Despite the increasingly worn-down veneer of what “work” is supposed to “mean” in a post-COVID world, Billie Eilish, that ever-increasingly normie Gen Zer/goy toy, has taken it upon herself to revitalize a certain trope about what it is to be a “loser”: not having a job. Or at least not some sort of soul-sucking enterprise that pays enough to participate in basic social scenarios (like “coupling”). This discrimination, of course, is directed at her no-good ex. And while it might be a classic go-to insult—particularly for women against men (when they’re not using the small dick line)—perfected by the likes of TLC via “No Scrubs,” it seems as though, by now, it should come across as a rather narrow-minded disparagement. One that has no place amidst any generation calling itself a part of the future as opposed to being hopelessly tethered to the past.
So it is that Eilish, in addition to playing Twister in the video for “Lost Cause,” has proven herself a bit boomer-esque by repeatedly throwing out the jibe, “I know you think you’re such an outlaw/But you got no job.” This feels a bit harsh coming from someone partying in the middle of the day (and we all know it isn’t a weekend), but whatever. Eilish clearly counts her own artistic pursuits as “greater than” because she gets paid for them. And if this song is, in fact, inspired by the man viewers vaguely came to know in The World’s A Little Blurry (which it very likely is) as Q, then Eilish should perhaps take into account that not everyone can be groomed from the age of fourteen by a record label willing to “nurture” talent (a.k.a. make sure they cash in later on their investment). And Brandon Q. Adams a.k.a. 7:AMP is no exception.
Thus, let jobism be defined as a philosophy that “does not question conventional economic definitions of ‘productive,’ so does not differentiate between necessary or unnecessary work, or harmful and beneficial work.” To Eilish, like the rest of the vanilla soft serves in this world, a man with an “adequate” (read: high-paying) profession—presumably whether in the arts or not—would possess one less major thing for her to critique about him. And since Eilish is a supposed feminist, then surely that sentiment must extend toward women who can’t seem to get a “correct” job either. In which case, generally calling those who cannot “make it work” (read: adhere to the social conventions dictated by capitalism) in terms of being “gainfully employed” a “lost cause” doesn’t exactly smack of being the “woke” feminist Eilish imagines herself to be (and certainly not what can also be referred to as “guidance counselor material”). Barring, of course, her bid for body positivity… while also dressing up in slimming, skimpy corsets and seeking to emulate an Aryan aesthetic.
As previously mentioned, TLC once declared that a scrub was a guy who “just sits on his broke ass,” but in Eilish’s context, the case of scrubbery being described doesn’t seem as severe. Rather, it appears she’s simply trying to make this person feel like shit for not wanting her because he, unlike Billie, can’t get paid for “being an artist.” Then there are the icky white girl privilege implications at hand that would allow her to make these accusations (against a Black man) without herself knowing the full extent of how goddamn difficult it is to get a job.
Furthermore, what ever happened to the evidently quaint sentiments of a single like “Can’t Buy Me Love,” in which John Lennon declared, “Say you don’t need no diamond rings/And I’ll be satisfied/Tell me that you want the kind of things/That money just can’t buy/I don’t care too much for money/Money can’t buy me love.” Clearly, Billie ain’t the girl for this deceased boomer. For she’s too busy feeding the machine that perpetuates the bourgeois concept of love, always necessitating the use of money—and plenty of it. Because those frivolous décor items for a shared apartment in Los Feliz aren’t going to buy themselves. Nor are the trinkets ostensibly required to prove one’s devotion.
In addition to borrowing from what Gen Z sees as an “irrelevant” generation—no, not millennials, but Gen X—by adapting the “No Scrubs” lyrics for white girl consumption, this is also Eilish’s version of Destiny’s Child’s “Bills Bills Bills.” Except it’s pretty evident that buying a guy flowers and having him act disinterested about it isn’t exactly tantamount to paying for his life.
Still, Eilish knows she must hit this (bad) guy where it hurts. And if not his nuts, then his dignity. Systematically trying to strip it away with her judgment about his financial shortcomings. Something most people have regardless of what their gender or career pursuit might be. So despite this “girl power” anthem being intended as an amusing little ditty to help women get over being slighted (by instead turning to each other for various forms of stimulation), it’s actually another boon for the government and corporate fat cats who want to keep us all forever shackled at their desks and in their factories. Because Heaven forbid we as a society actually try to de-normalize the insane expectations of jobism and the absurd priorities it elevates. All to the benefit of Eilish mocking those who can’t quite succeed from the cushioned perch of her ivory (no skin tone pun meant), sleepover-friendly tower.
