For the uninitiated, The Lonely Island are, among other things, the guys behind the SNL Digital Shorts that have been a high point of recent SNL history. They are a trio of writer-comedians comprised of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Friends since childhood, they eventually cultivated a pretty decent internet buzz that they managed to parley into fruitful gigs on SNL. Schaffer has also directed some amazing videos, including the
Gnarls Barkley video for Who's Gonna Save My Soul that's one of the best videos since Thriller from where I'm sitting. That said, it's a double-edged sword for me. Just when I think that I've written them (ok, Samberg) off, they hit with Ras Trent or I'm On A Boat and it's back to square one for me, although if there is one more fucking episode of that stupid Laser Cats, I'm going to jack Samberg on the street.
Hip-hop is an easy vehicle for the lazy comedian, but Lonely Island get props for coming pretty serious with their beats and rhymes. They are originally from the Bay Area, so E-40 guests on a track and Sir Mix-A-Lot classic Posse On Broadway is slyly referenced for more JS-NYC props. Of course, Lazy Sunday is here, featuring Chris Parnell, who is seriously one of the top 10 best white rappers. I am not joking in the least.
Incredibad has all the great material you've seen on SNL, including Dick In A Box and Ras Trent. There's also a companion DVD with a good number of the SNL shorts. It's worth pointing out that Iran So Far is not here, owing to clearance issues. This should sell like fucking hot cakes. Their only mistake is not releasing it in time for the Holidays.
Ok, not only. There are some crappy parts, like Punch You In The Jeans and the title track, which really wouldn't bear mentioning at all, save for the fact that they rhyme about gang-banging an alien, but the tracks rarely reach the three minute mark, so even the most irritating jokes pass quickly enough not to be too trying. If you're a fan, it seems worth picking up, especially as you get the uncensored versions of the SNL aired songs and a lot of them are pretty classic. You can get I
ncredibad here, if you are of a mind. Keep track of what's going on with the Lonely Island
here.
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The Lonely Island have been the saving grace of late-period Saturday Night Live, dominating the SNL Digital Short domain with a string or crude collabos with a host of stars from Rhianna to Michael Bolton (and the odd drop from John Waters to keep it honest). The last LP lp did surprisingly well, to the point where we now have the inevitable follow-up. Called Turtleneck & Chain, it's 19 tracks of better than average song parodies covering a wealth of topics including, but not limited to: creepiness, public masturbation, sleeping with your buddy's Mom and pimping your label for trips to Japan. There is definitely some fat here that could be excised, but even the hate coursing through the JS-NYC veins can't dispute this is a pretty strong collection. The LP gents definitely know the genres they are lampooning well, making for a much more pleasurable experience than the average YouTube satire. I'm not sure I'm ready for the gauntlet of wanna-bes quoting this shit chapter and verse, but credit is due and JS-NYC props duly afforded.
