Virtual Insanity

Album: Travelling Without Moving (1997)
Charted: 3 39
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by Jamiroquai frontman Jason Kay and keyboardist Toby Smith, "Virtual Insanity" warns against the threat of insidious technology and its increasing control over humanity. Kay sings:

    Futures made of virtual insanity
    Now always seem to be governed by this love we have
    For useless, twisting, all our new technology


    "But I'll never get the credit for it," Kay tells Esquire, calling to mind his prescient concerns over third world debt and environmental issues from the group's debut album, Emergency on Planet Earth. "Just like I'll never be credited for releasing a song called 'Virtual Insanity' about genetic engineering the day before Dolly the sheep is on the front of every newspaper."
  • This song is known for its innovative music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer with creative assistance from Smoke & Mirrors founder, Sean Broughton. It shows Jay Kay dancing across what appears to be a shifting grey floor while furniture around him stays still, unless he bids it to move. While Kay looks like he's gliding along a giant conveyor belt, the trick didn't lie in the floor at all, but in the walls, which were built to move around the stationary floor.
  • The video won four (out of ten nominations) MTV Video Music Awards in 1997: Breakthrough Video, Video of the Year, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Best Cinematography in a Video.

    For his MTV performance, Jay Kay actually did dance on moving floors. Two moving walkways, going in different directions, were set up on stage to recreate the video's illusion.
  • Pop singer Austin Mahone took notes from the "Virtual Insanity" video and borrowed the moving floor concept for "Mmm Yeah" in 2014.
  • Pomplamoose, the YouTube-centric duo fronted by Nataly Dawn, combined "Virtual Insanity" with the Bee Gees disco classic "Stayin' Alive" in 2018 with a mashup that earned over 15 million views. Beyond the musical similarities, Pomplamoose felt the songs carried a similar message. "They're both about modern society's downward spiral," they posted. "Everything's accelerating at this unhealthy and unstoppable pace."

Comments: 1

  • Fartha Mucker from London It’s more than a song it’s a piece of virtue which is never going to vanish
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.