"Virtual Insanity" | ||||
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Single by Jamiroquai | ||||
from the album Travelling Without Moving | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 19 August 1996 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Sony Soho Square | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Al Stone | |||
Jamiroquai singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Virtual Insanity" on YouTube |
"Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai,released on 19 August 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song interpolates parts of Jocelyn Brown's post-disco hit "Somebody Else's Guy" (1984),and its award-winning music video was released in September 1996,garnering ten nominations and winning four,including for "Video of the Year",at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Virtual Insanity" was a number-one hit in Iceland and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. As well as becoming a top ten hit in Finland,Ireland,and Italy,the song also climbed to number 38 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart upon the single's release in the United States in 1997. The song also earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. [1]
The song's lyrics took inspiration from a walk in an underground city in Sendai,Japan,by singer Jay Kay and the band's digeridoo player,Wallis Buchanan,with Kay writing: [2] "Everything was covered in snow and there was absolutely no one about. [We took] these stairs that led down to this whole underground city …with all the color and noise you get in Japanese streets." [3] The song's title is a play off virtual reality. [4]
Initially recorded as a rough demo,it was only after the label requested a single for Travelling Without Moving that the song was fully realised and was the last track to be properly recorded. [5] The song has a piano opening with "buoyant keyboards and soaring strings." [6] [7] The riff continues throughout the song.
Thematically,the lyrics are concerned with issues like overpopulation,human genetic enhancement,eugenics,and ecological collapse.
The first B-side of the single is the song "Do U Know Where You're Coming From",in collaboration with M-Beat. It was released as a single earlier in 1996. The second B-side of the single is "Bullet".
In the beginning of the song's album version,a sound that is sampled from the 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien appears. It is the sound sequence when the S.O.S. signal appears on the screens of the spaceship Nostromo at the start of the film. [8] The album version is longer,including the addition of extra vocals and a bridge.
The song received favourable reviews from music critics. Scottish newspaper Aberdeen Press and Journal viewed it as "cool if lyrically trite". [9] Justin Chadwick from Albumism wrote that the "midtempo,piano-driven groove" finds the singer "lamenting the proliferation of technology at the expense of human connection and preservation of our planet",as best evidenced in the chorus with lines such as,"Always seem to,be governed by this love we have / For useless,twisting,our new technology / Oh,now there is no sound—for we all live underground". He added,"While the song itself reflected Jamiroquai's more mature and polished sound at the time,it was the accompanying video unveiled the following month that became the band's transformative,watershed moment." [10] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "wriggling" and "funk-fortified". [11] A reviewer from Liverpool Echo noted,"If you stop dancing,and listen to the lyrics,you see a whole new side to singer Jay Kay." [12] Music Week rated it four out of five,writing:"From its simple piano opening onwards,this gorgeous,immaculately-recorded track doesn't put a note wrong. Further evidence that Jay Kay is maturing musically." [13] Ted Kessler from NME declared it as a "bittersweet" gem and a "fine" single. [14] Sam Taylor from The Observer remarked its "effortless swank". [15] Aidin Viziri from Salon said the singer "keeps the party alive with unbridled enthusiasm","exploring the chaos of modern life". [16]
The music video for "Virtual Insanity" was directed by English filmmaker,director,and screenwriter Jonathan Glazer. The music video was filmed on 12 August 1996. [17] Glazer was specifically chosen to direct the video due to his work on Radiohead's music video for "Street Spirit (Fade Out)". [18] At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards in September 1997,it earned ten nominations and won four awards,including "Breakthrough Video" and the "Best Video of the Year". In 2006,it was voted ninth by MTV viewers in a poll on music videos that 'broke the rules.' The single was released in the U.S. in 1997. At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards,Jamiroquai performed the song on travelators (which Kay had originally intended for the music video), [4] recreating the famous floor-moving concept with two moving walkways on the stage floor that went in opposite directions. Kay danced on the walkways,with the two bugs crawling through the hall,a bird flying,and red blood all over the floor. [19]
The video consists mainly of Jamiroquai's singer,Jay Kay,dancing and singing the song in a bright white room with a grey floor. Throughout the video,there are several combinations of plastic-wrapped leather couches and chairs seemingly moving around the room on their own accord,which are the only pieces of furniture in the room,and Kay is seen using a sequence of elaborate dance manoeuvres to avoid being hit by them. The video earned recognition from critics for its special effects. The floor appears to move while the rest of the room stays still;in fact,this was the original idea but was later determined by one of Glazer's team that it would cost about £280,000 (equivalent to £559,139in 2021;~US$810,000 in 2024 terms) for the rig alone. Instead,it is the walls that move,an idea from one of Jonathan Glazer's crew which was initially seen as comically ridiculous by most of Glazer's team but was immediately recognised as brilliant by Glazer,who called up Kay at about 1am to inform him of the idea. Kay,possibly half asleep,did not understand the idea until he arrived at the set and understood Glazer's intention and saw the rig in action. [20]
At some points,the camera tilts up or down to show the floor or ceiling for a few seconds,and when it returns to the central position,the scene has completely changed;this was primarily done to mask the cuts and make it look like a continuous take. Other scenes show a crow flying across the room,a cockroach on the floor,the couches bleeding,and the other members of Jamiroquai in a corridor being blown away by wind. This became the second video released by Jamiroquai to be successfully done in one complete,albeit composited,shot;"Space Cowboy" was the first.
