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What was the best piece of content that came out as a result of the pandemic?
What's the best thing you've read, watched, heard or other that was created as a result of the pandemic. In your opinion of course.
What's the best thing you've read, watched, heard or other that was created as a result of the pandemic. In your opinion of course.
That would be Inside, by Bo Burnham. It’s gorgeous and beautiful and emotional. I loved it and kinda feel like rewatching it now.
Honestly, Inside is such a standout piece of media both in relation to the pandemic and in general, that it's hard to even think of anything else that comes to mind. I'm due for a rewatch myself, thanks for the reminder!
The only other thing I would say is just the wealth of YouTube and podcast content that has blossomed as a result of people having to stay home, get bored, and create things.
Ignoring the lyrical content for a second, Bo’s range of sounds is insane. He could produce a banger in almost any genre of music.
I selfishly would like to see him move away from comedy and become a music producer. Many of the songs from Inside have become part of my daily/weekly shuffle of listening because they're just so catchy or beautiful in their own right (like All Eyes On Me, That Funny Feeling,) and the more cheesy/comedy centric songs (such as the one with socko) aren't my favorite part of the special even though they are clever and well done.
I'd love to see what he could accomplish with some of the more unique/talented pop artists out there. Hell, Phoebe Bridgers already has done great with her cover of That Funny Feeling.
Any chance you'd be comfortable sharing why Inside resonated so much with you?
Maybe it was where I was at in life, but I wasn't able to connect with it at all and wasn't able to come out with the same takeaways or appreciation as seemingly everyone else.
Right before watching it I watched all of Burnham’s previous specials. I got some insight into his humour, his growth, and it gave me an immense amount of empathy for him and where he was at in his head when he wrote Inside.
All Eyes On Me was especially touching due to this.
Yes, I think one reason it resonated with me is because 2019 felt like a great year of my life, socially and professionally. So I understood the idea of feeling you're on a precipice of some really good years, only to be stopped in your tracks by mass illness and lockdowns, and then all the bizarre personal and interpersonal events that follow.
We were all at very different places of our lives when Inside came out, it's true. I don't think you're the only person that didn't connect with the concepts of Inside. I mean, it's essentially musical comedy, it definitely won't land for everyone! Plus, one of the most eye-opening things about the pandemic was realizing how different everyone's experience of it was.
I feel like Inside captured one version of what it was like to live during 2020-2021, plus some general commentary on our society that should help it maintain relevancy in the future, despite being a piece of "pandemic media." I think those reasons are why it stands out to me as one of the best pieces of content to "come out of the pandemic."
I think it's very affected by where you're at in life. It honestly had some of the most relatable depiction of depression I've ever seen in anything, ever. I had friends who said they thought it was too dark as a result but as someone whose existing depression was VERY MUCH worsened by the pandemic, it absolutely hit the mark for me.
Just rewatched that a couple weeks ago, and I'm still recovering. It perfectly expresses my feelings about the current world, and my inability to do anything about it. The last three songs (That Funny Feeling, All Eyes On Me, Goodbye), taken together, make it a masterpiece.
I was not in the right mind to listen to it, it sent me into a depressive spiral that I'm just now starting to claw myself out of
Inside is one of my favorite pieces of media, period. If anyone reading this has seen Inside, but not the Inside Outtakes, do yourself a favor! Last I saw, Inside Outtakes is free on YouTube.
+1 for Inside Outtakes - just stumbled across it a few months ago and was such a pleasant surprise! It's on Netflix too.
What's the story with Outtakes? Alternate takes of performances? Additional songs that didn't make the cut? Bloopers?
Watching that during the pandemic was such a raw emotional experience. Very cathartic but in a "walk through the pain" sort of way. Haven't been able to get in a mental space to rewatch it. Did buy the OST on cassette though 'cause the music is phenomenal.
Very few bloopers, but other than that, correct. A lot of alternative takes/collages, and some extra songs that didn't make it and were repurposed into others, which you can compare with how "The Future" eventually ended up as "Problematic", or seeing a previous version of "All Eyes on Me".
One of the more popular songs from it seems to be Five Years, which is basically on par with most of the other songs in the special. Personal favourite is the SPIDEEEEEER, HIDING IN THE CORNER, SUPER FUCKING NORMAL, but honestly, the whole thing is worth a watch.
What is the most interesting part of Inside Outtakes, is that even though some of the skits and songs are bangers, some of them undermined the sense of isolation that was so effective.
