The Lonely Island, aka Avika Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, "released" their first video/single last night on Saturday Night Live, "Jizz in My Pants." The song/video (it's difficult to separate the two since the track would suffer without the visuals) is a send up of faggy Euro-pop and is just the latest in the trio's creations that have parodied the hackneyed and cheesy music of the past and (rarely) present—while also wallowing in prurient, adolescent pranks that still manages to pass for clever humor (wasn't irony supposed to be dead?). While this one doesn't have the star power of a Justin Timberlake cameo (although on occassion the sunglasses on Schaffer, along with his greasy mop of hair, did have me mistake him for a less-chiseled Timberlake), it does have a catchy chorus and infectious silliness.
Yes, it's funny. I'm not so cynical that I didn't enjoy the first few minutes of it. But, as with "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box," I wondered why I felt like this parody felt so familiar and didn't quite satisfy beyond a few chuckles. Then it hit me: Weird Al Yankovic did it already—and better. I grew up with the satirical barbs of Weird Al: He interpreted Michael Jackson for us, Nirvana, Madonna and others. He dealt with America's problem with obesity and over-consumption. He was able to incorporate current events and pop parody in a way that transcended mere one-liners to actual dissect what was actually manipulative and mind-numbing about popular music and the market as a whole. Samberg resembles Yankovic in many ways—he just happens to have a better stylist. Instead of going for the geeky Jewish misfit, he's going for the geeky Jewish guy who gets laid. When we listened to Weird Al, we felt like we were the nerds in on the joke—we were peaking behind the curtain and poking fun at the rich, beautiful and powerful.
Samberg and pals go after easy targets: "Dick in a Box" was a pure fabrication of cheesy boy bands like Color Me Badd, which had been out of the limelight for at least a decade. Instead of actually parodying someone of the moment, like Timberlake—a pop superstar—they couple with him and incorporate his marketing power to increase their own popularity. We were always impressed that Weird Al was able to skewer someone as powerful as Michael Jackson or Madonna and get away with it. It was uncool of Coolio when he attacked Yankovic's "Gangsta's Paradise" parody, "Amish Paradise." But it's difficult to imagine The Lonely Island getting much flack for their safe and, ultimately, ineffective parody. It doesn't reach the height of satire and will most likely be quickly forgotten as self-promotion (although it's doubtful there will be a Hot Rod II anytime soon). The most impressive feat of the boys has been their excellent ability to harness of the power of YouTube. Their careers have skyrocketed together. We'll see what happens when the full album, Incredibad, is released in February 2009. Despite the neat package that has been crafted by Lorne Michaels et al., I don't buy it— I doubt others will either.
anonymous