In a short making-of documentary,Glazer describes how the walls move on a stationary grey floor with no detail,which give the illusion that objects on the floor are moving. [21] [20] In several shots,chairs or couches are fixed to the walls so that they appear to be standing still when in fact they are moving. In other shots,the furniture remain stationary on the floor,but the illusion is such that they appear to be moving. [22] Parts of the floor had tape markings as a reference point for Kay,which had to be digitally deleted in post-production,but Kay said he had to improvise parts such as where he does a blind 180-degree spin on his knees to avoid hitting a wall or when he tiptoes past an incoming couch that was about to pin him against the wall;in both cases,it was only upon playing the footage back that he realised how finely he had avoided danger. [20]
In September 2021,a remaster of the video in 4K was premiered on YouTube to promote a new vinyl release of Travelling Without Moving. [23]
In addition to heavy rotation on MTV and other music television networks upon release and still to this day,the video for "Virtual Insanity" has amassed more than 280 million views on YouTube as of April 2024 [24] [25] and has seen renewed attention on TikTok,gaining millions more views through various internet memes and remixes. [26]
The music video for "Virtual Insanity" has been parodied,referred to,remixed,or imitated in countless music videos,television shows,and internet memes. A TV promo by comedian Chris Rock was made for the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards,whereby Rock imitates Jay Kay in a comedic fashion through digital superimposition. [27] In 2007,the video's original director,Jonathan Glazer,uploaded a parody of the video whereby the room was digitally turned into a bathroom and had Jay Kay appear to interact with patrons in a comedic fashion,again using digital superimposition. [28]
Austin Mahone and Pitbull took inspiration from it in the video for their 2014 single "Mmm Yeah", [29] and it is one of the many songs parodied in the video for FIDLAR's 2015 single "40oz. on Repeat". [30] [31] Other notable parodies include a cutaway from a 14th-season Family Guy episode called "Scammed Yankees",which went viral as an internet meme in 2023 under the portmanteau "Cartermiroquai". [32] [33] It was also referenced in a 2021 episode of Robot Chicken . The music video also inspired a video game entitled Jamiroquai Game,wherein the player must avoid the various objects in the scene,akin to the video. [34]
Year | Organization | Award | Result |
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1997 | MTV Video Music Award | Video of the Year | Won |
Best New Artist | Nominated | ||
Breakthrough Video | Won | ||
Best Direction (Directors:Jonathan Glazer) | Nominated | ||
Best Choreography (Choreographers:Jason Kay) | Nominated | ||
Best Visual Effects (Visual Effects:Jonathan Glazer and Sean Broughton) | Won | ||
Best Art Direction (Art Director:John Bramble) | Nominated | ||
Best Editing (Editor:Jonathan Glazer and John McManus) | Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography (Cinematographer:Stephen Keith-Roach) | Won | ||
International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Europe | Nominated |
|
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Italy (FIMI) [68] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Japan (RIAJ) [69] Full-length ringtone | Gold | 100,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI) [70] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 19 August 1996 |
| Sony Soho Square | [71] |
Japan | 11 September 1996 | CD | Epic | [72] |
United States | 20 May 1997 | Work | [73] |
Jamiroquai are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group has addressed social and environmental justice. Kay has remained as the only original member through several line-up changes.
