
The Lonely Island and Seth bring you a very fun long-awaited two parter to the pod...the breakdown of the Incredibad album! Incredibad is the debut studio album from The Lonely Island, released on February 10, 2009, through Universal Republic Records. The guys discuss the process of writing, recording, and other fun behind the scenes memories! Incredibad album - https://open.spotify.com/album/5uWFEnAIeksRbygyWNrmlZ?si=Hkbw3TQPRbOvhzEFiiVMAQ (Not all the clips we mention are available online; some never even aired.) If you want to see more photos and clips follow us on Instagram @lonelymeyerspod. Send us an email! thelonelyislandpod@gmail.com Support our sponsors: Airbnb Visit Airbnb.com today HomeChef For a limited time, HomeChef is offering our listeners 18 Free Meals PLUS Free Dessert for Life and of course, Free Shipping on your first box! Go to HomeChef.com/ISLAND
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Seth Meyers
So, Keev, you noticed something, which is we've been receiving and not using some really fun, different jingles for the pot.
Andy Samberg
Oh, yeah. Well, Greg Chun, who makes all our little jingles, sent me a few and I was delighted. But it was like a month ago, and then I was surprised to see that they weren't used yet.
Seth Meyers
Well, I think, you know, maybe we thought it would be more fun to wait for you to be back. But for our listeners, this is a new little. What would you call it, an Easter egg? An earwig. What would you call this? Little amuse bouche for the ears.
Andy Samberg
Yeah, that's definitely the first thing I would have said in amuse bouche for the ears.
Seth Meyers
So are you mad that I took it?
Andy Samberg
Yeah, you snatched it right out of my mouth.
Seth Meyers
I tried to think what would keep saying. That was what popped into my head.
Andy Samberg
That's me.
Seth Meyers
Hey, Yorm, what's up?
Akiva Schaffer
How do I sound? Do I sound all right?
Seth Meyers
Yep, you sound great. I can't really wear them because they're reading, but I did join the glasses squad finally.
Andy Samberg
Hey, brown hair. Glasses. Yeah, you just need a little bit of scruff on your face.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
Fucking Andy, you look like you got out of a rainstorm.
Yoram Bauman
Washed my face.
Andy Samberg
Wow. Congrats.
Akiva Schaffer
Hey, Keev, can I say something?
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
Really good to see your face.
Andy Samberg
Hey, thank you, man.
Akiva Schaffer
Really good to see your face. Your hair. Let's see that. Can you shake it out, please?
Andy Samberg
Well, it's not.
Seth Meyers
I did a big preamble to let's look at my glasses, and I don't want to just move on to Keev's face.
Akiva Schaffer
Well, okay.
Andy Samberg
Whoa, whoa. I didn't know there was a reveal about to happen. Look at these.
Akiva Schaffer
It looked like they were a little warped there.
Seth Meyers
They were a little.
Andy Samberg
The headphones are making them uneven a bit.
Seth Meyers
Yeah, they are.
Andy Samberg
Let's ditch the headphones for one second. Let's get them nice on there. Oh, there it is. So they're kind of a tortoise shell, I'd say.
Akiva Schaffer
Yeah, you could say that.
Andy Samberg
They're very attractive.
Seth Meyers
Thank you.
Andy Samberg
You've made a choice instead of brown, like the three of us, so it does distinguish you.
Seth Meyers
Yeah, I feel like that's the key. You know, when you've got your full Christian name in the title of the podcast as opposed to your made up band name, it's really important to distinguish yourself.
Akiva Schaffer
Can I rip on maybe your choice, though, a little bit?
Seth Meyers
Yeah, rip away. That's kind of what this is.
Akiva Schaffer
Okay. I have a theory that as you get Older and your personality dwindles. That you have to get louder and louder glasses. And by the time get. By the time you get to clear red, you're like a real New York artist. You're just like, God, this is what.
Andy Samberg
That's the production design department.
Akiva Schaffer
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
I like that. You don't see that as someone letting their freak flag fly, but rather just their personality dwindling.
Akiva Schaffer
I know. What you got to show that you're still young.
Andy Samberg
What does that mean?
Yoram Bauman
What does a personality dwindling mean?
Akiva Schaffer
It means that people don't want to have sex with you as much, so you're just like, no, I'm getting more interesting with my glasses.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, my God. That was such a reveal.
Andy Samberg
Yeah, that's right.
Akiva Schaffer
I'm going to be clear red now next week, you guys.
Seth Meyers
Let me tell.
Andy Samberg
You about a thing I know.
Akiva Schaffer
The moment out of podcast show. We're back, guys.
Seth Meyers
I'm so excited to be on the Zoom with the three of you. A quick shout out to Mike O'Brien, who joined us last week.
Andy Samberg
Thank you, Mike.
Seth Meyers
Full delight to talk to him.
Yoram Bauman
Mike O'Brien. Knee pat.
Seth Meyers
N. Pat. No, n. Mike.
Andy Samberg
Pat O'Brien.
Seth Meyers
No, I think he was born Mike O'Brien. We should. Now we got to get him back on the product. He was born. It's nee. Cause it's French. Right.
Yoram Bauman
Either that or you're a horse.
Andy Samberg
Exactly what I was thinking.
Seth Meyers
All right. As I understand it, Mike was born Mike O'Brien. And maybe, probably, I'm almost certain his middle name's Pat.
Yoram Bauman
Got it.
Seth Meyers
And then he moved to Chicago and decided, I'm going to be Pat O'Brien now.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
And so he told everybody in Chicago. And when I was introduced to him, he was Pat O'Brien.
Yoram Bauman
And I've met people that knew him from Chicago. They're like, oh, so you work with Pat now? And I'm like, I don't know who the fuck you talking about, dude?
Andy Samberg
Liz calls him that, too.
Akiva Schaffer
Wow.
Seth Meyers
And then the crazy thing, though, was he came to snl. I knew him. I was so excited. And the first writer's day, I said, hey, this is one of our new writers, Pat O'Brien. And he said, oh, actually, it's Mike. And so he decided he was gonna switch back in New York, but forgot to tell me the head writer who hired him right before I introduced him. So then instead of getting away with it, his first day was him being like, well, so I decided to change it.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, God.
