I’ve recently become obsessed with the Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast. It’s a podcast about, well, Seth Meyers and The Lonely Island going through all of the digital shorts that aired during the Lonely Islands time at SNL. Digital Shorts and pre-recorded segments existed at SNL long before The Lonely Island arrived. But it’s safe to say The Lonely Island defined what a digital short would come to mean in the cultural zeitgeist.

This podcast is tailor-made for me. I was 16 years old when Andy Samberg and the rest of The Lonely Island joined the SNL cast. I vividly remember learning about YouTube through Lazy Sunday. Basically, I was the exact right age for The Lonely Island and the era they ushered in for SNL. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reliving all of my favorite SNL sketches and digital shorts via this podcast. There have been a lot of things I’ve remembered about this time at SNL and a lot I’ve forgotten. There was one SNL Short that I never forgot, but I didn’t remember how it made me feel the first time I heard it until Seth brought it up in a recent episode.

The Lonely Island

The 33rd season of SNL was the Lonely Islands’ 3rd season of SNL. They had already made a name for themselves with their digital shorts, and Andy had become a huge star on the show. Shorts like Dick in a Box, Lazy Sunday, and Natalies Rap had already been released. Cementing not just what SNL would be for a new generation but confirming the comedic talents of the Lonely Island.

For the season premiere of SNL in 2007, Lonely Island did a song and digital short that was outside of their wheelhouse for several reasons. The SNL audience already knew The Lonely Islands brand of comedy. They typically would take an absurd premise and then push it far, far past its logical conclusion. Songs like Young Chuck Norris or the short Dear Sister are perfect examples of their comedic style. Take something funny, play it ad nauseam, continuously raise the stakes, and subvert the audience’s expectations. But with their season premiere song and digital short, The Lonely Island subverted audiences’ expectations again by making something topical and oddly sincere.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Earlier in the week that SNL aired, September 29th of 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made some outrageously gross statements at a U.N Summit. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the current president of Iran and he stated, among denying the Holocaust, that no gay people existed in Iran. 2007 wasn’t a great time for gay people in America. George W. Bush was still president, don’t ask don’t tell was still a real law that existed for military members, and the idea of allowing gay people to marry was still that. Just an idea.

So when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said these things at the UN summit, it was more than just a false statement. It was an indictment of all the people in the world who were gay or who were fighting for gay rights. The democratic party and America, in general, were starting to realize how oppressive the laws against gay and lesbian people were and pushing to make changes to not just the laws but the culture as well. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad statements were an attack against us. Not just gay and lesbian people, but anyone who saw the injustice and dared to fight back.

Iran So Far Away

So The Lonely Island decided to make a song tearing down Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his homophobic ideas. But they didn’t just make a quick joke about him or put him on blast. They didn’t make a loud diss track aimed at the Iranian president or create mean lyrics towards him. They made a totally sweet, totally sincere, impeccably produced love song aimed directly at him.

Iran So Far Away featured Andy Samberg singing sweet love lyrics to the Iranian president over an incredible Aphex Twin sample and Adam Levine hook. The song is tender, has an incredible sound, and avoids all the typical Lonely Island staples. It doesn’t constantly raise the stakes and it never gets absurd. It’s just a sweet love song aimed at a man who swears this kind of love doesn’t exist.

The Turn

Of course, there are some jokes in the song. Some visual and some in the lyrics. But for the most part, the majority of the song is just a sweet love song that Andy sings to Fred Armisen dressed as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The comedy comes from us as the audience being in on the joke. We hate this guy. He’s a homophobe. And instead of going on a Lewis Black-style rant, The Lonely Island takes a completely different direction. They zig whenever everyone would have zagged. And they make the sweetest most tender song the group has ever created. No crazy outlandish stake raising. No insane jokes that come out of nowhere. Just a sweet song about a man who probably wouldn’t even get the joke if he were to ever hear the song.

But we get the joke and that’s what makes it so good. The comedy comes from all these small subtle layers that the audience has to be in on. We have to know Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We have to know he’s a homophobe, and we have to understand that the best way to burn him is by portraying him as someone that he believes doesn’t exist.

Your In New York Now Baby

While Seth was speaking with The Lonely Island about this song, he admitted that this song always choked him up. Not because of the humor, but because of the message behind it. Messages behind Lonely Island songs would become more prevalent in the future but at this point few if any of their songs had a point. They were about Andy sleeping with his brother-in-law or Laser Cats. There were few themes and even fewer subtexts in their work.

But their subtext here was so clear and so subtle. This guy sucks and we’re going to burn him in a way he wouldn’t understand. But we do. As people who live in a city filled with gay and lesbian people. People hurting, oppressed, and judged. We see these people and we see you trying to pretend they don’t exist. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the butt of a joke by being the object of affection.

Late in the song, Andy sings the thesis of the song. He says “I know you say there are no gays in Iran, but you’re in New York now baby.” The line lands with thunderous applause from the audience. And it makes the Late Night Show host tear up every time.

New York

New York, for better or worse, is the first thing most people think about when they think of America. And SNL has become an American institution and at the forefront of our culture since the 70s. When Andy sings you’re in New York now baby, he’s saying the thing we all wanted to say to Mahmoud without saying it. We live in a country filled with gay and lesbian people. We see them. They add to our society and make us what we are as a country. You denying them is ridiculous so The Lonely Island is going to make a song that actually, isn’t ridiculous. It’s just a sweet love song that proves you wrong.

That one line is so powerful because of the meaning behind it. A mean line, a sharp fuck you or you suck homophobe wouldn’t have the same impact. By saying you’re in New York now baby, we all get it. We get the joke that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn’t in on. And we get what makes our country so special. The fact we have a diverse population. One filled with gay, lesbian, and trans people. And our country is better for it. The thing you’re ashamed of, the people you deny living in your country, we celebrate them. They are what make our country great.

America

America is thoroughly divided right now and while I hope that things get better, the thing that gives me hope is oddly enough, songs and cultural moments like this. This short landed at an awful time for gay rights in America. Gay and lesbian people couldn’t serve openly in the military, get married, or be allowed the same protections as most straight people. But three goofy dudes from California were bold enough to make a gay love song directed toward the biggest homophobe in the world.

I don’t want to oversell it. It is still a silly song played on a comedy sketch on network television. But for many, Seth Meyers and myself included, it was important. Iran So Far Away is funny, has a great hook, but it’s also brave. It was a big departure for The Lonely Island and proved they were more than just the silly guys. They weren’t just funnier than everyone else. They were smarter than them too. Iran So Far Away makes fun of a terrible person in the most sincere and kindest way. It’s a scathing indictment that isn’t mean in any way. Just three guys making an incredible song that gets stuck in your head and might even make you cry.