5 years had him playing two characters, as well as the zoom sketch. Spider in the corner is also a callback to five years, so it makes sense to me why it was unfortunately cut.
"OH GOD IT'S MOVING, WHY IS IT MOVING?! AAAAAAAA"
The outtakes are a bunch of assorted things that didn't make it to the final cut, basically. There's random clips, a few unfinished songs, and at least one complete song that I can remember. I had a lot of fun watching it still!
Honestly, I've tried to avoid any content that reminds me of the pandemic. Anxiety, trauma, and all that... it was a hard couple of years and, in some ways, I'm still not quite over it.
However, I did enjoy the BBC Comedy series Staged. (The first season only - the second season was a total dumpster fire. Don't go "meta".) That was some excellent work by David Tennant and Michael Sheen, and their co-performers.
I kept telling myself: as soon as the pandemic is over, I'm going to re-watch Contagion (2011).
But now that the pandemic is basically over, I can't bring myself to watch it partially because, like you, I don't want to be reminded of it. And partially because I thought that movie was exaggerating how a pandemic would be handled, except they somehow handled it better in the movie vs. reality.
So now I don't know if I can ever re-watch it.
Speaking as a Brandon Sanderson fan, there's a great fan podcast where a veteran reader guides three newbies through Sanderson's Cosmere. It's named the Sanderlanche, so called because the final ~20% of any Sanderson novel feels like an avalanche; building power slowly then quickly, leading the reader to not putting the book down until they finish it. This fan term made for a great podcast name, which started during the pandemic.
If you like The Sanderlanche, may I also recommend There's Always Another Podcast? We've just finished the Mistborn Era 1 trilogy and are gearing up to start Elantris.
I've always been a big fan of "guided first experience through a thing", and so my sister and I started a Cosmere read+reread podcast with two of our friends.
I'll look into it! Thanks!
Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self was the second thing I thought of after Inside -- well-done, brilliant and hilarious.
Lowkey, fuck 2020. She made that in July. 2020 was such a fucking awful year that we were collectively done with it halfway through.
It has got to be this parish council meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l17UIwAFOyk. I don't think anything made me laugh as hard as it through the whole of the Pandemic.
There are three main works that I will always associate with the pandemic.
First is INSIDE which has been mentioned elsewhere on this post so I will not be redundant.
The second is Brandi Carlile's album "In These Silent Days". It is so far, her best work. It's such a departure for Carlile due to her inability to tour, or perform for other people, that forced her to channel that lonlieness and lack of outlet into her songwriting. If you were to listen through her discography, I'm pretty confident you would hear the difference. Her songs get much more personal and specific, and all the better for it.
I know that Americana isn't everyone's genre, but if you are willing to give it a shot, I'm sure there will be something there you like.
And Third is The Avalanches "We Will Always Love You". This album got me through my (so far) first experience with COVID in winter of '21. I was quarantined in my living room, sleeping on a loveseat for 14 days. It was hell.
But this melancholy, beautiful album ruminating on love, death, and the vastness of space helped me through it.
All three of these works are, for me, 10/10.
The album Force Majeure by Dezron Douglas and Brandee Younger. Douglas plays bass, Younger plays harp. They live together, and started doing weekly livestream concerts from their apartment during the lockdown months. The album is taken from those streams, with announcements between the songs that remind you of exactly what was happening around that time. But it's a beautiful example of spiritual jazz with some soul/R&B influence, and it captures a feeling of love and hope that was very much needed when it was released in December of 2020. For me it's the definitive jazz album of that first pandemic year, and one of the very best of this decade.
Fantastic question.
The VERZUZ concert series is a definite highlight. From its inception as a friendly competition between Swizz Beatz and Timbaland showcasing some of their career highlights over Instagram Live, it quickly expanded to both celebrations (RZA v. DJ Premier) of other hip-hop producers' accomplishments, as well as showcases of the competitive tradition of rappers facing off against each other, first in virtual rivalry and then in person, with nods to dancehall clash culture in its format. There were huge match-ups like Bounty Killer v. Beenie Man, Snoop Dogg v. DMX, Gucci Mane v. Jeezy, and Fat Joe v. Ja Rule, among others. It grew to span more genres, with Erykah Badu v. Jill Scott, Teddy Riley v. Babyface, Alicia Keys v. John Legend, Patti LaBelle v. Gladys Knight, The Isley Brothers v. Earth, Wind & Fire, and Chaka Khan v. Stephanie Mills getting in on the action. Ultimately, when social distancing restrictions started being lifted, it culminated in one of the most epic nights in hip-hop history - a live Verzuz concert pitting The Lox v. Dipset, in a sold out Madison Square Garden. And my goodness, it was a massacre.
