American Reacts to The Story Of Virtual Insanity Is Weirder Than You Thought!

This is David Hartley’s fascinating look at the strange and surprising story behind Jamiroquai’s iconic hit, "Virtual Insanity." This song and its groundbreaking music video became a ‘90s phenomenon, but the story behind its creation is full of twists you might not expect! From the unexpected inspiration to the unique video effects that made it unforgettable, David Hartley reveals details that add new layers to this classic!
Original Videos: • The story of Virtual I...
• Jonathan Glazer - The ...
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[@sphinx3r]

I'm glad you started doing all these music documentary videos. A lot of these topics are things I probably wouldn't have seeked out on my own, like the Smiths or Blue Monday videos, but they turned out to be really interesting.

[@gingerwaynos]

Jk lived in Perthshire Scotland and was often in court for speeding in one of his numerous super cars.

[@JJLAReacts]

😂

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

I loved the British Acid-Jazz Scene, 'Jamiroquai' where one of the most successful bands to come out of it. In London in the '90s there was a revival of '70s Jazz Funk and Funk in the underground club scene so, bands started up using this sound and Record Labels such as 'Acid-Jazz' were formed, being young during the original Jazz Funk period in the '70s, I loved that these great artists and their music was being revisited. This song is a prophetic warning about a possible future, much of which has already come about, and remains more relevant today than it did on its release.

[@tomfoolery9749]

I remember when Jamiroquai’s first track came out 'When we gonna learn' and 'Too young to die', there was this hippy new-age conscious music from bands like 'Galliano' and 'The Levellers'. This was a great but forgotten time in 90's music. When I feel I need to check my humanity, I listen to The Levellers track 'Shame', it gets me every time! Don't forget Ian Dury

[@DanPyjamas]

Galliano just released a new album if you weren't aware.

[@MrBillyboyroge]

Given that the album was listed in the Guinness book of world records for being the biggest selling funk album of all time tells me JK ,Toby & Stuart knew what they were doing when writing the tracks. Not many new bands/ artists get an 8 album deal from a major record label (Sony) unfortunately there first two albums weren’t really promoted in the USA so the yanks missed out on there rise. By the time the 3rd album dropped and cracked America, the American AnR at Sony wanted to try and manipulate/change the bands image. JK basically told them to F’off. Also the first video to accompany their debut release ‘When you gonna learn’ was banned in the USA. Shame as that’s probably there best track with a hard hitting ‘message’ that will always be relevant New album currently being worked on for those reading this comment

[@VelvetVoice]

YAY! That's great to hear - it's kinda hard to believe that it's been 7 years already since 'Automaton'!

[@VelvetVoice]

Great video as always, JJ! Virtual Insanity was in every respect, such an eye-opener for me. Up until its release, I had been indifferent, apathetic even, toward Jamiroquai's music and image. When THIS song released, however, it was almost like an epiphany. It cannot be overstated just how crucial the genius promo video was to its success, though - visually inventive, complemented and exemplified by Jay Kay's creative dance skills, it was refreshingly original. The profound and prophetic lyrics also really spoke to me, the smooth acid-jazz groove struck an immediate chord... and despite my erstwhile ambivalence towards them, I found that I had become a Jamiroquai convert almost overnight! Buying the subsequent album, I also visited their first two albums with a newfound appreciation; been a massive fan ever since. Napoleon Dynamite's added influence a few years later certainly didn't hurt, either. 🙂

[@svendemadsen8275]

Funny how Americans often seem to think that people outside of US don't have money.

[@sgjoni]

That comment made me realise that they were obviously not quite as big in the US as they were elsewhere 😮 … had no idea 😂

[@helenab7390]

So many pauses....goggling but no play of the song or video but everything else.....

[@welshdice]

That's due to copy right laws ​@@helenab7390

[@lynette.]

Remember the impact of this song and video.

[@miamonan9627]

JJ mimicking JK’s moves 👍🎉😁

[@nolaj114]

There is an underground town in Australia - Coober Pedy - homes, accommodation, restaurants, etc., all underground. It is famous for opal mining and the homes are built underground to escape the desert heat. I guess you could potentially strike an opal seam in the process of adding a room. 🤔😊

[@drwoo6090]

The chances of anything coming from Mars, is a million to one, he said! But still, they come! 😉

[@nolaj114]

​@@drwoo6090Then came the night the first missile approached Earth.

[@Mcfly3595]

Virtual insanity is in my top 20 song/video list. It is timeless + I did really fancy Jay Kay back in the day 😊

[@nicw5574]

Such a great song, my favourite of theirs though is Little L. I remember Jay Kay being on Top Gear, as the star in the reasonably priced car. He got a really fast time racing the car around the track and I think he kept the top speed for ages.

[@fayesouthall6604]

This is a top tune! Very very prescient! It’s based on acid jazz. J Kay was originally signed to Acid Jazz record label. Acid Jazz is a British genre of jazz

[@philiprowney]

13:40 - In American Gladiators it's called a Travelator, it's where we got the word from, you guys.

[@Floyd1138]

I saw them live in the tramway in Glasgow in the 90's. It was an old tram depot. After leaving the stage they had to walk along a kind of gangway about 20 feet high which went round the edge of dance.floor. As they approached i shouted to JK give me your hat,.... he took off his large hat, he had a beanie underneath it,...yes 2 hats on stage lol.... he threw the navy blue beanie down. My friend caught it as he was taller but gave me it coz i had asked for it. It was totally soaking wet, it had the band logo on a small label....... i wore it for years afterwards, after i had washed it of course lol.

