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This TikTok trend has users blockin the street

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A screenshot of a marching band in 'Family Guy.'

A new TikTok trending audio has people humorously complaining about others "blockin' the street" and preventing them from getting where they need to go.

The audio originated in Family Guy Season 15 Episode 18, "The Peter Principal," which first aired in 2017. In this episode, humanoid dog Brian recalls being hindered by a marching band while attempting to deliver pizza for his previous job. A cutaway gag shows the sizable band singing that they are "blockin' the street" as they gradually make their way down a long road, obstructing Brian's path despite his gripes about needing to deliver the pizza in under 30 minutes.

Nearly a decade later, TikTok users are using the earworm to illustrate the frustration of being physically hindered from getting to their destination, typically by others thoughtlessly monopolizing a thoroughfare. In one example viewed 2.5 million times, @karoline.io used the song to convey "how it feels living in a tourist town" when visitors block the road while she's driving. Over 11,000 TikTok videos have used the audio, featuring everything from traffic jams, to concert crowds, and even some marching band culprits joining in, with sentiments ranging from irritation to good-natured ribbing.

Pet owners have used the audio to great effect, particularly to score clips of cats becoming tripping hazards at feeding time. A video by @ambiedpambied that shows her three cats gathering at her feet has racked up 2.8 million views, while @kopikat’s amusing animation of a similar dilemma has gained 1.3 million.

Other animals have also inspired use of the song, with @bays.irishcream's video of a herd of sheep in a road earning 1.1 million views, and @caitlindoes' clip of a cyclist with a huge pack of dogs gaining 4.1 million views. But even a single pet can block the proverbial street, with 2.6 million views on @soph86482's "big dog with no spatial awareness," 1.2 million on @fatherbattisto's "one fat old dog," and 2 million on @toria_56's extremely underfoot cat. 

The song is further being used to caption film and television scenes in which groups of people stand — or dance — in a street. While such scenes make sense and can even be dramatic in context, adding this commentary invites viewers to consider how ridiculous and unnecessary such posturing would seem to outsiders, as well as how annoying it would be to people trying to go about their day.

In one edit viewed 2.3 million times, @poogyus set the song to sped-up footage of BTS' crosswalk concert, filmed for The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2021. In the segment, the K-pop group ran out during red traffic lights to quickly perform songs including "Butter" in an L.A. street.

While primarily applied to physical obstacles, Family Guy's "blockin' the street" song has also been used to illustrate grievances such as encountering obstacles while working or having certain characters insistently impose themselves in a book. Considering the catchy nature of the tune and the abundance of hindrances we all encounter every day, there seems to be plenty of fuel for this trend.



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