Rush made a lot of music that the average listener would consider "weird" in some form or fashion: lengthy prog epics rooted in fantasy ("The Necromancer"), mutant funk-metal with haunted-house spoken-word sections ("Double Agent"), intense blues-rock about hair-loss anxiety ("I Think I’m Going Bald"). But the strangest moment in their catalog is a left-field rap verse from 1991.
By that point in their storied career, the Canadian trio were always searching for new forms of inspiration. They’d expanded into synthesizers and experimented with styles like reggae and New Wave, but flirting with hip-hop probably took most fans by surprise. The song in question is "Roll the Bones," the title track and second single from their 14th LP—and the famous verse arrives out of nowhere, amid the band’s heavy riffs and synth stabs, with singer-bassist Geddy Lee pitch-shifted way, way down. Decades later, it’s still a trip to hear him grumble out lyrics like, "Just the facts / Gonna kick some gluteus max" and "You better run, homeboy."
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In a Roll the Bones radio special, drummer-lyricist Neil Peart said this section began as a "lyrical experiment." "I was hearing some of the better rap writers, among whom I would include LL Cool J or Public Enemy," he said. "Musicality apart, just as writers, it was really interesting, and it struck me: 'It must be really fun to do that! All those internals rhymes and all that wordplay.' That's meat and potatoes for a lyricist—stuff you love to do and can seldom get away with being so cute in a rock song.' So I thought, 'Well, I’ll give it a try.'"
Peart initially submitted his lyrics to Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson without the rap section, only pitching his other idea later on. Once approved, they thought about recruiting an outsider for a cameo, from "real" rappers to singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson (The Band) to comedy legend John Cleese (Monty Python). But none of those options felt quite right. (The latter, they decided, might be distractingly funny—"[F]rom the musicality and longevity factors, that would have gotten tired quickly, you know? That’s the trouble with jokes.") Eventually they settled on the "low frequency" strangeness of their bassist’s effects-treated voice.
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Lee, speaking to Canadian Musician Magazine in 1991 (as transcribed by the fan site Cygnus-X1), admitted they had a hard time figuring out the right tone. "The lyrics were written very much in concert with contemporary rap music: the way the words react against each other and the structures form more in sympathy with what's going on in a contemporary rap way," he said. "To a degree we are having fun with that. We couldn't make up our minds really if we wanted to be influenced by rap or satirize it, so I think that song kind of falls between the cracks and in the end I think it came out to be neither. It came out to be something that is very much us."
While "Roll the Bones" is rarely ranked alongside Rush staples like "Tom Sawyer" and "2112," its lighthearted energy made it a staple of many future tours. According to Setlist.fm, the band played it live 384 times—and that included a prominent feature on their final tour in 2015, complete with a celebrity video featuring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, and Peter Dinklage, among others.
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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.