Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl - From "I Saw the TV Glow"

Overview
Yeule's cover of "Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl" serves as a thematic anchor for the film I Saw the TV Glow, recontextualizing the original track's themes of growing up through a lens of dysphoria, dissociation, and the digital age. While the original by Broken Social Scene captured the analog melancholy of leaving high school, yeule's version introduces a sense of digital decay, representing how memories warp and glitch over time.

The "Rotten Ones" and Identity
The lyrics describe a character who "used to be one of the rotten ones." In the context of the film and yeule's queer aesthetics, this can be interpreted as a reflection on a pre-transition self or a repressed identity. The narrator observes this figure "bleaching" away their imperfections (symbolized by "brushing your teeth" and "makeup on") to fit into a normative mold. The line "I liked you for that" suggests a longing for the raw, authentic self that is being suppressed or left behind.

The Trap of Nostalgia
The repetitive coda—"Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me"—acts as a hypnotic spell. It functions as a siren song, luring the listener (or the film's protagonist, Owen) into a state of suspended animation. It represents the dangerous comfort of retreating into fantasy, media, or the past to escape a painful reality. Instead of moving forward ("park that car"), the subject is urged to disconnect from the world ("drop that phone") and exist in a liminal space of dreaming.

The narrative of the song unfolds as a poignant observation of transformation and the shedding of a past identity. It begins with the narrator addressing a figure—possibly a friend, a lover, or a younger version of themselves—who was once part of a specific, perhaps rebellious or outcast group, referred to as the "rotten ones." There is a sense of affection for this gritty, imperfect past self ("I liked you for that"). However, this figure has changed; they have cleaned up their image, applying makeup and engaging in mundane, hygienic routines like brushing their teeth, signaling a departure from their former chaos.

As the song progresses, the narrator notes that this person is "gone" and "not coming back," having fully assimilated into a new, perhaps more socially acceptable, persona. The observation feels distant, as if watching someone drift away through the distortion of memory. The lyrical focus then shifts dramatically from observation to a trance-like series of commands. The narrator repeatedly implores the subject to cease all forward motion and engagement with the outside world: "park that car," "drop that phone," and "sleep on the floor."

This repetition dissolves the narrative into a mantra of stasis and escapism. The final request is simply to "dream about me," suggesting that in this new reality, the connection between the narrator and the subject can only exist in the subconscious realm of dreams. The relentless looping of these commands creates a feeling of being trapped in a specific moment of time, suspended endlessly between the "rotten" past and an uncertain future.

Commission and Vision
This track was officially released on March 13, 2024, as the lead single for the soundtrack of the A24 horror-drama film I Saw the TV Glow. The film's director, Jane Schoenbrun, personally commissioned the cover. Schoenbrun, who has described the original 2002 Broken Social Scene song as an obsession of their own high school years, felt that yeule was the "perfect person" to reinterpret the track for a modern, queer context.

Production and Recording
Unlike the original's communal, acoustic-heavy indie rock arrangement (featuring banjo and violin), yeule's interpretation is steeped in electronic processing. Yeule (Nat Ćmiel) recorded the track with a focus on capturing a specific "digital edge." The arrangement speeds up the melody and utilizes heavy vocal layering and glitch effects to create a soundscape that feels like a corrupted memory file or a transmission from a distant dimension. The song features prominently in the film's trailer and during a pivotal, surreal sequence involving a parachute in a high school gym.

Rhyme Scheme
The song does not follow a traditional rhyme scheme. The verses rely on internal rhythm and the natural cadence of speech (e.g., "rotten ones" / "liked you for that"). The repetition of "back" and "that" provides a loose assonance.

Rhythm and Meter
The defining rhythmic feature is the relentless, loop-based structure of the ending. The phrase "Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me" is a four-bar phrase that repeats incessantly. Yeule's version emphasizes the percussive nature of the consonants (the 'P' in park, 'D' in drop), creating a mechanical, ticking-clock sensation. The rhythm feels circular, reinforcing the theme of being stuck in a time loop.

Musical Techniques
Yeule employs glitch pop aesthetics to transform the song. The track utilizes bit-crushing and stutter edits on the vocals, making them sound as if they are breaking up over a bad connection. A vocoder or heavy harmonization effect is used to mimic the gang-vocal style of the original but with a synthetic, robotic timbre. The tempo is slightly accelerated compared to the original, giving it a frantic, anxious energy that contrasts with the sluggish, trance-like repetition of the lyrics.

Literary/Lyrical Techniques
The song relies heavily on repetition (epizeuxis) to create a mantra-like effect. The shift from the descriptive verses ("Used to be...") to the imperative commands ("Park that car...") marks a change in narrative voice from observer to hypnotist. The lyrics also use juxtaposition, contrasting the gritty image of "rotten ones" with the sterile image of "brushing your teeth" and "makeup on."

Film Context
As the lead single for I Saw the TV Glow, the song has become intrinsically linked to the film's themes of trans identity and the "egg crack" moment (realizing one's transness). The film has garnered a cult following, and yeule's cover is cited by critics as a standout moment that bridges the generational gap between the original's millennial indie audience and the film's Gen Z demographic.

Social Media
The specific refrain "Park that car, drop that phone..." has seen a resurgence on platforms like TikTok, often used in videos discussing gender dysphoria, nostalgia for lost childhoods, or the feeling of being "stuck." Yeule's cover revitalized interest in the original Broken Social Scene track, introducing it to a new generation of listeners who relate to its themes of angst and identity confusion.

The Car and The Phone
The command to "Park that car" symbolizes the cessation of progress or the journey of life. It is an invitation to stop moving toward adulthood. "Drop that phone" represents severing ties with the external world and communication, isolating the subject in their own internal reality.

"Rotten Ones"
Being "rotten" acts as a metaphor for being an outcast, a misfit, or someone who fails to conform to societal standards. In the song's context, it is reclaimed as a badge of honor; the narrator valued the subject specifically because they were "rotten," implying that the subsequent "cleaning up" is actually a loss of character.

Sleep and Dreams
"Sleep on the floor, dream about me" serves as a metaphor for dissociation. It suggests that the only place where the relationship or the true self can exist is in the unconscious state, removed from the harsh light of the real world.

"Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me"
This is the song's central motif. Its endless repetition strips the words of their literal meaning, turning them into pure sound and rhythm. It serves as an incantation, designed to lull the listener into a trance. In yeule's version, the intensity of this motif builds through added distortion and volume, rather than the acoustic build-up of the original, creating a sense of overwhelming digital pressure.

"Used to be one of the rotten ones"
This phrase recurs in the first half, establishing the central conflict of identity change. It acts as the anchor to the past before the song dissolves into the repetitive future/dream state.