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 UNEMPLOYMENT
by Aaron Lake Smith (Microcosm)
2009. 6”x4” zine. 44 pages. In this thought-provoking, fun-sized zine,
Aaron Lake Smith tackles the basic shittiness of joblessness (lack of
money, lowered self-esteem and even the loss of comfort upon suddenly
losing your daily routine), but he also- more interestingly- explores the
paralyzing effects unemployment can have on one’s ability to really do
anything at all. Smith goes on to talk about how when you have a job
(especially one you’re not really into), you long for the type of free
time that being out of work would provide so you could write or make music
or travel or do whatever the fuck it is you really want to be doing. Yet
when this time actually opens up for him in the form of no job, Smith just
can’t seem to do any of these sorts of things. All he really ends up
doing is starting each day by restlessly and half-heartedly looking for
work, and then pissing away his time afterwards, maybe occasionally
breaking things up by getting drunk. Unemployment can be an especially
insidious bastard when you think of it in this way.
Right now, 10% of the
U. S. of A.
can straight up relate to Unemployment
simply because they ain’t got no jobs themselves. But you don’t have
to actually be out of work to really feel what Smith’s writing about.
He’s reluctant to accept certain job opportunities because he feels the
work itself would be a total drag and could end up trapping him in a state
of ennui and in a place he doesn’t want to be for years to come, and
this really made me think about what’s pointless and soul-sucking about
my own occupation. Yet- as Smith touches on here- I’m afraid to just
chuck it for something I might like better due to the various ill-effects
described in the paragraph above. Likewise, Smith’s thoughts about how
the artistically inclined have to come to grips with the need to create
their particular form(s) of art versus the need to settle into a job just
to exist are also compelling.
I know a bunch of people who have recently been laid off,
mostly from the company I’m still employed by. I think I’m going to
run this zine by them and get their perspectives on what Smith has to say.
I imagine they’ll agree with a lot of it. And whatever your
circumstances are, this is bound to make you think. –Ben Hunter
Suggested
listening while digesting the contents of this zine: The Neurotics’
“Living With Unemployment,” which is a great take on being out of work
done to the tune of The Members’ excellent “Solitary Confinement,”
which you should also listen to at some point, whether you’re unemployed
or not. And come to think of it, “Solitary Confinement” actually
addresses, in part, being stuck in a job you hate, which is another theme
explored here. Then just because you should, check out “Suzi,” another
fine Neurotics song, following it up with The Beltones’ absolutely
fantastic update that takes the former from a tale of love-gone-wrong in
the CB Age to a love-gone-wrong scenario in the Cyber Age. So that’s
four delightful songs for you right there, and played back to back
they’d take about the same amount of time as reading this entire zine.
And if your unemployed ass can’t afford to download these songs, I’ll
email ‘em to you. -BH
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