Lauren West
Back in June, Phoebe Bridgers shared a link to Bo Burnham’s “That Funny Feeling” to her Instagram story saying, “every bone in my body wants to plagiarize this”. Five months later, Bridgers has released her own version of the song that’s just as beautifully devastating as the original.
The song, originally featured in Bo Burnham’s newest comedy special Inside, gives us a rather bleak take on modern society, something any Phoebe Bridgers fan will be more than familiar with. The simpler lyrics perfectly align with Bridgers’ usual sound, making it feel like something taken straight from her own album.
“The extra time to dwell on the lyrics allows them to hit home harder”
The slower tempo of the cover does make the six minutes and 40 seconds song feel lengthy at points, but it lets the cynical lyrics feel even more haunting. Lyrics like “a book on getting better hand-delivered by a drone” and “googling derealisation, hating what you find” linger with you for longer than in the original. The extra time to dwell on the lyrics allows them to hit home harder.
It’s easy to forget any criticism about lengthiness as the last minute of the song builds into something that feels more positive. “It’ll be over soon”, Bridgers sings over a cheerier guitar part with a sense of optimism. But, the drums and radio static effects signal that something much more sinister is going on below the surface. Bridgers is an expert at this and “That Funny Feeling” is no exception.
“This one’s for Greg Abbott”
Bridgers originally shared the cover on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going to Texas Abortion Funds. In an Instagram post announcing the release of the single, Bridgers states “This one’s for Greg Abbott”. The Texas governor recently signed the most restrictive abortion legislation in the US. The legislation bans abortions after six weeks and allows citizens to sue abortion providers or those providing support for abortion in Texas.
Bridger’s cover is available to purchase via Bandcamp or to stream on Spotify.
Featured image courtesy of David Lee via Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to the image.
Lauren West
Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm a recent journalism graduate from Leeds Beckett University and living in Nottingham.