Seth Meyers
Although it's a very good education into Michael Patrick O'Brien. Have that right off the bat.
Akiva Schaffer
It's also a problem when you're a comedian to make any firm decision. Because I'm just like, that sounds like a fucking joke. You're like. I mean, okay, you're doing a bit.
Seth Meyers
He's the king of firm decisions. And we should do a special episode of this podcast. Just talking about the tattoos he has.
Yoram Bauman
Can you just say one of them?
Akiva Schaffer
Well, yeah. What's the funniest one?
Seth Meyers
I feel like he got so he wanted to get a tattoo because he had always thought about getting a tattoo and he was worried he'd get a bad one, and so he thought it would be better to go hard. And so he got. I think it was a bucket of chicken. That was a Kurt Vonnegut drawing.
Akiva Schaffer
Oh.
Seth Meyers
But then because he's Mike O'Brien or Pat O'Brien, depending on what year you.
Yoram Bauman
Met him, tough to know.
Seth Meyers
Then he did Calvin Peeing on the bucket of chicken. He added a Calvin Peeing on it.
Andy Samberg
Like a hot rod.
Yoram Bauman
That's good.
Seth Meyers
I think he did do a full hot rod.
Yoram Bauman
We are lovers of Calvin Peeing.
Andy Samberg
Liz just texted. When I asked her, she doesn't know if it was Pat or Mike as his given name, but they all called him pob.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah, that's a whole third thing.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
I believe he got either a full Dave Matthew lyric tattooed on his full back.
Andy Samberg
No, he did not.
Seth Meyers
He did.
Yoram Bauman
I'm assuming, Crash.
Seth Meyers
No, I think it was a different one, two step.
Andy Samberg
This is real. We could see photos of this.
Seth Meyers
Yeah. And then he also. I think he dedicated one of his tattoos, like, on the actual tattoo. It's like two, and it was like the meanest nun in his Catholic school.
Andy Samberg
He dedicated a tattoo man. This should have been his intro on the POD last week.
Seth Meyers
I know. I can't believe we're gonna do it now anyway, but more.
Yoram Bauman
Is there so much to say, Seth?
Seth Meyers
I'm going to ask him. All right, here we go. Though real quick. Was it too much, your first summer?
Yoram Bauman
Ants marching?
Akiva Schaffer
Was it Satellite Crash into me?
Seth Meyers
You're reading off a website. So real quick. First summer, you guys shoot Hot Rod. Second summer, you react to the release of Hot Rod. This is your third summer on snl, correct?
Andy Samberg
Correct, yes.
Seth Meyers
You rent a house and you make an album.
Yoram Bauman
Is it third or is it fourth?
Andy Samberg
No, third summer.
Akiva Schaffer
Third summer.
Andy Samberg
He really just outlined it really clearly for him. 2006 was shoot Hot Rod. 2007 was put Hot Rod into theaters, and 2000 is coming off writer strike and then few episodes. And then here we are in Encino, California.
Seth Meyers
When did you decide you were gonna do the album? That summer?
Andy Samberg
I think it was during the strike.
Seth Meyers
Okay.
Andy Samberg
But I. I don't know if that's true.
Seth Meyers
And then for a guy like me, who's not in and has never been asked to join the music industry, are conversations happening during the writers strike? Are people saying, hey, would you guys wanna do this?
Akiva Schaffer
Well, Monte Lippman from Universal Republic, hounding. He was hounding us. He was like, I love this. You guys gotta release an album. We were like, no, no, no, no. We couldn't possibly. And just, you know, he was relentless.
Andy Samberg
Yoram's tone sounds sarcastic, but it's actually pretty much true. After Lazy Sunday and maybe Natalie rap somewhere in that first year. I think we already talked about this on the pod, that a few different labels. Atlantic came to us and then it was under umg. It was a wing of umg. I don't know how you describe it, but Republic Records was under umg. It is a huge record label. They have everyone from, like, the Weeknd and Post Malone and Taylor Swift, and they would wine and dine us a little bit. I believe we already told the story of one night at the Playboy Mansion, courtesy of Atlantic Records.
Akiva Schaffer
I didn't go for the record. Any highlights?
Andy Samberg
I think we already covered this.
Akiva Schaffer
Okay.
Andy Samberg
You should listen to the pod.
Akiva Schaffer
I'll listen to that episode.
Seth Meyers
The good news is this, Yoram, if you'd gone, I also think you'd have no memory of it based on the fact that you don't even remember the last conversation about it.
Akiva Schaffer
What makes you think that? Bill, or whatever your name is?
Andy Samberg
The only thing I really remembered was that there was a whole room that was English tea. Like little sandwiches and cookies and proper English tea set up. And I was like, now this is class.
Akiva Schaffer
That was a highlight of your memories of the Playboy Mansion.
Andy Samberg
Yes.
Yoram Bauman
We definitely were, like, giggling and hiding in corners and stuff and being like.
Seth Meyers
We shouldn't be here afterwards. That A and R exec went back to the group and was like, I think that was the wrong place to take them.
Akiva Schaffer
They really liked the small tea sandwiches.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Yoram Bauman
You mean because they giggled and hid the whole time and kept saying, let's look at the zoo.
Seth Meyers
Yeah. So to you guys, T and A is tea and apricot scones.
Andy Samberg
That's right. The tea is actual tea.
Seth Meyers
The tea is actual tea. You were so disappointed. You were like, T and A. I don't know what the A is, but I do love a warm cup of English breakfast.
Andy Samberg
This might Be repeating last time we talked about. But you want to correct me if I'm wrong? You didn't go because your wife objected because it's a very sexist place.
Akiva Schaffer
Correct.
Andy Samberg
But then your wife did enjoy all of or most of the episodes of the TV show that was the reality show set at the Playboy Mansion. Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
Let's get Mari to work. Weigh in on that. Like, what is the conflict there? If you're interested in reality television about the Playboy Mansion, but your husband ain't allowed to go.
Andy Samberg
I mean, come on.
