Lonely Island's INCREDIBAD

Incredibad proves a suspicion I have long been harboring in the back of my mind: Andy Samberg is not likely to ever win a Nobel Prize for Literature. If he was on your short list, take him off. I’d recommend reconsidering that bet you were thinking of making in Vegas. Especially in this economy. It’s just not in the cards for him.

Of course, Incredibad also proves the other suspicion I’ve been harboring: Andy Samberg is, in fact, nothing short of a genius of comedy that seems incredibly dumb but actually turns out to be just mostly dumb. The debut CD from Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone is chock full of gems that trigger even the biggest downer’s laugh-out-loud impulse.

I say debut CD because many of the songs on Incredibad have been around for a while. Aficionados of Saturday Night Live or YouTube are likely to recognize “Lazy Sunday,” “I’m on a Boat,” "D*ck in a Box," and "Like a Boss"; and we’ve all heard “J*zz in My Pants” at least once.

We’ve heard the songs, yes–and therein lies the beauty of The Lonely Island’s comedy. We want to hear them again. There is a double test that any comedy number must go through to be successful: it must be novel enough to leave a lasting impression the first time, yet clever enough to reward us for listening more than once. These songs pass the test with flying colors.

For instance, take the real winner on Incredibad: “Punch You in the Jeans,” which is two and a half minutes of three guys mock-rapping about, you guessed it, punching people in the jeans. The lyrics are a mix of the numbingly childish and the genuinely witty: "I'll punch your jeans, I said it before, best believe this is not a metaphor," the chorus advises, and Samberg later snarls that he'll "beat your jeans so bad that they wish they were shorts." Even the music, a nod to real hip-hop beats on legit hip-hop tracks that borders on legit itself, contributes to the juxtaposition, which contributes to the overall comedy.

And while I'd love to divulge some more of this album's gems, I won't. It is the nature of comedy–and especially of this brand of comedy–that the first time is always the funniest. For that reason, I will leave the rest of the album for you to discover yourself.

So don’t listen to Incredibad if you’re expecting to become enlightened and discover the secret to world peace. But do listen to it if you’re looking for a good time.

The Verdict: Worth its salt.

-himlaec