Whenever the music industry begins to take itself too seriously, a crusader of hilarity can be counted on to keep conventions in check. The Lonely Island, following this long line of jesters such as Weird Al and Spinal Tap, is no different. It targets hip hop and electro, genres ripe for comedic parody, but neither the songwriting nor humor holds up over the album's running time, despite a few gems.
Fans of Saturday Night Live (SNL) will no doubt be familiar with The Lonely Island. Primarily responsible for the show's Digital Shorts, the group consists of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Shaffer, who were making songs and videos well before they started working on SNL. The "Digital Shorts," which helped Samberg gain widespread recognition, are now a staple of the show. The most popular of these are the music videos the group has created, including "Lazy Sunday," "Dick in a Box" and "Jizz In My Pants," all of which are featured on "Incredibad" (2009). The album isn't simply a rehash of old material, though, since over half of its songs are brand new.
This new material, however, is where most of the problems lie. The singles are obviously going to be better than the rest of the record as they are the driving forces behind sales. To say that opening track "Who Said We're Wack?" is underwhelming is an understatement; it should be skipped as soon as possible. Featuring such painful lyrics as "Who said we're wack?/ I can't believe that/ They must be smoking crack/ To say that we're wack" and absolutely no flow, it gives listeners a very negative first impression. The boys were clearly spoofing call-out or diss tracks, a common feature on rap records, but they set the bar pretty low.
Luckily, The Lonely Island hits its stride soon after with a string of spot-on songs anyone with an internet connection will have heard of by now. "Jizz in My Pants" stands out as a brilliant parody of eurotrash dance-club music, featuring genre staples such as drum-machine beats and heavy synth. Though the hook is juvenile and repeated ad nauseam, the lyrics feature plenty of clever wordplay, and the real surprise is the strength of the song itself. Were it not for the lyrics, it would fit in perfectly on the dance floor.
"I'm on a Boat," a track featuring T-Pain, is a similar success, turning a mirror on braggadocio rappers who are overly concerned with material possessions. Like "Jizz in My Pants" and the godfather of this record, "Lazy Sunday," "I'm on a Boat" is both hilarious and highly catchy.
Despite the gems, a good number of the tracks are, at best, mildly amusing and ultimately forgettable, like "Sax Man," a rock number featuring Jack Black. Others, including "Space Olympics" or "Boombox," are flat-out boring, offering neither a chuckle nor a catchy beat. The rest of the tracks are, as the title suggests: incredibly bad. The banality of "We Like Sportz" rivals that of "Who Said We're Wack?" while the short interludes "Normal Guy" and "Shrooms" grate on the nerves, taking silly to a new and wholly unlikable level.
Artists who mix comedy and music as thoroughly as The Lonely Island have a harder time getting it right than do artists who are just comedians or just musicians. After a few listens, the novelty of "Incredibad" wears off and listeners judge The Lonely Island on the quality of its music. On occasion, Samberg and company are dead-on with decently funny songs. Unfortunately, though, they only get about a third of the album right. Ultimately, "Incredibad" is a great idea in short doses, but doesn't have enough material to stretch over the entire running length of the album.
