The Arrested Development Playlist: 10 Songs To Get You Through the Wait

We’ve waited seven years for Arrested Development to return. Now we’re down to a handful of days. Here’s a playlist of songs to celebrate TV’s most hilariously dysfunctional family. Some are directly used in the show. Others remind of our favorite characters and one unlikely song (and album) title was even inspired by the Bluth clan’s antics. They’re guaranteed to get you through the final countdown.

1. “The Final Countdown” – Europe
Cue the smoke and mirrors. Gather around the Aztec tomb, it’s time for some magic tricks, err sorry, we mean illusions! Alliance approved of course.

2. “Marry Me” – St. Vincent
Annie Clark has admitted to naming this song (and her debut album) after Maeby’s catch phrase of choice. Sure beats “Babysit me!&#8221

3. “Afternoon Delight” – Starland Vocal Band
Whatever you do, don’t get caught singing about midday trysts with your uncle. Nothing says incestuous karaoke better than the first song in the book.

4. “Beach House” – The Mountain Goats
While this song was written over a decade before Arrested Development even premiered, it might as well be re-titled “The Ballad of Buster Bluth.” Given these choice lyrics, we’re sure the boy with a hook for a hand would agree. “The seal is a wily and a vicious creature / and the seal will bite you if you give him half a chance / yeah the seal has a mind set on violence / and the seal is the sworn enemy of man.”

5. “Baby C’mon” – Stephen Malkmus
What do Gob Bluth and Stephen Malkmus have in common? A love of the same frustrated grunt. And they both look pretty damn good while saying it, though we doubt Malkmus is clad in a $7,000 suit. Altogether now: C’MON!

6. “Hey Brother” – Beulah
With lyrics that match Buster Bluth’s greeting of choice, sunny psych-pop also happens to be the perfect music to give soundtrack awkward back rubs.

7. Otis Redding – Lucille
A song for Buster’s mom, girlfriend and attacker, all rolled in one. “Loose seal, please come back where you belong!”

8. “Blue” – Eifel 65
It’s a color Tobias is far too familiar with. Dabba dee-a daaba da.

9. “Big Yellow Joint” – Jimmy Jane
One of the few original songs created specifically for the show, the catchy jingle serves as a perfect reminder that there’s always money in the banana stand.

10. “White Collar Boy” – Bellle & Sebastian
The madcap antics of white collar criminals on the run from the law not only make for one of the greatest comedies of the 2000s but also one of the poppiest songs of Belle & Sebastian’s career.