Akiva Schaffer
I could have got inside dirt.
Seth Meyers
All right, so at some point, you realize you're going to do an album that summer. We'll get into the weeds a little bit on the track list. But you rent a house in Encino, which is an insane home.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
I feel like the house is very important to talk about because it was huge, I believe 2.5 acres, the property was. There was a track in the back that if you ran around it five times, that was a mile. There was basketball sl, tennis court on it. There was a little area in the back that me and KE really loved that we basically turned into a shooting range for BB guns. Because there's a little, like, There's a.
Andy Samberg
Horse corral for keeping your horses.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
But it was perfect to, like, put on an old cowboy hat and pop BB guns off at cans. There's a big pool and a hot tub.
Yoram Bauman
Right.
Andy Samberg
Y.
Seth Meyers
It was like if you were making a movie where an orphan was finding out how good they had it now.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
You'd shoot it at this house. Yeah.
Yoram Bauman
Every morning I came down the stairs and went, I think I'm gonna like it.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
Well, we got it to be so big so that we could all live there. But then, sadly, the room that we chose to spend all of our time in recording looked like just a shitty LA apartment. So most of the time, we were in the worst room in the house.
Yoram Bauman
But not, sadly, we did that on purpose.
Seth Meyers
I am glad you mentioned that, because the actual recording studio was a billion degrees and looked like it could have very easily been a room in the first apartment you guys lived in together, right?
Andy Samberg
Yes, correct.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Andy Samberg
The AC didn't really reach it. And then we had to keep turning off the portable AC we bought because it made noise and we were trying to be a recording studio.
Akiva Schaffer
I still have that ac.
Andy Samberg
I think, honestly, we chose that room because it was carpeted. I think that's as kind of as simple as that. And it was far from the, like, kitchen. If somebody else was doing something yes.
Akiva Schaffer
We did not have an engineer. We just engineered everything ourselves, as we continued to do, because we don't want to have someone sit there getting paid money and watch us not have ideas 24 hours a day.
Andy Samberg
Also, saying it was we turned it into a recording studio is funny because it was a fold out table with one computer monitor and then a mic standing next to that computer.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah, same. Same rig we've always had. Same as in our office.
Andy Samberg
Exactly.
Yoram Bauman
Same as we have now at our office in la.
Andy Samberg
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Seth Meyers
We use them a ton.
Andy Samberg
And what are some of the reasons?
Yoram Bauman
Oh, yeah.
Andy Samberg
Then we're kind of left alone to do our own thing. We usually have more space and we.
Seth Meyers
Have done so many Airbnbs with our dog.
Yoram Bauman
You just have to click that box.
Seth Meyers
And, you know, it says pet friendly.
Andy Samberg
And then you can bring your dog. And for my daughter, what about like bunk beds? Did they have bunk beds? Yep. Okay, great. So that's a big sell. You know what's a great thing about being in Airbnb? Is that your kids can be as loud as they want, right? Yep. We love to shout in the middle of the night. Exactly. My kids love to just shout in the middle of the night and there's nobody in the room next to you to get mad about that. Thanks to Airbnb. And now a word from our sponsors. At Betterment, when investing your money starts to feel like a second job, Betterment steps in with a little work life balance. They're an automated investing and savings app, which means they do the work while they build and manage your portfolio. You build and manage your weekend plans. While they make it easy to invest for what matters, you just get to enjoy what matters. Their automated tools simplify the complex and put your money to work, optimizing day after day and again and again. So go ahead, take your time to rest and recharge. Because while your money doesn't need a work life balance, you do make your money hustle with Betterment. Get started@betterment.com that's B E T T E R m e n t.com Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed.
Seth Meyers
Can you Guys, explain real quick how record deal works, because the house looked like you got paid so much money.
Andy Samberg
Yes.
Seth Meyers
But you guys, I would imagine all that money has been gone for a long time.
Andy Samberg
Basically, we make the record deal and they tell you what your budget is to make the record, essentially. And that's what people call an advance, because they are going to take that money back. That's why it's not just like, here's your budget. Like on a movie, they give you the movie budget. You're not expected to give them back the $10 million to make the movie.
Seth Meyers
Right.
Andy Samberg
On a record deal, your budget is called an advance because it's an advance payment that you will later repay through album sales. And when we started doing the math on the advance and doing it the way they would do it normally, which is renting real studio space, and we knew we would burn through almost all of it in a summer. So the house, even though it looked very expensive, it was a house that had been used as a shooting location. Like, it was a beautiful big place, but it wasn't like, everything worked perfect. It wasn't a house someone had lived in in a while.
Akiva Schaffer
It's in an episode of the Office, actually.
Andy Samberg
Yes, it is. The boss guy, not Michael Scott, but the other gu.
Akiva Schaffer
Yeah, he goes over to dinner where.
Yoram Bauman
They have the big party. All the branches come together for the big party at the house.
Seth Meyers
You could make it on camera look beautiful. But I will admit that being inside, it did seem a little. Not thought through.
Andy Samberg
Yes.
Yoram Bauman
It was definitely a lot bigger than our apartments in New York, though.
Seth Meyers
Yes, certainly was.
Andy Samberg
Yeah. First off, to explain why we did it at all, besides that it's awesome. Was that we were in New York and we were like, there's no way to record an album here on our budget. And the way we do things, because we would. Unless we used our office at 30 Rock, which would have been really sad. We're all in different apartments all over town, just getting to a location. We just knew it would never happen if we didn't all live in a house together.
Yoram Bauman
I would argue that renting that house was like the perfect encapsulation of our joke, which was, like, sarcastically bawling out. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, it was a tacky, massive McMansion that was the biggest place any of us had ever stayed by far, with huge properties. Like, everyone who came through that we were friends with was like, jesus Christ, this is crazy.
Andy Samberg
And we were like, I know, I know.
Yoram Bauman
Come to the shitty room where we're making the songs, like, it was. It was hilarious and fun to us. We were definitely like, let's do a crazy, dumb thing, because when are we ever gonna get to do this again?
Andy Samberg
I think it was part of making the label deal was us thinking, like, oh, if it gives us a summer in LA in a big house, it's worth it to make the deal.
