Jamiroquai / YMMV - TV Tropes

Awesome Music:
- Admit it, the only reason most people even admit to watching Godzilla (1998) is for its soundtrack, and "Deeper Underground" is regularly cited as one of the best tracks on it.
- "Virtual Insanity" is quite the Ear Worm, with the funky piano and drum-led instrumental acting as a base for Jay Kay's smooth vocals. Is it really any wonder it became such a meme?
Ensemble Dark Horse: If there's any member of the band that receives attention outside of Jay Kay, it's their original, immensely talented bassist, Stuart Zender.

Friendly Fandoms: Music-wise, many fans have gotten into Jamiroquai's music because of Persona 5, with many comments on Jamiroquai music videos exclaiming how much they sound like Persona 5. This is because Persona 5's soundtrack is heavily rooted in the "acid jazz" genre that Jamiroquai popularized, and Persona composer Shoji Meguro explicitly identified Jamiroquai as an influence on the soundtrack.
Glurge: As if Jay Kay's Braids, Beads and Buckskins fetish wasn't bad enough on its own, they actually show a Crying Indian in the video for "Too Young to Die" right when Jay Kay sings "you make my people cry". Owtch...
Hilarious in Hindsight: One theme of Virtual Insanity revolves around the rise of Artificial Intelligence and how people can be virtually manipulated into saying or doing things they never said. In 2023, overlapping with the "dancing, walking, rearranging furniture" meme described below, AI covers of songs using various models of other people became popular, and one clip of them featured Jay Kay singing the spoofed lyrics.
I Am Not Shazam: Jay Kay being the band's face has had such a butterfly effect that there are some who believe that Jamiroquai is his actual name, and that he's a solo artist. Obviously, this is not the case, but it does have a somewhat understandable reason.
Memetic Mutation:
- "Canned Heat" became this when it was used in the film Napoleon Dynamite for the lead character's awkward dance.
- "Dancing, walking, rearranging furniture" ^Explanation
- Jay Kay sliding and reaching towards the screen ^Explanation
Never Live It Down: In 2002, Jay had a confrontation with a paparazzo which resulted in damage to his car. He was captured intimidating a paparazzo who may or may not have been responsible, who subsequently punched him. This incident, whilst it didn't destroy his career, put a lot of people off him and is still brought up in YouTube comments. Although he's not referred to the incident since, Jay has said that during this period his cocaine addiction was at its worst, and he has since cleaned up.
Suspiciously Similar Song: "Wolf In A Sheep's Clothing" is instantly reminiscent of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive". To an extent, "Alright" borrows from Idris Muhammad's "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This" as well.
Values Resonance: "Future's made of virtual insanity." And twenty-five years into the future, the omnipresence of the internet thanks to the social media boom has, indeed, led to more and more people experiencing their fair share of insanity in virtual spaces. It's gotten even more insane than it has back in '96 when "Virtual Insanity" was first released in the advent of cryptocurrency causing chip shortages and NFTs negatively affecting the environment, so in essence, people's lives have become, "governed by this love we have for useless twisting of our new technology."
Visual Effects of Awesome: "Virtual Insanity" didn't win a 1997 MTV Video Award for nothing. The most awesome thing? It's not a moving floor. It's a moving set! Actually building a set with a moving floor would've cost a fortune, so the whole thing was just 4 walls and a ceiling on rollers and a camera mounted stationary, being pushed around by a crew as the director ordered, while Jay Kay danced around inside (notice how the edges of the room occasionally wiggle). Metal rods could be pushed out to attach the chairs to the walls as needed.

YMMV / Jamiroquai

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