Song · Barenaked Ladies
“The Old Apartment” by Barenaked Ladies
From the album Born on a Pirate Ship (1996)
“The Old Apartment” by Barenaked Ladies appears on 10 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1996 and 2023. It was first released in 1996 on the album Born on a Pirate Ship. Its best result is #27 on the WBER Listener Countdown 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #99 alternative song of 1996 and #4,318 alternative song of all time.
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Barenaked Ladies put "The Old Apartment" on Born on a Pirate Ship in 1996, and it gave the Canadian band their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Steven Page and Ed Robertson wrote it, Page naming the Smiths' "Back to the Old House" as a partial inspiration, and Page sings it with a wound-up yelp over his own electric guitar, Robertson's pedal steel, Jim Creeggan's electric upright bass and Tyler Stewart's drums, with Michael Phillip Wojewoda producing alongside the band.
Some listeners heard a stalker breaking into an ex's place. Robertson says no: the narrator and his girlfriend are still happily together in a house on Toronto's Danforth, and he just breaks into their old place to wallow in memories. Jason Priestley, a fellow Canadian and a fan, offered to direct the video, which earned a Best Director nomination at the 1997 MuchMusic Video Awards.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 32 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 | 99 |
| 1996 | 27 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 1996 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 103 | WHFS | WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) | 500 |
| 2000 | 81 | Y100 | Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) | 100 |
| 2001 | 327 | WBRU | WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) | 500 |
| 2005 | 686 | 99X | 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) | 1000 |
| 2020 | 390 | DC101 | The DC101 Top 500 | 500 |
| 2021 | 909 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 313 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2023 | 159 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
Also listed as: Old Apartment.
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