Boomers often assume these references are universal—timeless, obvious, self-explanatory. Millennials hear them and nod politely, the same way you do when someone explains a dream that only mattered to them.

Some songs feel like diary entries accidentally left on the radio. “In The Air Tonight” is one of those rare tracks that sounds less like a hit single and more like a private meltdown set to echoing synths and a famously delayed drum fill. By the time Phil Collins released it in 1981, he wasn’t trying to reinvent pop music—he was trying to survive the wreckage of his personal life. What came out instead was a haunting anthem that turned private heartbreak into public mythology and permanently fused Collins’ name to four minutes of restrained fury.

Country music has never been short on heartbreak, sin, or scandal—but for decades, it preferred those topics safely filtered through male voices. Then Loretta Lynn showed up and started singing about women’s lives the way women actually lived them. When she released “The Pill,” the genre wasn’t just uncomfortable—it panicked. The backlash was fierce, the bans were real, and the conversation she sparked never stopped echoing.

Some actresses just have it. That rare combination of talent and heart that makes them unforgettable. Apart from conquering Hollywood, these phenomenal women quietly changed lives when cameras stopped rolling.

In the 1970s, radio was full of songs people loved to complain about—some because they were overplayed, others because they were bold, obvious, theatrical, or even a little embarrassing. People groaned, mocked them, and secretly knew every word. Ask those same listeners today, and most would probably admit that this kind of fearless personality is exactly what modern music is missing.

Discover the strangest TV merchandise ever made, from bizarre toys and scented candles to questionable collectibles inspired by iconic television shows. This entertaining list dives into 25 officially licensed TV products so weird they have to be seen to be believed.