Seth Meyers
I only reference movies that everyone has seen because this is a populist podcast. I would say if the kid from Anora had a house in la, it would be this house.
Yoram Bauman
Haven't seen it.
Seth Meyers
What?
Akiva Schaffer
Yeah, I haven't either.
Yoram Bauman
Haven't seen it.
Seth Meyers
That was kind of the irony of my setup, guys. The assumption that no one.
Andy Samberg
I was gonna let it lie. I was gonna. Yes. And then be like, oh, yeah, everybody's getting that.
Seth Meyers
Anyways, let me just say real quick, don't sleep on Anora, which is maybe one of my favorite movies of the year.
Yoram Bauman
I'm excited to see all of them. You know what I've seen?
Seth Meyers
What?
Yoram Bauman
I saw Dune 2, Dune 2.
Andy Samberg
I saw Dune 2.
Akiva Schaffer
You saw Dune 2. You liked it?
Andy Samberg
Yeah, I checked out Dune 2.
Yoram Bauman
I like it. I like it.
Seth Meyers
Dune 2 came out a while back.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah, that's why I've seen it.
Seth Meyers
Okay.
Andy Samberg
We also. We watched Not Together, but Challengers.
Seth Meyers
Challengers. I'll tell you right now, I think Challengers might be my favorite movie of the year.
Andy Samberg
There you go.
Yoram Bauman
Very fun, but shut out by the Oskies.
Seth Meyers
Shut out. I don't understand.
Akiva Schaffer
I liked Night Bitch, but, you know.
Seth Meyers
Yeah, Night Bitch is great. I sat with Night Bitch's own Amy Adams at the Globes.
Akiva Schaffer
Oh, nice.
Yoram Bauman
Do you think when she walks down the street now, people go, hey, Night Bitch.
Akiva Schaffer
There she goes.
Seth Meyers
Night Bitch.
Yoram Bauman
Sign my glossy, Night Bitch.
Andy Samberg
Seth, did you have fun at the Globes?
Seth Meyers
I did, but hold on, I have a real good tag to this bit. Do you think when she tucks her kids in, they go, night Bitch. Yeah, comma, did I have a fun time at the Globes? I had a wonderful time at the Globes. Thanks for asking. I sat next to the producer of Andy's movie, Lee, who was lovely. Yeah.
Yoram Bauman
Kate Solomon.
Seth Meyers
I had a lot of nice people at my tableside next to Ali Wong, who is lovely. And she. I was with a high school friend of hers who was a delight. And then Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, who kind of might be my favorite showbiz couple. Just on vibes and the work and the hang.
Andy Samberg
That's a good table.
Yoram Bauman
Speaking to three showbiz couple Members right now.
Seth Meyers
Yeah. But I feel like you guys, I kind of. I could never pick one of you because it would offend the other two.
Yoram Bauman
I see. I thought you were gonna say we don't count. Cause in your eyes, we're not real human beings.
Seth Meyers
Kind of.
Yoram Bauman
We're just fucking dollar signs floating in a Zoom podcast.
Akiva Schaffer
Dollar signs.
Yoram Bauman
This job is gonna crash, and it's gonna get so mellow on this cast.
Seth Meyers
Oh, yeah.
Yoram Bauman
When my job crash hits.
Seth Meyers
Oh, you're on job.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, sorry. Was it not clear that I'm fully on job right now?
Akiva Schaffer
Wait, did I tell you guys I don't do job now?
Seth Meyers
Oh, my God. What are you doing?
Akiva Schaffer
It's a company called Clever. That I believe. Who's the guy who wrote Spare the.
Seth Meyers
Will you please try not to plug a product that's not one of our sponsors?
Akiva Schaffer
Prince Harry. His wife. She involved in that?
Seth Meyers
Nobody knows her name. She's famously unknown.
Akiva Schaffer
It's a Matcha thing.
Yoram Bauman
Dorm ever plugged in the guy who.
Akiva Schaffer
Wrote Spare who's royal. Yeah, his wife, as this company called.
Seth Meyers
The way you get into Prince Harry is the guy who wrote Spare, the.
Andy Samberg
Guy who wrote Spare, and his wife, the lady from tbs.
Seth Meyers
You know, suits and Spare don't cover your face.
Akiva Schaffer
Andy, just accept.
Seth Meyers
Accept.
Akiva Schaffer
What's going on? You're from Mars and you're from Beatus. I know that book, too. I love you.
Yoram Bauman
I love you so much. No one on earth has ever said those sentences.
Seth Meyers
This is the worst advertisement for quitting coffee. I quit coffee. And, you know, I feel a lot sharper mentally. You know, Spare.
Andy Samberg
I still don't even know what the connection is. Did he quit in the book or did he put out, like a mushroom mud tea drink?
Akiva Schaffer
She has a company called Clevver and they send you Matcha, and it's working great because I. My. I'm sharp as a tack.
Yoram Bauman
I also just want to point out this is like the fifth time you've said you quit drinking, and then we see you and you're drinking or denied.
Andy Samberg
It or denied it later when we say you quit. And he goes, I've never quit.
Akiva Schaffer
I did have some job yesterday also.
Andy Samberg
By the way. It's still caffeine. It doesn't make any difference. Matcha has just as much caffeine as Job. Does it?
Akiva Schaffer
I don't know, Keith. I think it goes through you different.
Andy Samberg
Match has more caffeine than according to the lady.
Seth Meyers
What lady?
Akiva Schaffer
Who's married to the Prince guy.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, fuck.
Akiva Schaffer
All right, all right.
Seth Meyers
So the thing. The reason I said it does feel like what a rich kid would think a cool house is like. He would have his friends over, be like, come look at the stables. Yes.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
I went there once, and I feel like I got the tour you gave everybody where it sort of ended as you walked way in the back and it was like the stables, and you'd show off the track. And I kind of got the sense you were only back there for the purposes of saying, and look at this.
Yoram Bauman
Yes. Although it turned out to be a great location for the entire We Like Sports video.
