Our Lady Peace - Heavyweight

This song (and the whole Curve album) was inspired by the retired Canadian boxer George Chuvalo. Chuvalo fought between 1956 and 1979 and was only knocked down twice in 93 career fights. He fought boxing legend Muhummad Ali twice, once in 1966 and then again in 1972. Ali was unable to knock Chuvalo out and called him "one of the toughest guys I ever fought." Our Lady Peace liked Chuvalo's spirit both inside the ring and out and decided to write songs that embodied that same spirit. An old picture of Chuvalo throwing a punch serves as the cover of Curve.

The Band Perry - If I Die Young

Kimberly Perry told The Boot about this cut: "That song works on so many levels and means different things to different people. It was just one of those songs that you felt like was meant to be on planet earth. We were just real humble to have the pen and paper in hand when it was ready to come, and for us it is a statement of contentment. We finished that song and just looked at each other and said, 'How cool is this that we were able to put feet to our dreams?' So many people work so hard for so long and for whatever reason are not able, or don't have the opportunity to access their dreams. So for us it was a statement of you know what, if it all ends at this moment for whatever reason even at our young ages, we've gotten to live and love so well and so completely. And that's what it means to us."

Marilyn Manson - No Reflection

Manson stated in an interview with NOVA while touring Australia in early 2012 that the video for the song would contain segments shot with "never before used technology" stating that he has a friend that "works for National Geographic".

OneRepublic - Good Life

Ryan Tedder's lyrics are actually about a trip he took to London. But the OneRepublic frontman knew to have a hit he'd have to make it more universal and also something he could relate to, since he would have to sing it every night. "I'm not thinking, 'Let's write something that's going to make the kids dance,'" he told Radio.com. "You have to write something that you want to sing every night. So the hardest part with every song, personal and universal, kind of getting that balance."

Linkin Park - Burn It Down

Mike Shinoda was asked to explain the song's meaning during an interview with KROQ's Kevin & Bean. He replied by directing it back at the band saying, "Kinda like what we do in pop culture, we build somebody up to be the next great thing then we like to destroy them at the end of the day. And, we've lived through that so I think there's a lot of personal energy that went into the connection of that story."

Cee Lo Green - Fuck You

You may have thought the inspiration for this song was a heartbreaking lady whom upset "The Lady Killer." However, Green disclosed the hit came about as a result of creative differences with his label, Elektra Records. "I did 'Fuck You' to be an asshole, to be spiteful toward the label," he said. "Because it had taken about three years to do The Lady Killer, and I just felt that after recording almost 70 songs I could not please them."

The Cranberries - Tomorrow

This is the first single from the Roses album. The song finds frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan reflecting on how we should follow our instincts more and was inspired by real-life concerns of parenthood and mortality. "It's about the way we sometimes hyper over-escalate things in our minds, overthink things when sometimes spontaneity and just jumping in is better," she explained to Billboard magazine. "Tomorrow you might not have that moment back again. So it's really about moving on and also about kind of looking at the younger generation and how they worry about all kinds of silly things. They don't think they're silly, but when you're older you know better."

Kent - 999

Kent is a Swedish alternative rock band. In Scandinavia, they are often compared to bands like U2, Coldplay and Depeche Mode. Kent briefly attempted an international career with English versions of the albums Isola and Hagnesta Hill and an accompanying American tour for the former, but they gave up after failing to achieve the breakthrough they had hoped for.

This is the verse repeated at the end of the song:
"The 999 things that I would never do
They are weighed up by 999 worse things I have done
The 999 things that I would never do
They are weighed up by 999 worse things that I have already done"

Keane - Silenced By The Night

Keane keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley explained to MTV News that the song provides a good starting point to the album. "It does the job of a single pretty well in that it's a simple introduction to the themes of the album - the journey we all go on chasing our dreams, trying to navigate the bumps with a bit of grace, trying to hold on when things get really rough," he said.

Katie Melua - Better Than A Dream

A great song from the Georgian-born, British singer Katie Melua, from her fifth studio album Secret Symphony. The song was written and originally recorded by Mike Batt whose version was used as the closing credits theme of the 1990s animated series, The Dreamstone.

Snow Patrol - This Isn't Everything You Are

Frontman Gary Lightbody explained the song's meaning to The Sun: "It's three stories in one - each verse is a different person in my life that was going through a difficult time. Then the chorus is about trying to explain that everything isn't as bad as it might seem."

Lightbody told Billboard magazine that he wrote this song "to try to protect" the three people experiencing difficulties, adding that he wanted, "to show them that there were people there for them whenever they needed. Sometimes it's hard to reach out, it's hard to ask for help. It's a recurring theme on the record."

 

Skrillex - Bangarang

This energetic banger is the second single and title track off Los Angeles electronic producer Skrillex's fourth EP. The song features the vocals of Sirah who gives a lot of shouts to all her "lost boys." The rapper also features on another Bangarang track, "Kyoto."

John Mayer - Shadow Days

Mayer broke up with Jennifer Aniston in March 2009, after dating her for ten months. He continued to retain strong feelings for the actress, and its been suggested that the singer penned this as a "goodbye letter" to his former girlfriend. A source told US Weekly: "'Shadow Days' is about Jen. It really took him a long time to get over her. He really loved her a lot. He wrote the song as a farewell letter knowing [Jen] would hear it. Ultimately he's done a lot of self reflection though and he realizes they weren't right for each other."

Hurt - How We End Up Alone

The first single from The Crux album, "How We End Up Alone", was released through iTunes on January 3, 2012 and peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard 20. The Crux was released on May 1, 2012, and peaked at Number 75 on Billboard 200. This was the highest Billboard placement in the band's history.

Guns N' Roses - Patience

This song was a trendsetter in its use of all-acoustic instrumentation. This song made it safe for hard rockers to display their sensitive, vulnerable sides in a more understated way rather than utilizing the power ballad format.

Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko

This song takes place in a dance club, and describes a girl who is a temptress. It seems that guys are not her preference, as we find out in the line: "if what they say is true, your a boy and I'm a girl, i can never fall in love with you."

Garbage - Blood For Poppies

"The song is meant to feel sort of like an abstract dream," said frontwoman Shirley Manson. "The inspiration came from a story I had read in Los Angeles Times about the opium trade and also from watching the documentary Restrepo. It's not literal in any sense whatsoever but it's a song about disorientation and delusion and the human struggle to stay sane in the face of insanity." 

Eve 6 - Here's To The Night

This song is about a one night stand, but it was commonly misinterpreted as a nostalgic song signifying the end of something special. As a result, it was was often played at school graduation ceremonies.

Republic - Sose voltál, mindig vagy

You were never, you're always...

David Bowie - Starman

Woody Woodmansey was the drummer in Bowie's backing band, The Spiders From Mars. In 2008, he spoke to Uncut magazine about his impressions of this song: "I love 'Starman' as it's the concept of hope that the song communicates. That 'we're not alone' and 'they' contact the kids, not the adults, and kind of say 'get on with it.' 'Let the children boogie': music and rock 'n' roll! It lifted the attention away from the depressing affairs in the '70s, made the future look better. 'Starman' was the first Bowie song since 'Space Oddity' with mass appeal. After 'Starman,' everything changed."

Counting Crows - Untitled (Love Song)

In an era when Alternative Rock and Hip-Hop were polarizing Top-40 radio, Counting Crows fit the Pop middle ground with their traditional, rootsy sound. Many stations put them in hot rotation (along with another Crow: Sheryl), since they had a sound that was contemporary but unlikely to alienate core listeners. This is one of their songs from 2012.