24 years after its release, the indie rock collective’s 2002 track has become a nostalgic chant for adolescence — marking the group’s first-ever gold-certified single.
“Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me.”
That's part of the hypnotic bridge of “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl,” the breakout 2002 single from Toronto indie band Broken Social Scene — and it has just been certified gold by Music Canada.
The certification means that the song has moved 40,000 units — between on-demand streams, digital download and physical single sales. While the indie group has secured multiple gold-certified albums, “Anthems” is the band's first single to go gold — 24 years after its release.
As one of the group’s biggest hits on 2002's You Forgot It in People — which was gold-certified as an album back in 2008 — the track is a haunting ballad featuring ethereal vocals from band member Emily Haines (also of Metric), who leads the song, singing from the perspective of a woman looking back on her final year before adulthood.
The emotional track immerses listeners into a lo-fi dream-pop world, with repetitive, distorted vocals that create a melancholic soundscape that builds into a dramatic crescendo before dissolving. Released on the group’s 2003 album,
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You Forgot It in People, the song helped propelled the sprawling band into Canadian indie music fame.
“Anthems” isn’t the only enduring hit from the 2003 album. A decade after its arrival, ”Lover’s Spit” got a special shout-out from New Zealand singer Lorde on her Pure Heroine track “Ribs.”
Still, the former has taken on its own identity, proving to be universally comforting to listeners over the past 20 years. Back in 2010, it was featured on the soundtrack of the Toronto-centred film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, while actresses Meryl Streep and Tracy Ullman joined the group on-stage to sing the moody tune 12 years later. Most recently, Singapore singer-songwriter Yeule covered the track for the indie flick I Saw the TV Glow in 2024, scoring over 48 million streams on Spotify.
Last year, Broken Social Scene paid homage to their second record, releasing a reimagined version of You Forgot It In People, with covers from some of today’s biggest indie artists. Singer Maggie Rogers and duo Sylvan Esso put their own spin on “Anthems” for the project, still capturing its brooding essence.
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The group shared the news of the single going gold on social media, with a statement of gratitude for their audience: “We hope this song has been there for you when you needed it. Thanks for listening 🖤," they shared alongside video footage of the song being performed live over the years.
Anthems is officially GOLD in Canada! We hope this song has been there for you when you needed it. Thanks for listening 🖤 #anthemsforaseventeenyearoldgirl
In 2012, Broken Social Scene's 2005 self-titled album earned the group their second gold-certified record.
