According to former guitarist Ben Harper , " Ocean Avenue " is written about Jacksonville , FL . " It ’s this place where we used to hang out in Jacksonville . Instead of talking about a girl , it ’s talking about a scene and a feeling that we want to get back to : hanging out and writing , before we moved to California . " The music video depicts frontman Ryan Key facing his fate in different ways before starting over again using a time loop device ( similar to that of the film '' Run Lola Run '' ) , each scenario beginning with Key waking face down on the sidewalk surrounded by broken glass , and ending with his fateful encounter with a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 . The video became a '' TRL '' favorite , reaching number 1 on the countdown , and later received the MTV2 Award at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards
2004 MTV Video Music Awards
2004 MTV Video Music Awards
Ocean Avenue (song)