Seth Meyers
Well, that I was going to get there. We Like Sports is one of the tracks on this album. It is also a YouTube video. You guys want to guess how many views we like sports has?
Akiva Schaffer
20Mil. Million?
Seth Meyers
25, maybe 32 million.
Akiva Schaffer
That's a lot for what it is.
Yoram Bauman
That's a lot for what it is.
Seth Meyers
It is. It is a delight, and it is. While we're talking about this house, it is a really good representation of what this house was.
Andy Samberg
Yes.
Yoram Bauman
It is a full tour, all the parts.
Akiva Schaffer
We used every part of the buffalo.
Seth Meyers
Because when you're standing in front of the tv, I think that is the best version of what that house, that tells you everything about the house. It's like a big TV in a room with kind of a shitty couch.
Andy Samberg
That's right. Like, the kitchen was beautiful. Like, the house had the capacity. It did sell at a certain point, I think. And if somebody lived there and made it what they want to make it, it would be gorgeous. But it just had been a rental for too long.
Akiva Schaffer
I did want us to make it like our lab cabin. California Shout out. Far side, Ref. Like a lonely island compound would have been kind of cool, but none of us would ever go there.
Andy Samberg
It would have cost so much to renovate it, too, because it is so big.
Seth Meyers
Yeah. I have an update via text.
Andy Samberg
Okay.
Seth Meyers
The first tattoo Michael Bryan got was a bucket of chicken from the Kurt Vonnegut book Breakfast of Champions. And the lyric is into youo Heart, I'll Beat Again. Dave Matthews, man.
Andy Samberg
Wow.
Yoram Bauman
And what song is that from?
Seth Meyers
I don't know.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, my God. If it's from one of the ones, they said, I'm about to ream you, Seth. I don't want to say the line again.
Seth Meyers
Into your heart I'll beat again.
Yoram Bauman
It's from Crash Into Me.
Seth Meyers
Great.
Andy Samberg
First guest. Yeah.
Yoram Bauman
God damn you, Seth.
Seth Meyers
Dim you to hellfire, guys.
Akiva Schaffer
Yes.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah, sorry.
Akiva Schaffer
We give ourselves three months to make this album, by the way.
Seth Meyers
You have three months to make this album. And I Want to talk real quick about the fact that you go into it? On the track listing there are three songs that you have recorded for SNL already. Natalie's Rap, Lazy Sunday, Dick in a Box.
Andy Samberg
That felt good knowing we were going into it with three things already done.
Seth Meyers
I will say there are six by my count that go on to be digital shorts. So I don't want to talk about them too much now, now. Fair.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah, because cuz we will do an app on each one, right?
Andy Samberg
You can mention them, but I'm going.
Seth Meyers
To mention the six. But just to give people a sense of what the weight of this album is. Jizz in my pants I'm on a boat Boombox like a boss Ross Trent, Space Olympics. Those are the six that you will record for this album that will eventually be digital shorts. Now this is a different process than the way you guys have to work on SNL where you're under the gun week in and week out. But what was the process? Did it feel completely different than when you were writing songs for snl or was it ultimately the same?
Yoram Bauman
It was just way more relaxed.
Seth Meyers
Right? Way more pleasant.
Yoram Bauman
Much more pleasant. I almost say way more fun. Not that SNL's not fun, but it was like part of it was this dream of like when we were roommates in LA before we got snl, we would say things like, wouldn't it be incredible to make an album? You know, and then it actually was happening. So there was like a whole level of wish fulfillment for us. We were acting like little kids living in this stupid dumb mansion. And every day you wake up whenever you feel like some people later than others, looking at me, looking at myself. And you go in and you're like.
Seth Meyers
What are we gonna do?
Yoram Bauman
Whatever we feel like. And our label and our manager Steve Barnett, like procured tons of real beats from real rap producers for us. And we'd just sit there and flip through the beats and like star the ones we liked and being like, ooh, we should do something to that one. That's awesome. And it was just a fucking dream. I feel like at any given time I would just wander in there and listen to beats and write down ideas and nothing else. There was no other commitment. I think maybe the java is wearing off.
Andy Samberg
Oh no, it happened mid thing. We saw the Jav go out of his eyes while he was talking.
Akiva Schaffer
Good job.
Seth Meyers
Wear off.
Yoram Bauman
I'm just gonna take a quick.
Seth Meyers
Did you see? The sad thing is you watched the Jav light go out in one eye first and then you see, oh, he's out. He's out cold.
Akiva Schaffer
There was a moment I remember when we were making the album where I actually got a ton of anxiety. Woke up one morning and was, like, freaked out, probably because of SNL and the stress that that had caused. And Mari was like, what's wrong? And I was like, I'm not working. I haven't been working. She was like, you're making an album right now. And I was like, I know, but it's. It doesn't feel like work because we.
Yoram Bauman
Like it so much.
Akiva Schaffer
You can't, like, work well.
Seth Meyers
And again, when I say nine to five, this is judgment free zone. I think that's noon to 8 for you, Andy, if that.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
But you had people over as well at night. You could socialize in a way that you can at snl.
Yoram Bauman
Yes.
Seth Meyers
Because you feel that giant ticking clock.
Akiva Schaffer
That was the best part. We had so many fun parties and invited so many people over to swim the pool and.
Andy Samberg
But we would also work till 2am a lot. But it was still. You're like, just the freedom to know that if the thing you're working on sucks, you'll just throw it away and no one will know.
Yoram Bauman
Yes.
Andy Samberg
And that just feels so good.
Seth Meyers
Right?
Yoram Bauman
There were moments all the time where we'd go, all right, I think I'm done thinking about that, and I'm sleepy and I'm gonna stop. And the difference between that and how it is at SNL is the whole difference.
Andy Samberg
That was it. Yeah.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Andy Samberg
We would do a song where we started it and then just ran out of steam and then came back to it weeks later, months later, and we'd go like, oh, you know what? There was something to that. What if we try to fix that.
Akiva Schaffer
And then just head to the Target and buy pool toys, you know, or. We went to the Kmart a lot, and we bought a lot of pool toys at Kmart.
