“Did you know Big Boi loves Kate Bush?” I croaked on the phone to my boyfriend Chris in between bouts of hacking up a lung.
By then I had been in bed for three days fighting some heinous respiratory/headache/fever combo sent up from the worst parts of hell or the airport at Thanksgiving, depending on which you think is worse. Of the things that got me through, besides lemon-mint cough drops and hot cereal, my favorite was my repeated trip to Amoeba Music’s YouTube Channel for their What’s in My Bag? series.
For the uninitiated, California’s legendary independent record store Amoeba Music—with locations in Berkeley, Hollywood, and San Francisco—has been producing what’s now a Webby Award-winning YouTube series called What’s in My Bag? for 18 seasons, starting some 16 years ago. In each video, which is usually less than 15 minutes, artists from across the cultural spectrum—musicians, actors, comedians, and directors among them—choose items from Amoeba to put into one of the store’s famed tote bags, then discuss their collections for the camera, thereby answering the series' eponymous question. Amoeba then plays sound and video clips of everything so you can hear and see what’s going on, too.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Chris and I first stumbled upon What’s in My Bag? many years too late, (a few weeks ago to be exact), and I was instantly taken with it, making notes on my phone about all these different artists I liked anew, or for the first time. I remember a while ago Spotify sent some notification that people tend to stop listening to new music around age 33. While my first thought was, “Ugh, rude,” because that was probably an age I was approaching at the time, I took it to heart. Whenever I notice I’m stuck in my own modes I try to expand, at least a little. As Chris played different videos, I let Marc Maron recommend me Free and their guitarist Paul Kossoff; let Matt Berry recommend me Tennis; let Pom Pom Squad recommend me Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. I was hooked. When I ended up in a swirling sinus-and-body-ache tornado this week, I sat enraptured again, video after video. At my core I am still a curious little knowledge beast (read: journalist), even when I am coughing my chest into the next millennium. Because I could sit there and not only listen to great music but learn for pleasure, I was able to find some joy amidst all the throat lozenges.
In the same way that Architectural Digest’s home tours give us insight into who a person is, so too does What’s in My Bag? And in an age where all of us, whether we know it or not, are struggling for human connection, What’s in My Bag? offers this in a way that’s wholly accessible. While not all of us will be able to custom-design the mansion-on-the-lake of our dreams, for example, it may be significantly easier for us to visit Amoeba and go shopping, to even pick up one of the albums or books or movies or t-shirts we see in the series. It is a slightly more down-to-earth version of "aspirational." It also humanizes these seemingly larger than life stars, asking both them and us to remember that for a few minutes everyone involved here is just a person with tastes formed by the lives we’ve lived.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
A longtime music nerd, my education began in record stores not unlike Amoeba–RIP Fort Lauderdale’s All Books and Records and Radio-Active Records—and I’ve always held fast to the idea, as many have, that we can learn so much about people not just by looking at their taste in music, but listening to how they talk about it. One of the many things Amoeba’s series does so well is it lets these artists share kernels of themselves when they tell stories about how they came to a particular musician, book, or film–where they were when they heard it the first time, why they love it, who showed it to them, what they’ve shared with their families, and more.
Among my favorite moments in the videos I watched was Big Boi, of OutKast fame, waxing poetic about his love of British songstress Kate Bush. Praising her for her poetry and innovation, he also shared that he was introduced to her by his uncle. “Music supposed to evoke emotion and make people feel a certain way, whether it’s happy or sad or [it makes] you think, so I love Kate Bush,” he says, as the singer’s operatic voice plays behind him. Another was the lovely Flea in a video with writer and producer Amy-Jo Albany (daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany) talking about a box set of music by the gifted, eccentric pianist Glenn Gould playing Bach orchestrations. After taking two years off of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to study music, Flea had discovered a love of Bach, he said, and found in Gould his favorite Bach pianist. I loved listening to Alice Bag talk about rad Xicano musicians and rock and roll gals she admired and got a great reminder from Orville Peck to listen to more Bobbie Gentry. And saints preserve us, what an education from Nick Waterhouse on jazz, R&B, and bebop from the 1950s and 1960s (plus, he talked about Jackie Shane, who I had just written about for this very site; the video was five years old, but still...exciting!).
I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s prone to feeling isolated when they’re sick. Watching What’s in My Bag? made me feel like I had company, maybe in the same parasocial way that podcasts make us feel like its hosts are our friends. I had headaches and backaches and coughing fits, but for a few minutes at a time they didn’t have to be the center of my universe. I was able to take a break from 101.8 degree-fever reality and instead imagine what I would look for at Amoeba, what treasures its vast spaces held in store for me. Maybe Chris and I could make What’s in My Bag? videos of our own there (do they have non-famouses like us doing that all the time now?) and cross our fingers they wouldn’t kick us out before we finished. One day I’ll have the tote bag in my sights. I’ve already started my list.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
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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.