Emergency on Planet Earth is the debut studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 14 June 1993 under Sony Soho Square. Prior its release, the band debuted in 1992 with "When You Gonna Learn" under Acid Jazz Records, and front-man Jay Kay was given a major-label deal with Sony Music. The album was produced as Toby, Stuart and Kay formed the band and is characterised by its acid jazz foundations, layers of instrumentation and socially charged lyrics.
The Return of the Space Cowboy is the second album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. The album was released on 17 October 1994 under Sony Soho Square. The album continues the musical direction of their debut, Emergency on Planet Earth (1993), and is characterised by its complex songwriting as a result of Jay Kay's creative block mid-production. Its lyrics addressed street life, hope, loss, Kay's drug use, and social matters regarding Native Americans and youth protests.
Travelling Without Moving is the third studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 28 August 1996 in Japan, then on 9 September 1996 in the United Kingdom under Sony Soho Square. Front-man Jay Kay intended for the album to have a more universal style, revolving around "cars, life and love". Critics have generally praised the album for being more focused and refined than the band's previous work while others panned its lyrics and found the album too derivative. Kay also faced backlash from the press for his use of sports cars in this period despite his environmental beliefs.
Synkronized is the fourth studio album by English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai. It was released on 8 June 1999 by Work Group in the United States, and on 14 June 1999 by S2 Records in the United Kingdom. Bassist Stuart Zender left the band during recording, and Nick Fyffe was hired as a replacement. The album contains funk, acid jazz and disco elements.
"Karma Police" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997, as the second single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997). It reached number one in Iceland and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it reached number 14 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was included on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).
"Deeper Underground" is a single by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai from the soundtrack to the 1998 film Godzilla. The song was also included as a bonus track on the group's fourth studio album, Synkronized, as well as on the special edition of the group's fifth album, A Funk Odyssey (2001). Released in Japan in May 1998 and in the United Kingdom two months later, "Deeper Underground" became a hit in several countries, giving Jamiroquai their only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, selling over 339,100 copies in the UK as of March 2017.
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"Cosmic Girl" is the second single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song was released in the United Kingdom on 25 November 1996 via Sony Soho Square and in the United States in 1997 via Work Group. It achieved great chart success, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached No. 3 in Italy, No. 4 in Iceland, and No. 10 in Finland. The accompanying music video was directed by Adrian Moat and filmed in Spain. The B-side to the single is an instrumental, "Slipin' 'N' Slidin'", a song originating from another Jamiroquai track called "Mr Boogie", which was a live-only song. "Slipin 'N' Slidin'", just like "Mr Boogie", also has a vocal version.
"Space Cowboy" is the international lead single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994). Released on 26 September 1994 by Sony Soho Square, the single peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, number six in Italy, and number three in Iceland. In the United States, it gave the band their first number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. In June 2006, it re-entered the UK Dance Chart at number one. Its music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton. The single contains remixes by David Morales, which further put the single in club circulation.
"Little L" is the lead single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fifth studio album, A Funk Odyssey (2001). The song was written by Jay Kay and Toby Smith and was inspired by the break-up between Kay and his former girlfriend Denise van Outen, which occurred due to conflicting work commitments and which led to Kay's cocaine problem. Kay quit his habit in 2003.
"King for a Day" is the fourth single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's fourth studio album, Synkronized (1999). The song was written by Jay Kay and is a "tribute" to bassist Stuart Zender, who left the band shortly before Synkronized was completed. Jay Kay subsequently rerecorded all the songs on the album without Zender, and added "King for a Day" as the final track on the album. Upon its release on 29 November 1999, the song reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The video features Jay Kay walking around an old mansion, where each room has a member of the band.
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"Mmm Yeah" is a song by American pop singer Austin Mahone from his second EP The Secret. The song was released as the second and final single from the EP on January 26, 2014. The song features vocals from Cuban-American rapper Pitbull. The song was released in the United States as a digital download on January 26, 2014. The song's chorus samples the song "Nu Nu" by Lidell Townsell. The song peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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