Andy Samberg
Kmart's where we did the entire we like sports video. It was just a gold mine of amazing T shirts. Support comes from Home Chef. Okay, so Home Chef is that meal kit that we get. It's really great. And it's like all those little bags come, and we cut up all the vegetables, and then we cook all the stuff. And even though we don't even know what we're doing, we're able to kind of do it well. It makes it really easy for when you're learning how to first cook meals. I like that a lot. You know, Home Chef delivers fresh ingredients and Chef designed recipes conveniently to your doorstep to Simplify your cooking experience. Now we've made some of these meal kits and it did teach me how to cook a little bit. Which was your favorite? What was the favorite meal you had? I really liked making the spaghetti and meatballs. Home chef has over 30 options a week and serves a variety of dietary needs. And when meal planning ends up on the back burner, check out Home Chef's new five ingredient meals that simplify prep with super easy recipe steps using just five fresh pre portioned ingredients. Name five ingredients.
Seth Meyers
Any five ingredients. Go.
Andy Samberg
Pasta, salt, pepper, basil, crushed tomatoes. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 18 free meals plus free dessert for life and of course, free shipping on your first box. Box. Go to homechef.com island that's homechef.com island for 18 free meals and free dessert for life.
Seth Meyers
Yum.
Andy Samberg
Homechef.com island must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert.
Seth Meyers
We were texting last night about whether or not and I have ruled in favor that it is not name droppy to say the friends of ours that visited you guys that summer because you would have parties and it was a real snapshot of the sort of late aughts comedy scene.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Akiva Schaffer
Oh yeah.
Yoram Bauman
It was so fun. And people would come through and they'd bring friends. Cause it was like, hey, you wanna go to this big ass mansion where those dudes from SNL are making an album of those dumb songs? And people would be like, yeah, what the fuck, it's the summer, let's go. So people would roll through and we'd be like, whoa.
Seth Meyers
Yeah. And you know, at least people, you know, obviously collaborated with friends of ours now. But you know, Rudd hater Danny McBride, Tim and Eric, you were saying Jeanine Garofalo, Danger Mouse, Flight of the Conchords guys, Right?
Yoram Bauman
Like, yeah, Conchords came through.
Akiva Schaffer
I remember sitting with Jemaine and Brett and them listening to our songs and being like, wow, you guys really just go straight at the joke. Yeah, like for us, we kind of like walk around it for a while.
Yoram Bauman
I remember too, it was Jermaine, we played them Jizz in My Pants and he was like, there's no like dancing around the joke. You just really say it and then just say it a lot. And we were like, yeah, that's the difference, I guess, between our song.
Seth Meyers
So funny.
Yoram Bauman
But it was. He said it lovingly, like we were laughing about it.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Andy Samberg
There was a day when Tim and Eric and Brett and Jemaine came by with Kreisel, who later on we got Hired at SNL as a director, who then went on to co create Portalandia with Fred and Carrie. But they came to shoot a sketch on our tennis court for Tim and Eric's show.
Akiva Schaffer
But do you remember how that happened? Like, how when they came over, it was like, for a barbecue, and they were like, this place is great. And we were like, yeah, if you guys ever want to shoot anything. And it was like two days later that they showed up with a camera truck.
Andy Samberg
Like, we're shooting. So there is another way to see how we lived, because there's a tennis sketch with the four of them.
Seth Meyers
There's that Laurel Canyon documentary about that music scene. And it's so crazy when you see pictures of, say, Jackson Brown and Joni Mitchell and Eric Clapton all in a backyard with guitars.
Andy Samberg
Right?
Akiva Schaffer
It was like that.
Seth Meyers
It was exactly like that was like that. I mean, it's like a less, you know, a lesser, you know, version, but it was that. I mean, if you loved the comedy that you guys were making as much as people love that music scene, you sort of look. I mean, you guys were sending photos. The comedy that would be in one hot tub at a given time.
Yoram Bauman
The stew.
Seth Meyers
The comedy stew. You could tell just from the upper body strength that it had to be comedy.
Andy Samberg
From the Muppet arms in there.
Seth Meyers
There was so many Muppets. It was just like noodle. It looked like noodle soup.
Andy Samberg
It was just arms, just pool noodles.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, this is a seg into noodles in the pot, isn't it, Seth?
Andy Samberg
Oh, we had such a good time. We did. Just to jump forward two years later, when we get to Turtleneck and Chain, we were like, could we rent the same house? And we did.
Seth Meyers
Yeah.
Andy Samberg
We went back two years later and repeated the summer and had just as good a time. And I will say, looking through the photos last night that I texted you guys a bunch of from 2008, I realized, like, half my memories are from 2008.
Seth Meyers
Definitely went to that house a few times. Nowhere near as much looking back as I wish I had. I don't think I was in LA much that summer. I don't quite know where I was, but. Because obviously I would have been over there all the time. But as you guys were sending those pictures around, I really had this pang of. I don't know what I was thinking. The idea of, like, I'm sure every summer the rest of my life, my friends will be making an album at a giant house with no responsibility.
Yoram Bauman
Who else was in the pictures? John C. Reichstag, Maya, pta.
Andy Samberg
But also specifically to Seth. There was a nice picture of Josh.
Yoram Bauman
His brother Pashi, and Speedman.
Andy Samberg
And there was a nice picture of Neil Brennan. Yeah. And Speedman. And from those photos last night, and I was like, yeah, this is all of Seth's. These are Seth's homies.
Seth Meyers
Yeah, it was great.
Akiva Schaffer
And then musicians wide, like, Ben Gibbard was there. Right?
Andy Samberg
Yeah, Ben.
Seth Meyers
I'm sure.
Andy Samberg
Ben Gibbert Homme.
Seth Meyers
So I listened to the album last night and I realized I hadn't listened to the album all the way through since it came out. And then, you know, lost to my memory were the ones that weren't in the end. Shorts.
Andy Samberg
Right.
Seth Meyers
And it was so fun to listen to Those Again. It's 19 songs, 42 minutes. Nobody's gonna complain about that. Yield. That's outstanding. Over the course of a summer.
Akiva Schaffer
I don't know if I would call them all songs.
