The only things I ever did in my parents' basement were lose to my dad at ping pong an embarrassing amount of times, play Mickey Mousecapade on my Nintendo Entertainment System, and film a collection of irritating vignettes with my friend James Petix--long before he became a documentarian and noted man about town--entitled James' World, as it was closely modeled after the Wayne's World, a popular SNL sketch at the time. I played 'Matt," a screechy-voiced goofball with a penchant for sexually molesting Barbie dolls. I also played 'Cranberry Bob,' a Santa Claus-wannabe wrapped in wooden cranberry garland, who during his one and only appearance backhanded 'James,' Petix's character, in the face with a string of fake cranberries; 'Roger,' a high society character lifted from a middle school acquaintance who, I learned later in life, lifted it from Gilligan's Island; and a rock musician who performed a song about not wanting to do his own laundry. The show was permanently cancelled after my parents found out that several scenes were shot on a neighbor's trampoline.
I wasted my childhood basement. Randolph Chabot, AKA Deastro, on the other hand, took advantage of his. He crafted hundreds of original songs in his parents' basement, 10 of which were selected to appear on a 'best of' album called Keepers, one of which you are about to hear right now!
Common misconception: Deastro is not a transforming robot from outer space. He's just a guy. Don't worry.
70. "One More Suicide" (Marcy Playground)
You're welcome to refer to Marcy Playground as a 'one hit wonder' if you must, just don't do it around me. If you're having a Marcy Playground discussion with a group of friends and I come sauntering by, drop it to a dull roar, all right? Granted, "Sex and Candy" made the biggest splash--one could argue the only splash and one would, in fact, win this argument--but Marcy Playground's eponymous first album is full of splash-worthy gems: "Sherry Fraser," "A Cloak of Elvenkind," and this charming ditty about death and sadness. Someone should've told Christopher that it gets better.
Reasons why I love Marcy Playground and their first two albums, Marcy Playground and Shapeshifter:
-the number of times and style in which lead singer, John Wozniak, utters the word "yeah."
-most of the songs are easy to play, which is great for a 15-year guitar amateur like myself.
-songs about sex, candy, elvish cloaks, and super hero squirrels are awesome.
71. "The Moon Theme" (Ducktales for NES)
There's no use denying it: The beloved "Moon Theme" from the Ducktales video game is one of the finest achievements in epic 8-bit music makery. Yoshihiro Sakaguchi wrote the highly regarded tune and the rest of us just soaked it in while Scrooge McDuck hopped around on his magical pogo-cain. Seriously, for a geriatric Scottish duck, that guy could effing bounce.
72. "Hard to Be" (David Bazan)
Hi. Want an insight into my views on organized religion--particularly Christianity--and the religious themselves? Look no further than this rather straight forward assessment written by David Bazan and performed here live in all its gorgeous, stripped down glory.
Favorite lyrics: "Wait just a minute, you expect me to believe that all this misbehaving grew from one enchanted tree? And helpless to fight it, we should all be satisfied with this magical explanation of why the living die and why it's hard to be...a decent human being." AND "Child birth is painful. Toil to grow our food. Ignorance made us hungry. Information made us no good. Every burden misunderstood." AND ... it's all my favorite, all right? Just listen to it!
73. "Old Blind Bartimaeus" (The Bishops)
Lest you think I am a godless heathen, you should know that I have a special place in my musical heart for Southern gospel music, particularly when it is sung a cappella by three weird looking brothers and their even weirder looking old man. Keep in mind, I discovered The Bishops two years after I discovered Nirvana. I have eclectic tastes, and that makes me super cool. That's all I'm saying.
