Dick in a Box
"Dick in a Box" is a song by the American comedy group The Lonely Island featuring American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. The trio—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone—co-wrote the song with Timberlake, Katreese Barnes, and Asa Taccone. Barnes and Asa Taccone co-produced it with Jorma Taccone. Saturday Night Live creator and producer Lorne Michaels asked Samberg to write a musical sketch for the 2006 Christmas episode with Timberlake, who was returning as both host and musical guest. Samberg developed the concept with other members of the group before working with Timberlake on December 14. They recorded the track around midnight and spent the next day and a half filming the corresponding music video.
The sketch depicts two early 1990s R&B singers, played by Samberg and Timberlake, singing a holiday song about making a Christmas gift for their girlfriends of their penises in boxes. The sketch premiered on SNL as a Digital Short on December 16, 2006. The word "dick" was bleeped 16 times following an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission. SNL producers published an uncensored version of the sketch online right after its broadcast debut, a decision criticized by the Parents Television Council. In 2009, the song was released digitally as a single and included on The Lonely Island's debut studio album, Incredibad.
"Dick in a Box" became a viral hit on the internet, and had generated more than 28 million views on YouTube by October 2007. The song received generally positive reviews from both television and music critics, who praised its raunchy humor and Timberlake's performance. "Dick in a Box" has been recognized retrospectively as The Lonely Island's signature song and one of the best Christmas-themed SNL sketches. The track won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2007, and appeared on the Australian and Canadian single charts in 2009. Samberg and Timberlake reprised their roles in two Digital Shorts sequels, "Motherlover" and "3-Way ".
Background
, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone met while attending junior high together in Berkeley, California. They decided to move to Los Angeles in September 2000 and formed the comedy trio The Lonely Island, named after the nickname they gave to the apartment they shared. They hosted several short films on their website before signing to the variety show Saturday Night Live in late August 2005. Samberg was promoted as a performing member for the 32nd season, while Taccone and Schaffer joined the show as writers. In December, the trio wrote and recorded "Lazy Sunday" with fellow cast member Chris Parnell, which was broadcast as their second Digital Short. The gangsta rap song received over five million views on YouTube by February 2006, becoming the first television clip to go viral on the online video platform. The track's popularity contributed to the success of YouTube and reintroduced SNL to a younger audience.Justin Timberlake first appeared on SNL as a musical guest in 2000, performing as a member of the American boy band NSYNC. He subsequently appeared as both host and musical guest in an episode in October 2003, in which he demonstrated his acting potential with an impression of Jessica Simpson and his work with Jimmy Fallon on The Barry Gibb Talk Show sketch. "Hosting SNL was something I'd always wanted to do. The show allowed me to play to my strengths—mixing music with comedy seemed like a way into that world", Timberlake recalled. After the show, he received several acting offers and spent the next two years launching his acting career. He shot four films, including Edison Force and Alpha Dog, before working on his second studio album FutureSex/LoveSounds. In late November 2006, Timberlake announced his return to SNL for the December 16 episode as host and musical guest.
Writing and recording
On December 12, 2006, when Timberlake was on track to host SNL for the second time, creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels asked Samberg to try writing a funny skit to showcase Timberlake's singing skills. Although the writing team originally came up with a different idea, Michaels insisted they exploit more of Timberlake's musical side. Inspired by the music they grew up listening to, members of The Lonely Island wanted to write an early 1990s R&B song that was similar to the work of Jodeci, R. Kelly, the Isley Brothers, LeVert, and H-Town. That night, they contacted associate music director Katreese Barnes to help them work on the song; she was later credited as a songwriter and producer. Samberg felt the concept of imitating a 1990s-style band was "a perfect fit" for Timberlake, who was a member of a boy band.The concept of the track was not decided until December 14, when Jorma came up with the "dick in a box" premise. Once the trio agreed the concept was funny enough, they presented a rough draft of the song to Timberlake. A fan of 1990s-style music, Timberlake immediately accepted the song. He was the only one who was confident about the sketch. The trio was having doubts about the crass joke and the bygone musical concept. Timberlake felt it was important to make the song "really singable" and suggested several changes to "Dick in a Box". He came up with the hook and the line "Mid-day at the grocery store", while adding pauses to make the song more catchy. Schaffer suggested adding the three steps of making the box into the lyrics. Samberg, who was feeling nervous when working on the idea with Timberlake, said the singer "took the reigns and schooled us on how to record and make it sound fantastic". The writers finished writing the lyrics within two hours.
