The Lonely Island: Incredibad

In 2001, The Lonely Island—Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Samberg—was just another sketch troupe posting videos to Channel101.com. After they joined the ranks of Saturday Night Live, their digital short “Lazy Sunday” made Samberg a sensation and helped put YouTube on the map. TLI’s recorded debut, Incredibad, features plenty of Internet- and SNL-tested material—“Dick In A Box,” “Natalie’s Rap,” “Jizz In My Pants,” and “I’m On A Boat”—which actually holds up well on physical media. The new track “Dream Girl” (with Norah Jones atoning for past sins) is amusing, and “Sax Man” (with Jack Black atoning for the Tenacious D movie) is a clever twist on an old idea; imagine Bread’s “Guitar Man” delivered with a sense of humor. An included DVD of eight videos (five from SNL) adds value, but the quality is often lacking; jagged edges abound, and the images on the iMovie-esque menu look like YouTube screenshots. Missing (apparently because they couldn’t get the rights to an Aphex Twin sample) is the hilarious “Iran So Far” with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. But hey, it’s always available online.