I DON’T Wanna Buy Anything is the title of a song from my new album, John Bangi Blues, that rallies against the crass marketing of goods that I have absolutely no need for.

Marketing is such a prevalent part of our modern lives to the point that (students even major in it at universities) we forget the larger culture that spurred it: consumerism. Marketing and its sidekick advertising combine their superpowers to conjure desires and wants we never thought we had.

What emerges are materialist values that eventually we come to accept as just a “natural” part of everyday life.

For a cheapskate like me who refuses to be conned into subscribing to a “premium” Spotify or YouTube account, I am constantly interrupted by annoying ads that appear out of nowhere. 

It’s a small price that I’m willing to pay akin to swatting an annoying fly over rojak under a breezy tree.

In spite of this, we love our consumerism in Malaysia – the usual serene mid-afternoon ennui of my neighbourhood in Bandar Baru Bangi is often broken by PosLaju trucks reversing and delivery bikes buzzing in the day time during these CMCO times. 11/11 may have just passed but fret not if you missed that, today is Black Friday – rejoice for another round of serious shopping.

No darn virus can get in our way – thank heavens for the holy trinity of the internet, online shopping and speedy delivery warriors.

There’s a materialist assumption most make in which we are defined by what we own in our name and this drives the demand and production of goods that we don’t necessarily need but strangely want or desire to have and own.

One example is to look at how we treat gifts to children – a common anecdote I hear is that most children become more infatuated with the box or packaging of a toy or gift they receive rather than the actual toy or gift itself.

My children do the same. You’ll be amazed at how children have a greater capacity to be amused by mundane everyday objects rather than some fancy toy that increasingly costs an arm or leg to purchase.

What we yearn as adults is essentially a semblance of the sense of wonderment with experiences – even the word “experience”, “lifestyle” and “play” have been hijacked by the Man.

Don’t believe me? Take some time and look around at the big billboards or buntings that litter our urban and suburban landscapes.

Think about all the rubbish that piles up in landfills – they’re the over-abundance of packaging emptied of its good and rendered useless (except geniuses who capitalise on recycling or waste).

There are real consequences to buying stuff that we fancy, but not necessarily need and in this age of online shopping where it’s getting way too convenient to shop at the swipe of our fingers without getting off of our butts, we should take some time off to reflect our modern consumerist condition.

So it’s interesting that sometime in 1992 in Canada, Vancouver artist Ted Dave founded the first Buy Nothing Day – the question posed was simple: can you stop buying for just one day per year? It’s an interesting celebration of the rejection of consumerism and overconsumption.

It’s also a moment to reflect on our buying habits and rituals. Buy Nothing Day eventually changed its original date in September to November (against the wishes of its founder to become a reaction to Black Friday in North America – the mad dash shopping day before Christmas where people go mad with consumption.

The alternative proposed by the subsequent movements inspired by Buy Nothing Day was to start buying locally and supporting local economies as opposed to buying or consuming products by multinational conglomerates.

What the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred is the increase in a bustling local economy as people struggle to make ends meet due to job losses or dramatic decreases in incomes.

Buy Nothing Day 2020 falls on this Saturday, November 28, so if you want to flaunt your consumerist stripes, do it for one day at least by supporting local economies and cottage industries. Ignore those large corporations that vie for your precious attention with their fancy marketing and pseudo-Yasmin Ahmad advertisements.

You, my friend, are worthy of something better and meaningful. Spend within your means and mean well when you spend by supporting locals (hint: the #sapotlokal hashtag).

Don’t just buy anything, buy something you need. It’s ok once in a while to spoil yourself – hold back the instant gratification just for one day.

I’m celebrating Buy Nothing Day by launching a lyric video of the song I mentioned earlier on my YouTube channel and a livestream concert on my Facebook and Instagram pages at 3pm on Saturday – to commemorate the video launch.

Don’t worry, it’s all free and I won’t make you buy anything – although tipping is always welcomed. It’s a small voluntary price to pay for your precious attention that I’m trying to steal away from marketeers for one day. – November 27, 2020.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.