My Gut Reaction: The Lonely Island - Incredibad (February 17. 2009)

Oh, come on, like none of you saw this review coming.

The Lonely Island is a comedy troupe from California, made up primarily of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, along with some other guys on the fringes. They are currently based out of New York, as all three me currently work on Saturday Night Live (Jorma and Akiva as writers and sometime-directors, and Andy as on-air talent). They started their career creating ridiculous short films and silly songs that got them noticed by many in the business, leading to a sitcom pilot for Fox, Saturday Night Live, and now, Incredibad, their first album, released on Universal Records, thanks to NBC.

Technically, Incredibad is actually the group's second album, but the first one is impossible to find anyway, so it doesn't really count. As fans of the hip hop culture, the three guys decided to add to it by creating Incredibad, a stupidly-named rap trio, and they released Please Incredibad Don't Hurt 'Em (a collection of their popular mp3s) prior to creating some of the most popular sketches and short films in SNL's history, including "Lazy Sunday", "Dick In A Box", and "Jizz In My Pants", which still makes me laugh today.

Regardless of the fact that Best Buy labeled this as a comedy album, Incredibad is about 85% hip hop, with only the occasional excursion into different musical territory. It features good-natured guests with a sense of humor with names as diverse as Natalie Portman and E-40. Also, it cost me five bucks (thanks, Reward Zone!). So without further ado, let's get this over with, so you two can wonder when I'll write about a "real" rap album again.

1. WHO SAID WE'RE WACK?
Alternately annoying and amusing. Leans heavily toward the former, though.

2. SANTANA DVX (FEAT E-40)
Of all people, they got J-Zone to provide the beat. Sadly, this is probably the most high-profile project he'll ever work on. On the plus side, though, cashing NBC/Universal checks has got to be a pretty sweet feeling. The song itself is actually pretty good, as well, although the idea of getting E-40 to portray Carlos Santana is either inspired or ridiculous, depending on the time of day.

3. JIZZ IN MY PANTS
A lot has already been written about this Euro-dance goof, but I will say this: it works completely. However, although it will sound good in your car (if you're into that sort of thing, and I would guess that most of my two readers are not), you'll appreciate it even more if you watch the video. My favorite part is when Andy drops his phone in the rain: you'll know what I'm talking about when you watch it.

4. I'M ON A BOAT (FEAT T-PAIN)
I've already written about this track, but for those of you that refused to watch the video when I posted it, you should know that this is a wholly successful parody of rap excess today, with much more profanity than is required by law, love of all themes nautical, and T-Pain to boot. I appreciate how Andy manages to sound like two different rappers within the first four verses, and hearing T-Pain sing "motherfucker" and brag about fucking a mermaid is just funny.

5. SAX MAN (FEAT JACK BLACK)
I normally like Jack Black as a musician, but here the Lonely Island makes the mistake of casting him as the straight man for an entirely unfunny joke. I'd rather sit through his fake trailer at the top of Tropic Thunder on an endless loop than listen to him on this song. Which is too bad, as Tenacious D has created some truly funny shit.

6. LAZY SUNDAY (FEAT CHRIS PARNELL)
The track that first exposed the general public to the Lonely Island outbreak and their love of hip hop. It sounds a bit dated today, but I still found it funny. The gunshots punctuating the end of the song are the perfect touch.

7. NORMAL GUY - INTERLUDE
While I like how Santana champagne is a running joke throughout Incredibad, this skit was pretty fucking worthless.

8. BOOMBOX (FEAT JULIAN CASABLANCAS)
I can't stand The Strokes, so I wasn't expecting much from this track. It turns out that it isn't that good anyway, but I laughed out loud at Julian's singing about "a Spanish guy [doing] the Bartman". And also, thanks to this one song, I've heard enough references to boiled goose to last several lifetimes.

9. SHROOMS - INTERLUDE
...

10. LIKE A BOSS
Slim Thug and Officer Ricky Ross may take offense with Andy Samberg for this ridiculously goofy song. Hopefully, it'll lead to another pointless rap beef, like the Curtis Jackson/Rick Ross that is currently playing out on a blog near you. The "swallow sadness" line sticks out in my mind, along with the rest of the song: it's so stupid, it's hilarious.

11. WE LIKE SPORTZ
Andy takes the day off while the other two guys (Jorma and Akiva) grab the mic. This is one of their earlier, pre-Saturday Night Live tracks, and the joke is a lot funnier if you watch the video, especially because you can actually see the two goofy white guys pose themselves in a threatening manner. Musically, this track works better than most of what's played on the radio today, and this shit is old, son!

12. DREAMGIRL (FEAT NORAH JONES)
This silly song turns into a commercial for Chex Mix towards the end, taking it to a completely different level of absurdity. Having Norah Jones sing "TM" (as in the symbol for a trademark) and "I thought you looked like a bag of trash" is a fucking stroke of genius.

13. RAS TRENT
Without watching the video, you two may find this Sly and Robbie-produced trifle to be simply offensive to the Rastafarian culture, but Andy's spot-on impersonation of those much-hated trust fund babies who switch religions on a dime works much better on a visual level. Also, by watching the video itself, you're privy to a bonus joke that doesn't translate very well to the CD.

14. DICK IN A BOX (FEAT JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE)
You've probably already heard this Color Me Badd/Isley Brothers goof. I can't believe it won a fucking Emmy. That's just weird.

15. THE OLD SALOON - INTERLUDE
Encapsulates the problem Max has with mixtape deejays, the main reason that more mixtapes aren't reviewed on the blog. (I promise I'm working on that.)

16. PUNCH YOU IN THE JEANS
This track was apparently inspired by a Jurassic 5 song (according to an interview the group gave to Entertainment Weekly), so The Lonely Island got DJ Nu-Mark himself to produce it (he also provided the beat for the previous interlude). It's a one-joke song that you'll probably get tired of about a quarter of the way through.

17. SPACE OLYMPICS
By far the most ambitious song and digital short The Lonely Island has come up with thus far. I remember thinking that this shit was surreal when I first saw it on SNL, and I still appreciate how the lyrics go off on bizarre tangents towards the end, such as when Andy simply swipes lyrics from Timberlake's "My Love".

18. NATALIE'S RAP (FEAT NATALIE PORTMAN & CHRIS PARNELL)
Natalie Portman has no flow, but it's still funny to hear her rhyme about "bust[ing] in dudes's mouths like gushers, motherfucker". And besides, she's just adorable. The beat actually has some heft to it, which is most impressive for a song that isn't supposed to be taken seriously anyway.

19. INCREDIBAD
The album ends with a strange origin story about the group, told in the vein of "Paul Revere" by the Beastie Boys. "Impeach The President", the Honeydrippers song that is probably the second most utilized sample in hip hop behind "Nautilus", is used to a decent effect. The track is alright, but you'll probably never listen to it again, thanks to the magic of the "skip" button.

THE LAST WORD: Incredibad is actually more entertaining than a lot of rap albums released today, mainly because The Lonely Island are actively trying to be funny. It helps that the three men obviously have an appreciation for the craft, and they don't embarrass themselves behind the mic. Not every joke works, and the ones that hit will become less and less amusing with each listen, but for now, it works for me. Plus, the inclusion if the digital shorts on the enclosed DVD (with the exception of "I'm On A Boat", which was too new when the disc was pressed) is a nice touch. Either way, I only paid five bucks for Incredibad, so I'm happy.

-Max