My Record The Eternal Boombox Turns 3

Grief, Music and Eternity

Hi everyone,

Three years ago today, in the thick of the pandemic, The JuJu Exchange released our second project, The Eternal Boombox EP. This was a tender creation to share with the world because we were reeling on a societal and personal level: COVID was sweeping the nation and our bassist Lane had recently left the band. We decided to put out this 5-track EP to help our listeners and ourselves move through the 5 stages of grief that the Kübler-Ross theory outlines: Shock/Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.

Though “And So On…” is technically the track corresponding to the death stage, it is also the track we chose to be the background music for the entire EP. Video done by OJ Hays.

We called the EP The Eternal Boombox EP because of a conversation about death my brother Nova Zaii (aka Everett) and I had about death a few years prior to 2020. Back in 2017 or 2018, we were working on our celebratory single Jubilee in the studio and for some reason I remember telling Zaii that when I’m dying on my sickbed decades from now, come play music for me. (Music is widely welcomed as a form of palliative care.) Zaii responded that he’ll put an eternal boombox in my grave. We all laughed hysterically at the brilliance of his immediate response, and decided to make a song called Eternal Boombox (that ended up featuring the incredible Tank and the Bangas).

The name “The Eternal Boombox” speaks to how we were caring for people amidst the valley of death the world was navigating. Unlike the time in the studio for Jubilee, the pandemic was a time when no one was laughing about the deathbeds that they couldn’t sit near because of COVID restrictions. But the intent behind Zaii’s original comment held over to our hope for the EP - to comfort people in our new unfolding process of loss.

Intent on trying to reach people when we couldn’t be with each other, we created a YouTube 360 world and VR Chat to house the music in virtual reality spaces. (VR Chat only works if you have one of the VR headsets such as an Oculus. That said, I encourage you to check out the YouTube 360 videos and move around the room as the song plays.)

The album artwork itself has an infinity sign in the middle of the room over a reflecting pool and then a portal at the end of the room. The thought was to acknowledge that grief is perpetual and that there is a world beyond it. I love how this artwork, designed by Nova Zaii in partnership with the artist Sombie, opens up theological questions about eternity. For instance, it’s dope to think about heaven as an eternal boombox, where we sing God’s praises forever (e.g., Isaiah 6, Rev 14:3).

It can be scary to move towards death, but music can help us process our own mortality and the mortality of others. No matter where you are in the dance of life and death, I pray you can find music to help you keep moving. My faith grounds how I hear this music of life: God too has grieved the loss of the dearly beloved, yet through Jesus stands with us in the glimmer of hope that death is not the end. Amen.

abundantly,

Julian

P.S. The Fellowship is on and popping. This we talked about the gift of Sabbath as a note of rest. Shout out to the 15 folk who have subscribed! A special gift is coming once we hit 25.

Coming up:

Candler School of Theology Notes of Rest Class - 6 weekly sessions October 9