Seth Meyers
However, there's not. There's a couple of skits. But I would like to, with your permission, talk through the ones that we will not talk through later as shorts.
Yoram Bauman
Oh, my God. Yes.
Akiva Schaffer
Yes, please.
Seth Meyers
Right off the bat. And it's a real statement of int. Who said we're whack? Who said we're whack? By the way, I think if my ear is correct, that's Chester in the beginning.
Andy Samberg
Yeah, yeah. He kicks it off.
Akiva Schaffer
And this is a beat that I made.
Seth Meyers
I noticed on the Wikipedia page, Yorm, you get a lot of credit. You produced quite a few of these on this album.
Akiva Schaffer
Yes, on this album. And then I was relegated to only things like, we like sports guys. The. Just two guys. Guys.
Yoram Bauman
You got relegated. You stop making beats.
Andy Samberg
Yeah. We would happily have accepted.
Akiva Schaffer
Well, yeah, but we also. We upgraded. We upgraded a little bit.
Yoram Bauman
I love your beats and I stand on it.
Akiva Schaffer
Thank you.
Seth Meyers
Who said we're whack? Great beat. And it's a very funny song about Chester. Tells you that somebody said you guys were whack and you are. It's very aggressive like, who said we're whack? But it's immediately clear there's a great deal of insecurity. Yeah. And it's really spinning you guys out that someone called you whack.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah, for sure.
Andy Samberg
We think they might be right. We just want to know who it is. We're not going to be angry. Very clearly.
Akiva Schaffer
Very clearly. We're maybe in agreement.
Andy Samberg
Hey, yo, fam, check this out.
Seth Meyers
I was just at the club, right? Heard these two dudes talking. One of them said to the other one that they knew someone who Said.
Andy Samberg
You guys are whack. Who said a whack?
Akiva Schaffer
You said we're whack.
Andy Samberg
You take it back. Who said we're whack?
Akiva Schaffer
You talking smack?
Seth Meyers
You're gonna get smacked. You're saying that I'm whack, but it just ain't so.
Andy Samberg
So someone said we're whack. Why would they say that? I don't think we're whack. Who said we're.
Seth Meyers
Yeah, there's a real. I think this really hammers it home. Keev, you have one of my favorites, which is I am not whack no matter what you say. What did you say? Question mark? Did you say I'm whack? That's a guy.
Akiva Schaffer
We can't even stand our own conviction.
Seth Meyers
Yeah, he can't even like back away from it. Doesn't matter what you say.
Yoram Bauman
No matter what you say. But that being said, what did you say?
Akiva Schaffer
Yeah, I might be wrong. I might be wrong.
Andy Samberg
I just had a memory of this song going to my head. Which was the very first time we ever performed live in front of an actual real audience was Tenacious D was doing a festival down at the Santa Monica Pier. It was the first year of it. It was an all day festival that Tenacious D would be the final act. And they asked to come on. And I don't know what year it was. It was well after this. But we reenacted that live. Like Jack Black started talking shit about us on stage, like fake stuff and then calls us Whack.
Yoram Bauman
Festival Supreme.
Andy Samberg
And then all of a sudden, what was it? Festival Supreme.
Yoram Bauman
Yeah.
Andy Samberg
And then we were a surprise. And it was so fun too. Cause they have a whole band. And we went and rehearsed with them for a week beforehand and came up with a medley that they helped us. Spiker, who is their director of music, also became ours when we did finally go on tour. And he helped put together this whole little medley. And it was like 10,000 people. And it was our first thing ever. And we got to come out there with their whole band. And we started by coming out. Who said we're whack? You said we're acting. It was. It was an amazing moment.
Yoram Bauman
Do you remember, Keev, that we started with that song because Jack insisted because he was like, no, don't play those songs that they all know.
Andy Samberg
Yes.
Yoram Bauman
My favorite one is who said we're whack? That's what we're doing. And we were like, all right. And then it was so fun.
Seth Meyers
And if he could tee it up like that. I mean, what a great way to start it.
Akiva Schaffer
I Forgot that was 10,000 people. We. Anytime we performed, it was always like, hey, let's just do this on TV. Like, you've never done this before. Do it for 10,000 people. I'm like, oh, God. So nervous.
Andy Samberg
We were our pants.
Seth Meyers
There's also a lot of rhyme. The rhyme scheme is everything rhymes with whack. And a lot of times whack is rhyming with whack. But then you have a real great four liner. Andy.
Yoram Bauman
How could a person up and call a person whack? How could the devil turn the blue sky black? How many babies born will ever reach their dreams? And how could a person call another person?
Seth Meyers
How many babies born will ever reach their dreams?
Yoram Bauman
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
Which is just threw me. So threw me for a loop. And then how could a person call another person whack?
Akiva Schaffer
Back on topic.
Andy Samberg
These guys are spiraling.
Seth Meyers
They can't get away from spiraling.
Andy Samberg
You think.
Yoram Bauman
You think we're going into a new direction.
Seth Meyers
But the other really nice moment is that it ends with you guys having all the ladies putting their hands up, all the guys putting their hands up. Everybody who called us whack, put your hands up. And then everybody else put your hands down. So you do, in the end, find the guy, catch the person.
Akiva Schaffer
We're detectives.
Andy Samberg
I feel like this was also one of the first songs we wrote when we got out there.
Akiva Schaffer
Yeah.
Yoram Bauman
I do believe that's the case.
Akiva Schaffer
I think so.
Yoram Bauman
Possibly the first.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Seth Meyers
I mean, I understand. It does not. It was never going to be an SNL short.
Andy Samberg
No way.
Seth Meyers
Too much. The three of you.
Andy Samberg
Yeah.
Yoram Bauman
Especially at that time.
Seth Meyers
But I'm assuming your heart is warm for this song.
Andy Samberg
For sure.
Yoram Bauman
I love it.
Akiva Schaffer
I do like this song. Yes.
