Hundreds of writers and performers have been a part of the comedy institution that is Saturday Night Live but few can say that they’ve defined their era. Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccome are among those few, having created and starred in the wildly popular SNL Digital Shorts (under the name The Lonely Island) that the show has recently been known for. After banking millions of hits on Hulu, the trio compiled a number of their songs into a hit album—2009’s Incredibad—and now present its follow-up, Turtleneck & Chain.
The problem with musical comedy is often that the artists rely too heavily on lyrics to make up for uninteresting music or make songs that are deliberately terrible as part of the joke. The Lonely Island breaks the trend by making music that would actually still be good if they were repurposed as “real” songs. “I Just Had Sex” 
and “Rocky” wouldn’t need much adjustment to work for an emcee with a sense of humor, and a DJ could easily work the title track (“Turtleneck & Chain” featuring Snoop Dogg) into a set without clearing the dance floor. This time around the trio made it a point to record a large portion of the songs first (i.e. Nicki Minaj on “The Creep” ) and then create Digital Shorts around them. This makes for some more well thought out music, as opposed to a few funny vids ripped to MP3.
Fans of the first album might miss its diversity since Turtleneck & Chain is almost entirely hip-pop, but it’s a genre the group knows well. They obviously “get it,” so Turtleneck & Chain never feels like they’re making fun of rap music or its culture, just using it as an effective delivery system for their comedic sensibility. All three members of the group love rapping and put effort into doing it respectably well.
Not surprisingly, some tracks do suffer when divorced from their visuals. “Shy Ronnie 2” (with Rihanna) doesn’t really make sense if you haven’t seen the sketch already, and “Threw it on the Ground” was mostly built around the visual gag of Samberg throwing things in slow motion. It’s not hard to find the videos online and many are included on the bonus DVD, but in the (admittedly unlikely) event that the CD will be your first experience with the material, you’ll have homework to do.
Most people won’t ride around bumping Lonely Island like a Lil Wayne album, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a place in your collection. Turtleneck & Chain could easily be your iPod’s equivalent to that copy of Anchorman you keep around for a rainy day or something fun to mix in for a party playlist. Even gangstas like a good laugh, and The Lonely Island is a good place to go to get it.
If you don’t like this shit, you’re most likely that guy no one wants to hang out with on weekends.
i wouldnt bump this shit at parties
That’s why you don’t get invited to them, douche.
a while back, I was at the club and “I’m on a Boat” came on. the people who didn’t recognize it thought it was just a new dope T-Pain track, everyone else though was going CRAZY cheering for it. I can imagine a few of these tracks being solid club-bangers too.
This^^ just shows you how fucking sad of a state hip hop is currently in :/
cuz ppl like goofy shit when they hammered?? lighten up that in no way reflects the state of hip hop atleast they are tryin to be goofy unlike waka fuka whos unintentionally funny
I love to roll around bumpin I Just Had Sex, and all the Lonely Island songs. I love to see the peoples faces at the gas station or in front of the mall. Shits funny as fuck!
I like this.
Lonely Island is dope. These guys could probably make a great serious album if they wanted to.
This new album really is quite good! You can tell from the production and rhymes that The Lonely Island are truly fans of hip-hop making a “serious” comedy album (if that makes sense?). It’s not just 3 white guys rapping bad for fun, it’s 3 guys rapping really well with MANY humorous lines. The guest artists also seem to have fun, the highlights being Akon and Michael Bolton, but Nicki Minaj turned in a great verse too. All in all, this album may not be for everybody, but for any fans who aren’t afraid to stop taking the music so seriously, this will be a fun fun album for the summer.
Well said.
word. fuckin haters
5 stars!
pretty funny. hearing michael bolton get gangsta was definitely the high point
best fake rappers ever, the thing is they acknowledge that and thier funny as hell
bumpin a lil wayne album ? WTF who bumps lil wayne ? he is wack
anyway this is ok
You people actually think this is funny? Are you all fucking 15? Get the fuck out of here. Lonely Island wouldn’t be any where near as funny if it wasn’t for them banking on celebrities.
