“[The Jerky Boys] are perennially hilarious,” reasons MacFarlane. “They don’t sound like they were recorded years ago. It’s not even really about the shock value, you want to hear what they’re going to say next. Brennan could release another album of those calls and people would still eat them up.”
Meh. Innovators are due a certain respect, but I never found the Jerky Boys all that funny. Prank calls with soundboards, though, develop the surreal aspect of the joke to its full potential. Having a limited number of preprogrammed responses to use leads to more bizarre non-sequiturs, which only increases the victim’s frustration and adds to the chaotic absurdity. It’s especially funny to hear an unwitting victim furiously arguing with a recording of hizzorher own voice.