. His clever wordplay is unmatched by anyone in my opinion. I love how he makes you really think, and doesn’t dumb down his material for people who might not get it. Instead, if you don’t understand a reference, you need to look it up, and that’s alright with me. I absolutely think Bo is so smart and I would like to apply that to my writing. I want to be able to make people think and be willing to go the extra step to understand something in my stories. He’s great because he’s all these things and a comic! So, he still gets silly, which is great. In a perfect world, he wouldn’t make God jokes, but I can get over/ignore those parts. He’s too incredible not to watch, scratch that, he’s very credible. Thank you Bo, for being you.

I haven’t been to either of their shows, but must, must, must get out to see them one of these days.

This post wasn’t funny (like the other ones are at least supposed to be), but I hope it was somewhat interesting to that one person who’s reading this by accident (I have no friends) thanks for getting through it!

And remember, Misproportional (pretend it’s a word) is the exact opposite of miss (pronounce miz) proportional  

Until next time!

J.D.