Andy Samberg
You know, one of the things we wanted to make sure of that I am remembering now is, is that this was a real album. Meaning, like, not just something that felt like, hey, they had some hits on the show, just put them in a compilation and send it out. That if you bought it, you felt like. Cause it's when you started to buy an album that you felt like you had bought something new that stood on its own. And so, like you said, it's a declaration. But I think it also, by being about the three of us and us using our names, it, like, separates it from SNL in a way that lets the album be its own thing.
Seth Meyers
I think the next thing is just a fantastic Santana dvx.
Akiva Schaffer
That's the second song on the album.
Seth Meyers
It's the second song of the album. Now I feel like if the first is a parody of what one of these albums is going to be, the sort of aggressive statement of intent this is now you're letting the comedy fans know, like also we're gonna get super granular and weird.
Andy Samberg
Yeah. You know, even on this podcast people have asked us what video do we wish we had gotten to make for songs. And we always, it's always semicolon in Japan. But this should be actually in that top three Wished videos.
Yoram Bauman
I was about to say, I think I speak for all three of us when I say it's one of our personal favorite songs that we ever got to make.
Andy Samberg
Definitely.
Seth Meyers
Hey, everybody, this is Seth. We are going to split up our incredibad episode into two parts. This was the end of part one and we look forward to joining you again in a week for part two. Thanks, everybody.
Podcast Summary: The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast – "Incredibad Part 1"
Release Date: February 3, 2025
In the premiere episode of "Incredibad Part 1," host Seth Meyers engages in an animated and insightful conversation with The Lonely Island members—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Yoram Bauman. This episode delves deep into the creation of their groundbreaking SNL Digital Shorts, the making of their music album during a unique summer in Encino, California, and the collaborative dynamics that fueled their creative endeavors.
The episode kicks off with light-hearted discussions about creative endeavors outside their primary work, showcasing the camaraderie among the hosts.
Jingles and Easter Eggs: Seth introduces the topic of unused jingles created by Greg Chun, leading to playful teasing.
Glasses Squad Introduction: The conversation shifts to Seth joining the "glasses squad," with Akiva humorously critiquing Seth's new look.
The discussion transitions to their colleague Mike O'Brien, affectionately known as Pat, highlighting his unique personality and tattoos.
Name Change Story: Seth recounts Mike's transition from Mike to Pat upon moving to Chicago, leading to amusing confusion.
Tattoo Tales: The trio delves into Mike's eclectic tattoos, blending literary references with personal anecdotes.
This segment not only humanizes their colleague but also underscores the intertwining of personal quirks with their professional lives.
A significant portion of the episode focuses on the decision to rent a sprawling house in Encino, California, as the backdrop for their album production.
House Features: The Lonely Island describes the expansive property, replete with amenities like a basketball court, tennis court, pool, hot tub, and a makeshift BB gun shooting range.
Recording Studio Setup: Despite the house's grandeur, the actual recording space was modest, emphasizing practicality over aesthetics.
Budgeting and Record Deals: Seth probes into how their lavish living arrangements were financed through record advances, drawing parallels to movie budgeting.
This section highlights the balance between creative freedom and financial constraints, showcasing their resourcefulness in maximizing limited resources.
The hosts contrast the relaxed environment of album production with the high-pressure atmosphere of live sketch creation on SNL.
Freedom to Experiment: Yoram reflects on the joyous aspect of making an album, likening it to fulfilling a long-held dream.
Collaborative Atmosphere: The environment fostered spontaneous creativity, with members freely exploring musical ideas without the looming deadlines of SNL.
Party Culture: The house became a hub for parties and social gatherings, blending work and leisure seamlessly.
This contrast underscores the different creative dynamics between structured live performances and unbounded studio sessions.
The episode sheds light on the interactions with other comedians and musicians, illustrating the collaborative spirit that flourished during their Encino summers.
Flight of the Conchords and Tenacious D: The Lonely Island recounts collaborations with notable acts like Flight of the Conchords and Tenacious D, sharing humorous behind-the-scenes stories.
Creative Exchanges: Discussions about different comedic styles and the blending of musical and comedic talents highlight mutual respect and inspiration.
These interactions not only enriched their creative output but also cemented The Lonely Island's place within a broader comedic and musical community.
A focal point of the episode is the analysis of their song "Who Said We're Whack?", exploring its themes of insecurity and self-affirmation.
Song Composition: The trio discusses the aggressive tone juxtaposed with underlying insecurities, creating a complex narrative within the song.
Live Performance Insights: Recalling their live debut of the song at Festival Supreme with Tenacious D, they emphasize the song's impact and the mechanics of its performance.
Lyric Breakdown: Yoram offers a poetic analysis of the song's lyrics, highlighting the emotional depth beneath the comedic surface.
This segment provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of The Lonely Island's songwriting prowess, blending humor with genuine emotional exploration.
As the episode draws to a close, the hosts reflect on their journey and hint at future projects.
Album Legacy: Andy emphasizes the intentional separateness of their album from their SNL work, ensuring it stands on its own merit.
Creative Aspirations: Seth and The Lonely Island discuss aspirations for future digital shorts and the evolution of their creative process.
Final Thoughts: The hosts express enthusiasm for the ongoing creative journey, setting the stage for subsequent episodes in the "Incredibad" series.
Andy Samberg [00:07]: "Greg Chun... sent me a few and I was delighted. But it was like a month ago, and then I was surprised to see that they weren't used yet."
Akiva Schaffer [02:11]: "Fucking Andy, you look like you got out of a rainstorm."
Seth Meyers [03:07]: "Mike was born Mike O'Brien. And maybe, probably, I'm almost certain his middle name's Pat."
Yoram Bauman [23:11]: "There was a whole level of wish fulfillment for us."
Yoram Bauman [35:09]: "How could a person up and call a person whack? How could the devil turn the blue sky black?"
Andy Samberg [36:01]: "It separates it from SNL in a way that lets the album be its own thing."
"Incredibad Part 1" offers a captivating glimpse into The Lonely Island's creative process, their experiences outside the SNL framework, and the collaborative spirit that drives their innovative projects. Through engaging storytelling and candid reflections, Seth Meyers and The Lonely Island provide listeners with an intimate look at the intersection of comedy and music, setting the stage for more revelations in the upcoming episodes.