[@LordRogerPovey]

Jay Kay's love of fast cars is apparent in his official vid for 'Cosmic Girl'

[@wulfgold]

I think it's worth checking the radiohead video too - I've got the Jonathan Glazer box set of his music videos, which is a pretty cool package.

[@VelvetVoice]

Definitely! I've got that excellent DVD package too - it was released at around the same time as the Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry ones, wasn't it?

[@wulfgold]

@@VelvetVoiceWorks of a Director series - turns out there's 7 different I've got the Cunningham, Corbijn and Glazer - come with a nice book too :)

[@tonibaker3823]

love jamiroquai

[@pyrrhrick3339]

Dude that director also did 'Sexy Beast' - amazing film, you should check it out (one of Sir Ben Kingsley's best roles)

[@VelvetVoice]

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! (Sorry, I'm using all caps for emphasis on just how intimidatingly brilliant Kingsley was in that film).

[@yzolakitchi]

For anyone in need of an interesting parallel to musings on life underground - E.M Forster's short story THE MACHINE STOPS written in 1909 is incredibly futuristic in terms of how we communicate and vegetate in 2024! Well worth a read.

[@nicw5574]

28 years old!!!! Well that's me feeling really old 😳 Personally I wouldn't go underground if it snowed. I love snow and we don't get nowhere near enough here in the South West, but then we don't tend to get Florida weather here, so it's not such a shock to the system 😄

[@22seanmurphy]

A brilliant brilliant artist and i never new it was the walls moving 🍻🍻

[@steveconnolly8869]

The “things are big that should be small” is referring to GM foods

[@MARKSTRINGFELLOW1]

The three most snowy cities in the world are in Japan

[@jennifergibbard8782]

Dolly the sheep was the first cloned mammal and born in 1996. Not sure if that influenced the lyrics.

[@KC-gy5xw]

What a CHOON. A classic. 30 years ago?!! Damn... The jazzy, his mum was a jazz singer, so that will come out in Jay's music. Pretty much like Van Morrison actually..

[@fayesouthall6604]

His mum had a great voice but more known as a comedian and Impressionist.Had her own BBC show.

[@VelvetVoice]

@@fayesouthall6604 Well, I never knew that... ** promptly disappears down another KZbin rabbit hole **

[@ThisTrainIsLost]

Check out the mall under downtown Toronto.

[@watchreadplayretro]

F-A-C-E :) I admire their work (greatly) but at that time in my life it was the B sides and the remixes (only the good ones) that they did that really capitaved me and got me running to Our Price to buy the singles in their 'brand new release' time period (half price always!) This was fascinating, thanks to OP and to you JJ for adding your extra depth as always!

[@Ayns.L14A]

Sexy beast is an excellent movie..well worth checking just for Ben Kingsley's performance......

[@jennd9091]

Apparently he confused Sendai with Sapporo - the actual underground place.

[@emcr1]

If anyone doesn't want to feel even older than they do after seeing that that came out 28 years ago, dont have a look at the wiki page for 'list of uk top 10 singles in 1996' 🤣 Was definitely a lot more variety back then.

[@britishknightakaminininja1123]

If you were a fan of sci-fi, you were always aware of the ideas of AI and genetic manipulation. Remember, the original Star Trek was made in the 60s and had episodes that talked about humanoid races being made or modified way back then and featured the talking, fully interactive ship computer. And that was for mainstream TV audiences. Hardcore sci-fi books were way, way in advance of that. Remember the Morlocks of the future in Huxley's famous "Brave New World" (1931) and that it was inspired by books such as "The Time Machine" from H.G. Wells from the 1890s? Meanwhile Asimov's "I, Robot" is put together from short stories of the 1940s and 50s. These ideas are way, way older than you think. Stories of humans 'tinkering' with reality are far, far older, just not tied specifically to the discovery of electricity - try Shakespeare's "The Tempest", which, of course, eventually became the classic Sci-Fi movie "The Forbidden Planet" (featuring Robbie the Robot)...

[@steveconnolly8869]

JK’s nickname was “the cat in the hat” lol

[@DanPyjamas]

It's jazzy because they were an acid jazz band 🤣

[@watchreadplayretro]

Also, I must be the only one that hears a sad story about a man gone insane talking too much about the dark future (more like a ranting of conspiracies, to me the lyrics are about madness fearing the future more than a warning of the future) backed up by the look of a padded cell corridor in the video. But yep this seems to be only me with this interpretation of it all.

[@stevenpirie8199]

Jay k is from wealthy parents

[@siancolburn5163]

No he isn't. He had a single mother who sang cabaret and travelled. His identical twin died as a baby. He was homeless by 15 yrs old.

[@FabriceLEQUEUX]

hello very hansome and good singer unfortunately in france we have no more news him unfortunately hi ;;;;;fabrice🎃🎃

[@Hannah-pk6iq]

Not sure if this is true because mt ex husband was a .... but he told me that they literally stole all their musicians from other bands

[@khum3175]

Going underground in a country that has earthquakes is not that clever!!!

[@nolaj114]

I feel claustrophobic just thinking about that! 😬

[@gmdhargreaves]

In the 90’s, early 2000’s I looked the same as JK, was great for getting girls but got annoying being stopped on the street all the feeking time

[@helenab7390]

Wow you remove comments? Oh ok bit of critisism not always a bad thing.....didnt realise positive comments only

[@helenab7390]

But ok....

[@sallycostello8379]

We used to call him The Pratt in the Hat 😂

[@robertobrien5709]

Never heard anyone say that, just everyone liking him and his unique style.