Fifteen was a punk rock band featuring constant bandmember Jeff Ott, with t… Read Full Bio ↴Fifteen was a punk rock band featuring constant bandmember Jeff Ott, with the rest of the line-up changing from album to album. Fifteen was born out of the ashes of Bay area (Berkeley, CA) punk rock icons Crimpshrine back in 1989.

Fifteen released their first record in 1991 on Lookout records. It was singer/guitarist Jeff Ott's vision to create music that didn't just rock, but had something important to say as well. After four records on Lookout, two on Grass Records, three on Sub City Records, and three more on indefinite self-published labels, Fifteen were viewed as the leaders in the political-punk music scene. They tackle such burning issues as homelessness, drug abuse, needle exchange, environmental destruction and the government's use of counterintelligence measures to violate activist's civil rights. Fifteen first broke up in 1996 after the self-released "extra medium kickball star."

They reformed in 1998 and released Hush and Survivor then disbanded 2000 with Jeff Ott stating that the anti-commercial DIY ethics of punk rock made it too expensive for him to have a band while raising a family.

The band had a total of fifteen members during its existence: Jeff Ott, Jack Curran, Mikey Mischief, Mark Moreno, Jean Repetto, Lucky Dog, Chris Flanagan, John Ogle, Jessie Wickman, Joe Cable, John Quintos, Scott Pierce, Jim Prior, Lisa D. and Vanessa Bain.

Parking Lots
Fifteen Lyrics

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We need parking lots and we need shopping malls
Otherwise we'll die
We need more cops and more guns to keep us safe from armed gangs-
Or we'll surely die

We need cable TV to keep the kids in line
Turn off our mind-to kill some time
We need nuclear power and children with 6 eyes

We need to mutate-so the species will thrive

We need global welfare, bombs falling everywhere
And peace will come to me there when there's no one left to fight anywhere.

And god will roll down from the clouds and gosh I'll be so proud
'Cause I'll be the inner and god will take me up to heaven for dinner

Overall Meaning

In Fifteen's song Parking Lots, the band challenges the concept of consumerism and the "American Dream" by highlighting the alarming dependence on materialistic goods and the destruction of nature that comes with it. The lyrics present a bleak portrayal of the future, suggesting the need for parking lots, shopping malls, more cops, and more guns to keep us safe. The band seems to be highlighting the issues of overconsumption and the looming threat of global disaster.

Fifteen goes on to suggest that we need cable TV to keep the kids in line, turn off our minds and kill time. The band uses a sarcastic tone in the song, as they call for nuclear power and children with 6 eyes, indicating that the human race has lost its way and is heading towards self-destruction. The chorus speaks of global welfare and bombs falling everywhere, and how peace will come only when there's no one left to fight anywhere.

The last lines speak of god rolling down from the clouds, and how the singer will have made it through chaos to be taken up to heaven for dinner. It is almost as if the band is saying that we have destroyed the Earth beyond our own salvation and can only be saved through divine intervention.

Overall, Parking Lots is a social critique of the pitfalls of consumerism, dependence on technology, and materialistic tendencies that can only lead to the decline of the human race.

Line by Line Meaning

We need parking lots and we need shopping malls
We desire an urban life with desirable features like parking lots and shopping malls

Otherwise we'll die
Without modernization, we cannot or will not survive

We need more cops and more guns to keep us safe from armed gangs-
Our society requires strengthened law enforcement and military

Or we'll surely die
Otherwise, our civilization will crumble

We need cable TV to keep the kids in line
The media is essential in determining children’s behavior

Turn off our mind-to kill some time
Watching entertainment media can be a meaningless time-waster

We need nuclear power and children with 6 eyes
We crave advancement, but this can jeopardize our ecology and genetics

We need to mutate-so the species will thrive
Humanity must evolve to survive in a rapidly changing world

We need global welfare, bombs falling everywhere
We require universal aid to provide peace during the global conflict

And peace will come to me there when there's no one left to fight anywhere.
Humanity seeks peace by all manner of means, including disastrous conflict

And god will roll down from the clouds and gosh I'll be so proud
There is an unproven belief in a higher power that will resolve our problems

'Cause I'll be the inner and god will take me up to heaven for dinner
The artist is sure that they’ll ascend to heaven when they meet their ultimate fate

Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC

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