Eternal Sunshine

Album: Souled Out (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of Jhené Aiko's favorite movies, and she includes on her Souled Out album a song called "Eternal Sunshine" and another one titled "Spotless Mind." Asked by The Fader what she likes most about the film, she replied: "I wish it was real and you could only keep the good memories in your head."

    "In a way, I sort of do that without obviously going to a clinic to get that done," Aiko continued. "After relationships, I'll gather all of this stuff that reminds me of my ex and throw it away. A good friend of mine once told me to get rid of that memory with the person. Like, if you used to go to a restaurant with this person, take someone else there and make better memories, which is really messed up but it works [laughs]. In a way, I feel like I do that so I'm not stuck in the past."
  • Directed by cinematographer and editor Jay Ahn, the video recreates a 2013 car crash Aiko was involved in along with along with her young daughter Namiko, sister Miyoko and Namiko's father O'Ryan. Mixed in between shots of the wrecked vehicles are images of the singer's friends and family, including her late brother, Miyagi, who died of cancer in 2012. The video ends with an onscreen dedication to him.

    Aiko explained to Billboard magazine. "We re-enacted the car accident that I was in. I'm ascending from my body. I basically died in this video."

    "Miyoko and Nami, my sister and my daughter... I got them to re-enact their parts," she added. "I wasn't driving in the real accident, but for the sake of the video I am. I was in the backseat."

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