The 8:46 special from Dave Chappelle, in the wake of the George Floyd killing and Black Lives Matter protests, showed just why he is IMO the greatest stand-up of all time. This man is not merely a comedian; he is a griot, he is a philosopher. He showed up when we least expected and gave us what we needed. If you've never seen it, it's a must-watch.
Honorable mention to Jelle's Marble Runs. It started out long before the pandemic, but went viral and exploded in popularity when we were all stuck at home. A May 2020 sponsorship from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver also helped give it a bit of a boost. Big shout out to @moocow1452 who kept us updated throughout.
I know there are others I'm forgetting. It's impressive how creatively people managed to adapt, really.
Unus Annus. It didn't start as a piece of pandemic media, but it kind of became one. During the seemingly unending lockdowns here in NZ, it was one of the few things to look forward to each day.
I never quite caught up with Unus Annus before the end, I only got into it in October. Bet your ass I watched as much as I physically could before the end, and I cried like a baby at the final livestream. It's weird seeing something that'll never be done again. Another "this channel will be deleted one year from now" would just end up a cheap imitation.
Vague answer, but comedy. Covid was a frightening and stressful time for me, as it was for many others, so turning to something to help me cope by laughing at it helped me through it. It came right after a traumatic experience for me too, so it was quite a double whammy personally. Worst of all, the idea that people wanted me to die because I wanted to mask up, or because I'm hispanic, or because I'm liberal, that tore me apart. Maybe reddit amplified that feeling for its reactionary air, but it felt real and scary when people in your family would huff and puff about the absurdity of masks, etc.
Comedy itself took a hit due to the lockdowns, and I think that's worth mentioning because standup relies on real-time feedback for energy. So they needed to become innovative, and that took different forms. I found that, through joining livestream comedy shows, and although I couldn't see the audience around me, I felt I was there with everyone else in feeling vulnerable and needing something to laugh at. I felt energy in it.
I won't tell you what I listened to because it's raunchy as hell, but it helped me out quite a bit.
The podcast was actually going on before the pandemic, but for me it was LeVar Burton Reads. He brought the podcast to Twitter and had mentioned he was going to read short stories in the public domain so there were no legal complications. Neil Gaiman and many other authors reached out and gave him permission to use any of their short stories.
for me there Is no question it has to be Bo Burnhams inside. I was already a bo fan so seeing him come back with such a powerful spectacle was amazing.
Nothing else captures the feelings of lockdown and the pandemic in general to me as much as this special
Honestly, when the pandemic was just starting I found the absurdity and humor from the Netflix series The Tiger King to be just what I needed to escape for a bit.
It was an amazing consequence of the pandemic that creative-types were in left in a situation where both traditional 'content' stalled and they many found creating as a way to fill their days. It led to a lot of independent / low-key projects finding an audience.
Two for me, in the sphere of music:
They subsequently toured the UK, and after a 2021 date got pushed back a year, I got to see them for the first time in years in 2022 and it was amazing. So much pent up energy for live music from both the band and the crowd. I appreciate this won't translate to YouTube well, but I link here it anyway.
This culminated in an album release in 2022, May You Live in Interesting Times - which is very much a pandemic (and to a lesser extent Trump) inspired release.
Twitch right as the pandemic started felt kinda magical.
It was a situation where a ton of the most skilled creatives had no outlet for their creations, and were looking for a place to share (and potentially monetize) their work.
I found the pandemic season of Superstore was a really good snapshot of what life actually felt like during the pandemic. As a background: the show is a sitcom set in a fictional US store about the people working there. They'd previously had a few series arcs about employment rights, unionisation, ICE, etc. Then with the pandemic, they did a series that genuinely felt like it took place during the pandemic - people wore masks the entire time, people stood really far apart from each other, people dealt with stupid half-hearted regulations designed to give the illusion of safety without impacting profits. A lot of shows seemed to do a token mask scene and then just go back to normal, but this was really what things looked like in the shops and supermarkets I was going to, or in the workplaces I was in.
I also watched Inside, which I thought was good and interesting, but I thought some of his other stuff was better at representing feelings that I have felt. Inside felt too much like someone trying to have the quintessential pandemic experience - the sort of idealised version of lockdown, where no-one saw anyone else, where we all made sourdough, where we all did zoom calls and spent all day doomscrolling, etc. But it all felt so heightened to a degree that was just kind of unreal.