MuchMusic.org – Exclusive Feature
“JCJ Tells Strombo: History Is a Stranger Things Loop”
George Stroumboulopoulos sits across from Joe C. Jukic in the neon-lit MuchMusic studio, that old electric energy humming like it used to on Queen Street. Joe leans into the mic, eyes alive with that mix of mischief and prophecy that makes Strombo smile nervously every time he interviews him.
“It’s a Stranger Things weird juju, George,” Joe begins, palms open like a street preacher who traded the pulpit for a skateboard. “History repeating itself. Cycles inside cycles. The OG Messiah, Jezu Krist, took on the Roman Empire with nothing but words and truth. No armies. No swords. Just conviction.”
Strombo nods, leaning back, letting Joe run with it — as he always does.
“And now,” Joe continues, “two thousand years later, here I am — JCJ — getting pulled into the gravitational field of the American Empire. Trump on one side, the Kennedys on the other. Those are my only political friends, man. The strangest entourage in history.”
The audience laughs, but Joe doesn’t. His tone shifts.
“But instead of filtered water and clean air, instead of helping a brother out, they try to kill your humble narrator with big pharma drugs. That’s the new empire weapon of choice — pills instead of spears. Chemistry instead of crucifixion.”
Strombo raises an eyebrow.
“So what are you saying, Joe? You’re fighting them?”
Joe shakes his head.
“No, George. I’m outlasting them. You don’t beat an empire with violence. You beat it with endurance. With suffering alongside the common people. You cannot win hearts and minds from a penthouse suite. You win them on the bus, on the SkyTrain, at the food bank. That’s the new Sermon on the Mount.”
He grins, shrugging like he knows he sounds outrageous — but also like he knows he’s right.
“It’s a loop, George. Same story, new season. Stranger Things but spiritual. The Romans tried to medicate Jezu Krist with vinegar on a sponge. Today? It’s antidepressants with warning labels longer than the Bible. Different tools, same agenda. But we keep pushing. We keep speaking. Words still win.”
Strombo turns to the camera, half-host, half-witness.
“Ladies and gentlemen… Joe C. Jukic. History’s comeback kid. And maybe its future sequel.”
The studio lights crackle.
The comment section explodes.
And Joe? He just smiles like he already knows how season two ends.