Useless twisting of our new technology (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago by merari42@lemmy.world to c/microblogmemes@lemmy.world

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[-] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago

Yeah it's not about the Internet and virtual reality or fax machines etc, it was about overpopulation and ecological collapse among other things.

The song was inspired by a trip to an underground city in Sendai, Japan if you read Wikipedia. In the late 90s Japan was a gadget obsessed place with neon signs and screens packed into places like Sendai. Japan had industrialised rapidly over the 20th century and gave the impression of a thriving technology and manufacturing industry.

It was seen as a futuristic place by people from the rest of the world when they visited. Of course in reality Japan was in the first of its "lost decades" of stagnation that's run from the early 90s to now.

[-] Klear@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Yeah, sure. I suppose next you're gonna say that The Return of the Space Cowboy is not about the movie Serenity.

[-] e8d79@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 months ago

Underground city in Sendai? Did they get radicalised by visiting a shopping center connected to the subway?

[-] protist@mander.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

Besides not meeting its capitalist expectations, how have Japan's "lost decades" impacted its people, and how does that impact differ from that within comparable nations that had continuous economic growth during that same time (e.g. the US, Europe, Australia, and South Korea)?

[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 months ago

political radicalization. in the past 100 years Japan has seen:

hypermilitarization
hyperfascism
hyperbombs
hyperdepression
hypercolonialism
hyperindustrialization
hypercapitalism
hyperrecession

and a lot of people want to know if there will ever be an end to everything being so damn extra all the time, or if Japan is simply expected to burn itself out working. and as is always the case when the people start askrng these questions, there's a rightwing reaction promising to restore Japan to the glory of an imagined past

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[-] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 months ago

Overworked, or refusing to work at all. No one's having sex. Their economy is further collapsing, their population is converging to the point of a death spiral. No one can afford to have a family.

They still like tech in Tokyo and pump out anime, though.

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

TIL "gaff" is UK slang for your house or home.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 points 2 months ago

And a fuck up.

Gaffer is a boss.

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago

That’s gaffe though.

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 2 months ago

I don't know why people say that English is hard it all makes perfect sense.

[-] Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 2 months ago

We tried to cover it with my band, but it sounded really boring. Upon listening closely to it, I was surprised by how minimalist it actually is. I mean there's barely anything on the track! Some piano, some strings, and drum and bass of course.

It was a happy surprise to find that it's one of those songs that are carried by the pure energy of the vocalist, which makes it very tricky to cover unless you go a very lateral route and "re-genre" it.

[-] Psythik@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Well we could start with a name...

[-] Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's so strange for me, having been born in 1988, to hear someone not know who this guy is, and this song.

I fully understand that it's been just about 30 years since this came out, and there are multiple generations of kids that will never have heard it that are fully grown adults now.

Its just that this song was not only massive, one that everyone knew, but it lived on way past its release date, it was played on radio, tv, used in films and tv shows (silicon valley is a recent one of note). The same band also had a meme based on the film "napolean dynamite" with the song canned heat, which the main character did a dance to that made it into games such as world of warcraft and fortnite.

The band is a part of pop culture, and despite it all, there are still places in the world where people dont know instantly what this picture is from and who that is.

I get it. It just boggles my mind how vast the world is. Even 10 years ago there were people living in the north west of england asking who the beatles were. (Beatles are from liverpool in the north west of england and liverpool is littered with beatles murals, staturs and that kind of shit) its insane that anyone could not know who they are.

But hey ho. Just thinking out loud.

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 2 months ago

Well it's possible people have heard the song and just not know where it is from. I've seen the music video in muted online clips about film production, but I don't think I've ever actually heard the music.

I don't think I've ever heard the music and the video together at once so I wouldn't have made any connection. Assuming that you have heard the music because I have no idea what it would even sound like.

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago

Also, little kids are going around in Nirvana t-shirts, so they can can all the “before my time” natter.

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[-] Frostbeard@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity

https://youtu.be/4JkIs37a2JE

[-] hellfire103@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 months ago

Don't forget Radiohead releasing Planet Telex in 1995, then OK Computer in 1997.

[-] DistrictSIX@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Then your mind will literally explode if you listen to "Computer Love" by Zapp & Roger, released in...... 1985!

[-] SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago

Also, System Addict by 5 Star was 1985 IIRC

[-] normalexit@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

I'm walking into spiderwebs, so leave a message and I'll call you back.

[-] mrfriki@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Looks like the The Expanse main character throwing a hat party inside the Rocinante.

[-] swizzkillz@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

😂🤣

[-] espentan@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

I'd been texting for a couple of years when this came out, and had just logged my first full year working as a web developer. The next 5 years or so felt amazing, hardware and software was improving so quickly on all fronts.

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[-] MilitantAtheist@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

I miss the old internet. Usenet was magic.

[-] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

Ah, convergence. In retrospect, it seems obvious that the Web would just get extended to do all that stuff. The part that was harder to predict was corporations taking over all the platforms. I guess I just waited to believe that everything would stay democratized.

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

ASCII pr0n anyone? [nsfw]

[-] MilitantAtheist@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Magic

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[-] frenchfryenjoyer@lemmings.world 3 points 2 months ago

Oh jfc teletext.. now that's a blast from the past. used to love reading it lol

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah sometimes I wish the internet had never been invented and we all just kept using teletext.

[-] cout970@programming.dev 2 points 2 months ago

Reminds me of Serial Experiments Lain, an anime released in 1998 that talks about the power of social networks and how companies will compete to gain control of the internet. Some of the predictions are outstandingly good.

[-] Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago

I don't know that I've ever actually registered any of the lyrics within this song, save for "vurchahwuhh insayynatyy!"

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago

JK was inspired to write the song after he spent all night exploring a web ring - all of which were GeoCities sites with an “under construction” animated gif.

[-] ThePyroPython@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Was born in 1996, please can someone tell me who's this? I'd like to listen to them. Thank you.

[-] NickwithaC@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

You NEED to watch the video: https://youtu.be/4JkIs37a2JE

[-] Yondoza@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

I really love this cover of virtual insanity.

https://youtu.be/ZTDcdRTziMM

I know it's almost unrelated to the discussion because you're talking about the music video, but how often is Jamiroquai brought up?

[-] olosta@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I remember my mind being blown away by a TV segment that explained how the practical effect was achieved.

[-] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 months ago

Not sure if this is the video you're referencing, but it explained it for me: https://youtu.be/MzwY7ii582Y

[-] dellhiver@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's Jamiroquai.

This video is for: "Virtual Insanity".

The video to : "Automaton" is also worth a watch in my opinion.

[-] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

While you're checking out the video for virtual insanity, also check out the one for Canned Heat, another great tune and another great video from Jamiroquai. I was only a kid then, but I'd turn on MTV in the morning before school to watch videos back in like 97-99, and these videos popped up every so often, and they had a lasting impact.

Check out also the Wikipedia article on Sterno, sometimes referred to as Canned Heat, because people would drink the shit to get fucked up and would ultimately die, and the coroner would rule it a death by canned heat.

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[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago

It’s your real dad.

[-] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 1 points 2 months ago

[-] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

I remember the that summer. Always wanted a Jamiroqoi hat

[-] mastod0n@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Hah, one of those coincidences.

Just 2(?) weeks ago Virtual Insanity popped up on stream and I wondered if Jamiroquai are prophets now or the song is just way younger than I remember

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this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025

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