Does anyone remember "The Mellow Show" on Saturday Night Live? It was one of SNL's numerous talk shows that are set up for people to do impressions, and this talk show featured interviews with musicians who are decidedly mellow, including Dave Matthews and John Mayer. It was hosted by Andy Samberg doing an impression of Jack Johnson.
That segment on the show led to an awesome music video, and today we're going to watch it. It's called "At Or With Me" (2010), directed by Emmett Malloy of The Malloys.
The video is set at a "secret" Jack Johnson show at a club. Andy Samberg shows up at the club with the rest of the The Lonely Island crew in tow. Andy and Jack both recognize each other, and Johnson even specifically recognizes Samberg from SNL.
The skit on SNL is apparently exactly where this video came from, as evidenced by Johnson and Samberg's recounting of the story on the behind the scenes video. Jack Johnson actually seems genuinely hurt by the SNL segment. Maybe.
Anyways, Samberg and the gang are being loud and obnoxious - talking/texting on their cell phones and doing impressions of Johnson. Finally, the mellow singer himself has had enough and comes into the audience to kick off a brutal fight that lasts pretty much the rest of the video.
The fight is almost entirely made up of breaking bottles over heads - bottles everywhere. One of my favorite moments is when the pair get their hands tied together "Beat It" style, and after Johnson draws a knife, Samberg freaks out. After Johnson relents and puts the knife away, Samberg sticks a fork in his leg.
This is one of those examples that shows the versatility of music videos. Johnson simply saw Samberg's impression and invited him to do a music video that addresses it. This sort of hashing out of differences happens on TV talk shows, but those are on air and then disappear. We've got this pair's fight immortalized in music video form for all to see. Forever.
Then again, maybe Johnson's plan backfired. It seems like Johnson wanted to show he wasn't a mellow guy after all, but since the whole video is played with such a knowing grin by everyone involved, it somehow makes him seem even more mellow. Mahalo!
