For a comedy group that was born and raised in visual mediums -- web videos and the Saturday Night Live television show -- the Lonely Island are still way ahead of the curve when it comes to the comedy album format. Of course, music was at least half the reason links to their series of SNL Digital Shorts would dominate in-boxes every following Monday. The smart mimicry of teen pop ("Dick in a Box"), Euro-disco ("Jizz in My Pants"), or old-school rap ("Lazy Sunday") is half the attraction, and when you add the "aw shucks" look of on-camera Islander Andy Samberg, you can get away with a lot of shocking material. So many mentions of naughty bits would be tedious if Samberg and SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone didn't have the brains to pull it off, and dealing with the differences between races seems much less dangerous when the trio show they're well-versed in the works of their hip-hop guests, E-40 and T-Pain. Their hiring of eccentric underground rap producer J-Zone shows their in tune with what's next and when white rasta wannabe "Ras Trent" complains of his "bomboclat parents" and declares he can make a chalice out of a Sprite can, the snarky commentary is made all the sweeter by a lyric that drops two deep reggae references: "Me night nurse never want to plant de corn." The track has also been updated so that a visual joke from the original SNL version is removed, and with all the interludes and new material, plus fake alternative album covers throughout the booklet, this isn't an afterthought but a fully committed comedy album. On top of that, it's a hilarious comedy album that's just as hip, inventive, and inappropriate as their digital shorts.For a comedy group that was born and raised in visual mediums -- web videos and the Saturday Night Live television show -- the Lonely Island are still way ahead of the curve when it comes to the comedy album format. Of course, music was at least half the reason links to their series of SNL Digital Shorts would dominate in-boxes every following Monday. The smart mimicry of teen pop ("Dick in a Box"), Euro-disco ("Jizz in My Pants"), or old-school rap ("Lazy Sunday") is half the attraction, and when you add the "aw shucks" look of on-camera Islander Andy Samberg, you can get away with a lot of shocking material. So many mentions of naughty bits would be tedious if Samberg and SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone didn't have the brains to pull it off, and dealing with the differences between races seems much less dangerous when the trio show they're well-versed in the works of their hip-hop guests, E-40 and T-Pain. Their hiring of eccentric underground rap producer J-Zone shows their in tune with what's next and when white rasta wannabe "Ras Trent" complains of his "bomboclat parents" and declares he can make a chalice out of a Sprite can, the snarky commentary is made all the sweeter by a lyric that drops two deep reggae references: "Me night nurse never want to plant de corn." The track has also been updated so that a visual joke from the original SNL version is removed, and with all the interludes and new material, plus fake alternative album covers throughout the booklet, this isn't an afterthought but a fully committed comedy album. On top of that, it's a hilarious comedy album that's just as hip, inventive, and inappropriate as their digital shorts.false2023-12-22 21:41:11Incredibad920092009-02-102009-02-1042ComedyElectronicHip HopPop RapReggaeRockSynth-Pop112206211685758ac616e-232f-47dc-9405-5ff04f1603ba028e1863-cab4-4a3d-9dd9-91c682c91005ee979dde-aba0-368f-9d9c-82d9f948befc/config/metadata/library/a9/a9bc1ea3688189d3ba42b0d54c00b7ad/folder.jpgThe Lonely IslandThe Lonely IslandThe Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program Saturday Night Live (SNL).
The three first met in junior high. After graduating from college, they regrouped and moved to Los Angeles, where they struggled to find work and began making short films, combining absurdist comedy and occasionally music. Among the first performers to post their material on the Internet, they involved themselves with Channel 101, a non-profit monthly short film festival. Their popularity at the screenings led to unsuccessful pilot deals with Fox and Comedy Central and a writing job for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Subsequently, that show's host, Jimmy Fallon, recommended them to Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live.
The group was hired for SNL in 2005, with all three as writers and Samberg as a featured player. Bypassing the traditional process of pitching, they recorded their own material independently and submitted it to the program. Their second sketch to air, "Lazy Sunday", became an internet sensation, the first of many viral videos they produced while at SNL. They led their own division at the program — SNL Digital Shorts — which led to numerous viral videos, including "Motherlover", "Dick in a Box", "Jizz in My Pants", "I'm on a Boat", "Like a Boss", "I Just Had Sex", "Jack Sparrow", and "YOLO". Their musical comedic work has comprised four full studio albums: Incredibad (2009), Turtleneck & Chain (2011), The Wack Album (2013), and The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience (2019), along with a soundtrack album for their 2016 film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. The three retired from SNL in the early 2010s, but occasionally make guest appearances.
The troupe has written, directed and starred in two feature-length films, Hot Rod, released in 2007, and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, co-produced by Judd Apatow and released in 2016. The group also produced the 2020 film Palm Springs, starring Samberg and Cristin Milioti.