Now Take Them Out, Devils: Simon Lazarus Vasta's Getting-To-Know-You Playlist
By Simon Lazarus Vasta Hello, And welcome to Now Take Them Out, Devils. Every Wednesday, I'll be providing music coverage in the form of reviews, playlists, interviews, and concert reviews, and I thought it would be neat to kick things off with a kind of getting-to-know-you mix. It isn't representative of everything I dig, but it should give you a rough idea. Enjoy! [Listen here,](http://grooveshark.com/playlist/NTTOD1/77851059) or use the widget-thingy at the bottom of the page. 1. Come On Petunia ? The Blow Poor Aim: Love Songs (States Rights Records/Slender Means; 2004) A bright slice of summertime pop about the blurry area between teenage love and lust. Also: re-appropriates [Sting lyrics](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ) for the greater good. 2. I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Thank God) ? Talulah Gosh Backwash (K Records; 1996) For a song about how hard it is to get out of bed, Amelia Fletcher's apathetic take on the Rock'n'Roll motto is surprisingly fun to dance to. 3. Lazarus ? David Byrne & St. Vincent Love This Giant (4AD; 2012) The perfect marriage of two distinct (and distinctly New York) musical voices. And hey, there's my name! 4. Pull the House Down ? Stricken City Songs About People I Know (Kora; 2009) [Kidulthood](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kidult&defid=1260622), in song form. Unfortunately, singer Rebekah Raa grew up, and the band split in 2011. 5. We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed ? Los Campesinos! We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (Wichita; 2008) One of the best examples of Los Camps! noisy, syllable-stuffed odes to angst and romance. Twee brought to its logical conclusion. 6. Rose & Licorice ? Liars Atheists, Reconsider EP (Arena Rock; 2002) One of those rare covers that makes the original redundant. Early evidence of the band [Liars would later become](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggR6RuBh8I0). 7. I Can't Stop Thinking About It ? The Dirtbombs Horndog Fest (In the Red; 1998) Pure Detroit garage. Sludgy guitars, howling vocals and sexual menace all over the place? Yes please! 8. Another Girl, Another Planet ? The Only Ones S/T (Columbia; 1978) ["Teenage Kicks'"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAtUw6lxcis) underappreciated twin brother. Allmusic calls it ["The greatest rock single ever recorded,"](http://www.allmusic.com/song/another-girl-another-planet-mt0033260354) and who can blame 'em? 9. Doused ? DIIV Oshin (Captured Tracks; 2012) Shoegaze puts on its dancing shoes. Imagine [Slowdive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc9qO9Doa2o), but with a Postpunk groove. 10. Higher Than the Sun ? Primal Scream Screamadelica (Creation; 1991) Bobby Gillespie spent the '80s trying to recreate '60s Psychedelia, but he wasn't successful until he ditched retropastiche and started playing with House and Dub. 11. Take Ecstasy with Me ? !!! Take Ecstasy with Me/Get Up EP (Touch and Go; 2005) While [the Magnetic Fields' original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_GzdN9ouYE) was certainly danceable, !!! turn it into the floor-filler it always wanted to be 12. Wurlitzer Jukebox ? Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth (Rough Trade; 1980) It's just thirty-four words over some sparse instrumentation, and yet it's one of the most emotionally potent songs I've ever heard. 13. Super Rich Kids [Feat. Earl Sweatshirt] ? Frank Ocean channel ORANGE (Def Jam; 2012) Frank comes on like a Bizarroworld Stevie Wonder, ironically-but-not lamenting living for the suburbs. 14. You're No Good ? ESG A South Bronx Story (Universal Sound; 2000) Three teenage girls from the Bronx making mutant Funk-Punk. One of the (if not THE) most sampled acts in music. The New Yorkest band ever? 15. Anything We Want ? Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel? (Epic; 2012) 2012 will most likely be remembered as the year we all learned to stop worrying and love Fiona. A beautiful track about giving futility the finger. 16. The Opera House ? The Olivia Tremor Control Music From The Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle (Elephant 6; 1996) The Olivia Tremor Control in miniature: noisy, quirky, catchy Southern Indie-Psych. RIP Bill Doss. 17. Motion Pictures ? Neil Young On the Beach (Reprise; 1974) Young's heart-wrenching elegy for his relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress. It's a song about learning to live with sadness, rather than wallowing in it. 18. Leaving It Up to You ? John Cale Helen of Troy (Island; 1975) "We could all feel safe/like Sharon Tate." Ex-Velvet Underground member John Cale at his best and most demonic. 19. Coming Down ? Dum Dum Girls Only in Dreams (Sub Pop; 2011) I wanted to put a track from the Dum Dum's new EP, End of Daze, on this playlist, but none of them pack the punch of this classic from last year. Breaking up as sobering up; simple, but perfect. 20. Under the Westway ? Blur Single (Parlophone, 2012) Damon Albarn took a break from writing songs about London after 2006's The Good, the Bad & the Queen, but he returned to his favorite subject (and his old band) with this single, just in time for the 2012 Olympics. Simon Lazarus Vasta listens to way too much pop music and it is warping his little mind. Follow him on Twitter @Hunter_S_Narc