Why was I’m on a boat funny? Because T-pain was on it.
Why I Just Had Sex funny? Because Akon was on it.
Why was The Creep funny? It wasn’t. And fuck you if you think it was.
1 star for this bullshit.
Are you the end all be all of funny? I was wondering if it’s okay to laugh at anything without asking you. Do you think T-Pain wrote the lyrics he sang in “On a Boat”? I doubt it. Did you actually listen to the lyrics or did you just skim through it?
But anyway… Yeah I’ll ask you next time I watch a movie to get your blessing to laugh… Idiot.
dear willy,
you’re a pre teen girl if you find lonely island funny
sincerely,
not a pre teen girl.
dude above,
you failed at being funny. stop taking yourself so seriously. no, it’s not the funniest shit in the world, but it’s stupid and fun – fuck it.
politely go fuck yourself,
iTs
I hate to break it to you, but celebrity appearances do not equal something being funny. with the exception of justin timberlake, no celebrity cameo has made me laugh. and to say lonely island wouldn’t be anywhere without those cameos is completely ludicrous. lonely island became wildly successful on their internet skits long before they had anything to do with SNL or any celebrities at all. if you haven’t seen those original skits, i’d invite you to do the same, unless you’re too busy choking on your own ego to listen to anyone but yourself.
I found some of these songs pretty funny, but they usually do suck without the videos. These songs are more songs that I would listen to when im feelin down lol
Hey why don’t we start reviewing Weird Al albums too? God damn, hiphopdx, we expect better from you.
I was expecting more spelling/grammatical errors.
Why is reviewing this album a bad thing? It’s hip hop based music. It has numerous appearances from hip hop staples. It seems fitting to review it on a hip hop web-site.
notice how they didn’t have a rating, for a good reason (to avoid complainers like you)
@Anon. Yeah, they have a comment section, I’m gonna comment about a non hip-hop album, faggot.
@Willy…good point, but I mean. I feel like this album is making fun of rap. I mean…this is no more hip-hop based than “White and Nerdy” or “Amish Paradise.”
In my own opinion, of course.
This shyt is actually better than half the shyt you hear on the radio. If Gucci was spittin’ those lyrics to this beat, people would love it…sad
cut it out. okay youre discontent w/hip hop…but stop it man, enough exaggerating.
This shits awful
the lonely island
If I had to pick this or that Odd Future crap, this would be bumping all day.
FUCK YOU
thats what makes u a dumb bitch, OF is the only real hip hop left if u dont like ofwgkta u dont like hip hop period so get off this damn site. they are your favorite rapppers favorite rappers. earl is the best rhymer since em. tyler is a musical genius. frank is the most talented r&b singer since r kelly and he can spit 2. domo’s shit is laid back chill. mike g is the realist. and rest r just there for fun. they are like the new wu deal with it #sucdikbich
@phraynkhp, you my friend are a total and complete moron. Odd Future sucks hard!! Except Frank Ocean, he;s dope.
The only funny thing about this album is that it is classified as comedy.
why wasn’t this rated?
Good review. I thought it was a solid release, though a few of the more video-dependent songs didn’t quite fit the album. I wrote a review for it myself, if you guys want to check it out. http://wreckedreviews.com/2011/05/18/turtleneckandchain/
These guys are not funny.. at all. Andy Samberg is gay
I think I’ll pass on these white boys.
Flight of the Conchords >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Lonely Island
This album is so funny + it shows that muzik that lil wayne , gucci mayne , soulja boy is makin isn’t that easy to do , it constantly pokes fun at wack muzik , the stereotypes that wack rappers use they enlarge it and exploit it , its priceless
this was good. The songs are more enjoyable when you watch the videos to go with them
THIS SHIT IS HARD
Well, i dont ride around banging lil wayne either so i guess i have no good taste in music
hahahaha, right? i saw that caption and was like “um”