On the Ground

"Threw It on the Ground"
Song by The Lonely Island from the album Turtleneck & Chain
Released	October 3, 2009 (2009-10-03)
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2009
Genre	Comedy hip hop Electro
Length	2:44
Label	Universal Republic Records
Writer	Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Turtleneck & Chain track listing
"Watch Me Do Me - Classy Skit #2" (14) "Threw It on the Ground" (15) "Japan" (16)

"On the Ground" (album version known as "Threw It on the Ground") is a song sung by the band The Lonely Island from their second studio album Turtleneck & Chain, and an SNL Digital Short which aired on Saturday Night Live on October 3, 2009. Andy Samberg is the lone member of the band who appears in the video. He plays a character who is extremely cynical and disillusioned with life, and possibly in some sort of quarter-life crisis, walking down a city street and throwing things he is given on the ground.^[1]

Celebrity Appearances

Elijah Wood and Ryan Reynolds both appear in the music video for "On the Ground". Reynolds was the host of Saturday Night Live on the episode when the video premiered.^[2] They both played themselves in the video.

Plot

The video starts with Samberg's character walking down a street. A man (Bobby Moynihan) wearing clothes referring to Red Bull who is advertising an energy drink approaches him. The man claims that the drink will make him "run faster, jump higher". Samberg responds by saying "I am not gonna let you poison me." He then takes the drink and throws it on the ground.

The scene changes to another location with a hot dog stand. The hot dog salesman (Brian H. Tucker) tells Samberg that since he comes to the stand all the time, he will give Samberg a free hot dog. Samberg responds by saying that he is not a "charity case" and that the hot dog man can't buy him. He then takes the hot dog and throws it on the ground.

In the next scene, Samberg goes to a farmer's market with his "so-called" girlfriend (played by Jenny Slate, who was on SNL's 35th season as a feature player) and she gives Samberg her cell phone and tells him that it's his dad. Samberg tells her that he is not stupid and also "this aint my dad, this is a cell phone!" He then takes the phone and throws it on the ground.

Samberg then appears at a birthday party and a little boy hands him a piece of cake. Samberg asks the kid that "what do you want me to do with it? Eat it?!" and then throws the cake on the ground after saying "happy birthday to the ground". He then throws the rest of the cake on the ground too.

In the next scene, Samberg is shown throwing several random objects on the ground. He then says in a deranged voice that "[he's] an adult".

Samberg then sees actors Ryan Reynolds and Elijah Wood having dinner together. Samberg calls them "Hollywood phonies" and runs up to and flips over their table, rejecting their autographs (despite no offer being made) that he says "nobody wants". The actors retaliate by chasing Samberg outside and attacking him repeatedly by tazing him in the anus. The video concludes with Samberg saying "the moral of the story is, you can't trust the system!"

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/episodes
2. ^ http://www.thelonelyisland.com/video/on-the-ground

External links

• On The Ground