Steven Page has said the song was partly inspired by "Back to the Old House" by The Smiths.[citation needed] While some[weasel words] have misinterpreted the lyrics to mean that the man in the song is stalking an ex-girlfriend and breaks into her apartment to terrorize her, Ed Robertson has said that this is definitely not the case.[2] The person in the song and his girlfriend are still together and happy, having "bought an old house on the Danforth" (Danforth Avenue in Toronto). However, he goes back to visit "the old apartment" "where we used to live", and winds up breaking in to reminisce. Although recalling "broken glass", the "crooked landing, crooked landlord", and other disadvantages, he nonetheless feels nostalgia for "fading memories / blending into dull tableaux".
The song drew a notable level of attention in the U.S.[citation needed] Priestley also invited the band to play the song at the fictional night club "The Peach Pit After Dark" on his series Beverly Hills, 90210. With some isolated exceptions, this was the band's first break into the American market, which continued with their next release, a live version of "Brian Wilson" from the certified-gold album Rock Spectacle.[citation needed] The live version of "The Old Apartment" from that album was included on later American radio singles as a B-side option for stations.[citation needed]
The studio version of the song has two main versions: the original album version and a radio mix, which was a completely new mix of the song. Notable differences in the radio mix, besides a completely new audio mix, include an 8-bar instrumental intro and in Page's noticeably filtered vocal bridge. A 1995 demo version also appears on the compilation album Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before.
