25 Years Later And It's Still Mind Blowing How Jamiroquai Made This Music Video

I don't want to be a cheap fuck but it's music video week at Barstool Chicago so expect some mileage on the topic. Monday was the draft and my history lesson on Thriller. Today we circle back to focus on the top honorable mention left on my board: Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai. I wasn't sure how strong the culturally obscure optical illusions would resonate with the crowd so I decided to punt and circle back with a blog. It's the least I could do for the 1997 MTV VMA Video of The Year. You read that right. VIDEO OF THE YEAR. 

Who is Jamiroquai? An English funk/acid jazz band (a real genre) that broke out in the mid-90's on the heels of this song. To some, maybe a one hit wonder. To others, probably not good enough to play twice. But ultimately it was good enough to win a 1998 Grammy while dominating MTV airwaves for most that treasured 1997 summer. And why did they break out? 

One amazing trippy music video. 

And the special effects? Limited to say the least: 

Director Jonathan Glazer chuckles as he reveals that there was nothing ”virtual” about his methods. ”No computer trickery was used,” he says. ”What we did was put the whole set on wheels and attach the camera to one wall. The furniture also had little wheels, and we had guys moving the set and the furniture [outside of the frame]. The floor never moved. It was like a magician’s trick.”

Moving walls. Something to think about for your next Tik Tok. 

Go listen to this week's draft on YouTube