( CNN ) -- The Lonely Island is n't quite so lonely these days . Even though its members -- Andy Samberg , Jorma Taccone , and Akiva Schaffer -- are often apart because they live on different coasts , they 're still united in the studio as well as a series of Wack Wednesday videos -- seriously , how many artists drop a video for just about every song on the album anymore ? They also have a bevy of guest stars to keep them company on the tracks , in the clips , and in televised performances ( check out Alanis Morissette covering Solange 's part on `` Semicolon '' -- which is , as they say , ironic ) . The band 's latest release , `` The Wack Album , '' out this week , features not only Robyn ( `` Go Kindergarten , '' with Paul Rudd and Diddy weighing in on the video ) and Pharrell ( `` Hugs '' ) , but also Hugh Jackman and Kristen Wiig ( `` You Got the Look '' ) and Green Day 's Billie Joe Armstrong ( `` I Run NYC '' ) . And that 's not counting the guest stars who turned out for the video of `` Spring Break Anthem , '' in which Zack Galifanakis , James Franco , and Ed Norton gamely step up and make a gay marriage statement with their Lonely Island lovers . And yet , the guys still lament not being able to fit more friends in . But as Samberg said , laughing , `` There 's only so many spots on one fake rap album ! '' And there was one icon he really wanted . `` Sheila E. would be the s**t , '' he enthused . `` I saw her at the Forum , and she was awesome . She 's on the wish list . '' The group 's previous albums , `` Incredibad '' and `` Turtleneck & Chain , '' were enriched by access to `` Saturday Night Live '' guest stars . These days , scheduling is a bit trickier . `` When we made albums in the past , '' Samberg said , `` it was n't always because someone was on the show when we asked them , but in their minds , they were like , 'There 's a chance this is for the show . ' People came to 'SNL , ' and we plugged them into songs . '' `` They just walked into our office , '' Schaffer said , `` and it was easier to get everything done . Now we may get a yes just as fast , but there 's logistics to consider : 'OK , but where are you ? ' '' So for the new album , some participants were recorded in New York ( such as Solange and Kendrick Lamar , who guests on `` YOLO '' with Adam Levine ) , some in Los Angeles ( Pharrell and Too Short , who guests on `` The Compliments '' ) , and some on Skype . Jackman , who was in the middle of doing press for a film , accommodated the guys during his promotional junket . `` We rented a room adjacent to the hotel room he was doing it in , and we had an engineer there , and I was on Skype , '' Samberg said . `` He just walked in , and I watched him record for a good 45 minutes to an hour . He did a bunch of great takes , and then he asked if there was anything else I needed -- and there was not . It was great . It was Jean Valjean meets Cameo . '' How comfortable the guests get with being raunchy or silly also plays a part in the recording , Schaffer said . `` We 're very conscious of the different personalities , if someone does n't want to curse as much , or if someone does n't want to play with their image too much , '' he said . `` Hugh Jackman was very comfortable , but sometimes people will be like , 'Yeah , I 'm not that comfortable . ' It helps to be given parameters . '' Sometimes a guest 's point of view may shift a bit . Michael Bolton , for instance , at first asked the group to give him something `` even crazier '' than what they originally came up with for `` Jack Sparrow . '' Then he passed on that version , deciding it had become `` too filthy . '' But later , he added his own F-words to a separate digital short . `` We were like , 'Dude ! Totally ! ' '' Taccone said . `` And now there 's a Michael Bolton character that only exists in the world of our videos , '' Samberg said . To make it easier on some guests , Samberg will sing a temp vocal track , doing both the highs and the lows , `` so they can hear an almost finished version , '' Samberg said . `` Then , somebody like Solange , she did her own countermelodies , '' Taccone added . `` They come in with harmonies , and the talent , '' Samberg said . With rappers , however , the Lonely Island guys are less likely to write a verse until they know who will be doing the part , and even then , they invite them to rewrite it . `` For rappers , '' Schaffer said , `` we 'll leave open which bars of music they 're going to do , and give them bullet points of joke ideas that they can put into their own words . We want the rapper to feel like himself , and not like he 's doing someone else 's lyric . '' `` It has to be in their voice , '' Samberg said . `` The style is so specific . '' Soon the guys will start to juggle their nonmusical projects with the idea of a Lonely Island tour . Taccone , who co-wrote and directed the film `` MacGruber , '' will be locking himself in a room with Will Forte and writing partner John Solomon to get to work on a script for `` MacGruber 2 . '' And Samberg will soon be decamping to Los Angeles to start shooting his new television comedy , `` Brooklyn Nine-Nine . '' `` Other than 'Girls ' and '30 Rock , ' '' he noted , `` I defy you to name a show set in New York that does n't shoot in LA ! I wish we could have shot it in Brooklyn -- I still love New York . But the irony of television production knoweth no bounds . '' Speaking of `` Girls , '' will Taccone -- who played Marnie 's lover Booth Jonathan -- be back for another round , since the HBO comedy is shooting its third season this summer in Brooklyn ? `` Dude , if you talk to Lena ( Dunham ) , tell her I 'm totally down ! '' Taccone pleaded . `` Maybe they can squeeze me in . But I do n't know what more you can see of me on that show -- except for the front part , and nobody wants to see that . ''
' SNL ' star Andy Samberg and his friends created The Lonely Island . They have invited several stars to put on their tunes . Some of the celebs had to Skype their performance .