Besides Asides

Born in a Cent are an indie rock band in the best way possible - a band that actually rocks (instead of a meandering sense of self-importance set to notes and chords) with a strong D.I.Y. ethic. A good point of reference would be Ted Leo's output, they combine elements of punk rock, folk, soul and even a little ska. They wrap all that up with some nifty dudette/duder vocals and a sweet overtly lefty political stance. I had the chance to catch them at Fest this year as well and they are some really nice folks and put on a quite charming live show. If this sounds like your bag (and why wouldn't it be?) you can download their lovely 2010 album Who Called This Beautiful? from their bandcamp page on a PWYC basis including free. Check it out:

http://borninacent.bandcamp.com/

Jeff Ott's Fifteen was always more about the message than how that message was delivered. Fifteen took the gruff pop punk of his previous band Crimpshrine but stripped away much of the nuance and rhetorical devices of the lyrics but also tightened up the playing an the melodies. If this means nothing to you think of a musical love child between early Green Day and Propagandhi. One of my favourite releases from Fifteen is the There's No Place like Home (Good Night) EP. The record opens up with the exclusive song "Sun Song" which starts off with a laundry list of brand name products and how the speaker of the song needs said product when strung together like this it has a wonderful effect of highlighting the ridiculous nature of consumerism. What follows as the bulk of the CD was split into two 7" singles, Ooze and Ain't Life A Drag. Both 7" are out of print as well which is criminal as they contain some of Fifteen's best songs from their mid-90's period which in my opinion is their strongest, but it does allow me to post this EP guilt free. The rest of the exclusive stuff is an audio zine by Jeff Ott that runs about a half hour dealing with addiction and it is quite gripping. The record ends with an acoustic version of "Welcome To Berkeley" which also appears in another form on the Lucky LP, but this version is so heartbreaking it is not to be overlooked. Enough jabbering, here is the album: