Like many musicians who came of age in the 1980s, Foo Fighters bandleader Dave Grohl grew up a Prince fan—dazzled by The Purple One’s shapeshifting songwriting and proficiency on multiple instruments. So Grohl was blown away when he received an offer to jam with this all-time legend—an encounter that resulted in them cranking out Led Zeppelin in an empty arena.
The story dates back to the spring of 2011, when Prince staged a 21-night residency at The Forum in Los Angeles. Grohl was naturally psyched about the experience, so he gathered some friends and braved the traffic to attend one of the shows. "We get in this big party bus, like 20 people, so by the time we pull up to The Forum, I’m hammered," he told the Recording Academy / Grammys. "We get to the Forum and go up to the little VIP club thing, and our security guy…who also worked with Prince, comes up and says, 'Hey, he knows you're here. He’s going to call you up to jam.’ I was like, 'No, no, no. I’ve had one too many already. I’m not going up there with Prince like this. Anybody else in the world, I would jump up on stage and make a mess. But Prince? No way."
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After the concert, Grohl was told Prince wanted to meet, so he opened a curtain to find both Prince and percussionist Sheila E. "I’m just like [mimes mind being blown]," he said. "My '80s brain exploded." Prince and Grohl coordinated a good time to jam on the following Friday, and management passed along Grohl’s phone number directly to Prince. "I sat with that phone in my hand for a week, on vibrate—sleeping with it near my head, the whole thing—waiting for him to call, and he never called," Grohl recalled. He eventually showed up to The Forum, then empty, when Prince emerged ("all of a sudden, just like that SNL skit with Maya Rudolph") to ask, "You wanna jam?"
The Foo Fighter took his place behind the drums as Prince’s band joined in, with The Artist on bass. Prince gave Grohl some serious props, telling him he had a "heavy foot"—which prompted a stylistic shift. "Then he picks up a guitar and starts playing 'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zeppelin," Grohl said. "And it was awesome. It sounded so good. It was amazing. We do that for like eight minutes, and I'm like, 'Oh, god, this is the best band I've ever been in in my life." Prince invited him to come back the following week and recreate the magic, but it wasn’t to be: "I never saw him again! I had a school fundraiser. The end." (Grohl’s story was featured in an all-star tribute special, Let’s Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute To Prince, which aired on CBS in 2020—four years after the musician’s death.)
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This cinematic jam was clearly a career highlight for Grohl, but this wasn’t the only time they spent in each other’s orbit—creatively, at least. Back in 2003, Foo Fighters released a cover of Prince’s 1984 song "Darling Nikki" as the B-side of their single "Have It All." (Despite not being an official single, it wound up hitting No. 15 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.) As of this writing, the band has played it live 18 times over the years, including at the Grammy tribute event.
Prince even returned the favor, braving the rain at the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show to play Foo Fighters’ "Best of You"—complete with a killer, Jimi Hendrix-styled guitar solo. "Why the hell would he play one of our songs when he's got a million hits?" asked a puzzled Grohl during an interview with Howard Stern. "His version was so much better than ours, it made me want to never play that song!"
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21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.