Like other SNL sketches, "Dick in a Box" was recorded and produced in a very short time. Samberg and Timberlake recorded their voice track for two hours around midnight on December 14-15, right after finishing the lyrics. They used special equipment, including a $500 microphone, in Samberg's office. Timberlake recalled the crew were laughing frantically during the production and that the "delirium of no sleep" contributed to the song's humor. Although Samberg's voice cracked a few times, Timberlake's easygoing attitude made him more relaxed throughout the recording session. Asa Taccone, Jorma's brother, worked on the track in Los Angeles while the other writers were in New York City. Initially, Jorma gave his brother the specific outline of the track for him to work with, which Asa described as a "cheesy, 90s, Color Me Badd type track". Asa then sent the writers several instrumental tracks and went through each beat with them during phone calls. He was nervous working with Timberlake and felt the process was chaotic because of the limited work time. "It was semi-terrifying having listen to my stuff. I was a kid back then. I'm sure the stuff I was playing was mostly terrible," Asa said. NBC was not originally aware of his contribution to the track, so Jorma paid him $60 for it.
Music video
After listening to the finished audio track, Barnes felt it would "be a big hit" if they had an equally funny video for it.The music video for "Dick in a Box" was filmed in New York City in a day and a half. The crew spent December 15 filming the video. Timberlake left occasionally to prepare for the show; they finished the session at 3:00 AM the following morning. Schaffer directed the video with Jorma's assistance. Indoor scenes were filmed in Studio 8H, SNLs permanent set. Timberlake and Samberg sported wigs and fake short beards for the video.
Schaffer felt the filming process was both frightening and funny, saying, "We knew it was a really dumb idea and we weren't sure if we were even gonna get away with it on the air, but once we were actually making it, it was just super fun!" Members of The Lonely Island wanted to do the filming as quickly as they could, since Timberlake was busy with other hosting gigs and sketches. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph played the duo's lovers. Wiig felt the song would be a hit after hearing it and seeing the film set. It was not until 4:00 PM on December 16, less than eight hours before it was to go live, that the video was ready to be shown to NBC executive Rick Ludwin.
The video begins with Samberg and Rudolph sitting in front of a fireplace. Samberg says he has a Christmas gift for her and instructs her to "just sit down and listen". The balladeers are wearing silk suits, jewel-toned rayon shirts, herringbone chains, trimmed goatees, and sunglasses. The men each give their lovers a box with their penis inside as a present, and ask them to open it and look inside. The singers stroke their goatees and pose with each displaying a gift-wrapped box attached to his groin. Their girlfriends seem aroused and excited by their presents, while the men aggressively rub roses and feathers in the women's faces. Near the chorus, the men sing about how their presents are better than other gifts, such as diamond rings, fancy cars, or luxury houses. The duo suggest their present is suitable for all holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. At one point, they give step-by-step instructions on how to create the gift.
The video cuts frequently to scenes of Samberg and Timberlake dancing and singing on the West Side of Manhattan in Hudson River Park, including on a pier and on a basketball court, where Timberlake is seen hanging from a basketball hoop with a gift box on his crotch. At the end of the video, the men sing about giving the present on multiple occasions—at their parents' houses, the grocery store, and backstage at the Country Music Association Awards—while being arrested by the New York City Police Department, presumably for indecent exposure.
Composition
"Dick in a Box" is an R&B song with a runtime of 2:41. According to Universal Music Publishing Group's digital sheet music for the song, "Dick in a Box" is composed in the key of C minor and set in common time signature, with a moderately slow groove of 80 beats per minute. The vocals span two octaves, from C4 up to C6. Music critics compared the track to the work of Color Me Badd, noting the song's spoken-word breakdown and the way the last syllables of the refrain go increasingly up. Idolators Noah wrote the track is a "slightly more up-front–and generously Yuletide-themed" version of Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up". Critics also found the R&B track was influenced by American groups New Kids on the Block, Hall & Oates, and Backstreet Boys.David Jeffries of AllMusic described "Dick in a Box" as an imitation of teen pop, while Stephen Saito of Premiere called the slow jam "an ode to the phallic present for all occasions". Chris Mincher of The A.V. Club and Stuart McGurk of GQ viewed it as a midtempo synth rock track that soundtracks a rapidly unfolding horror. "Dick in a Box" has been described as a Christmas song by critics, including Mincher who highlighted its release in the special Christmas episode of SNL. Ross Bonaime of Paste referred to it is a hybrid between "a Christmas song, a '90s R&B parody and a joke about bad gift giving". Believed the sketch qualified as a Christmas film, Matthew Dessem of Slate pointed out the Christmas setting and the theme surrounding Christmas presents, as well as the non-Christmas holidays mentioned in the song all take place around Christmas.