A Place in the Sun (Lit album)

A Place in the Sun
Studio album by Lit
Released	February 23, 1999
Recorded	1998
Studio	NRG Studios, North Hollywood, California
Genre	Pop-punk [1] power pop [2]
Length	45:16
Label	RCA Dirty Martini
Producer	Don Gilmore Lit
Lit chronology
Tripping the Light Fantastic (1997) A Place in the Sun (1999) Atomic (2001)
Singles from A Place in the Sun
"My Own Worst Enemy" Released: February 8, 1999 "Zip-Lock" Released: September 28, 1999 "Miserable" Released: January 2000

A Place in the Sun is the second studio album by the American rock band Lit, released on February 23, 1999. ^[3]

Release

Produced by Don Gilmore, the album was released on February 23, 1999 by Dirty Martini and RCA Records. It was the band's first release through a major label. The song "No Big Thing," which appeared on their previous album Tripping the Light Fantastic , was re-recorded for this album, and eventually appeared on the auto racing video game Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing .

The song "Quicksand" appears on the Clockstoppers soundtrack from 2002.

On December 9, 2013, the band announced on its Facebook page that it would perform a special 15th anniversary show for A Place in the Sun, when the band would play the entire album from start to finish on February 28, 2014, at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. ^[4]

A digital expanded edition of A Place in the Sun containing live versions of "Four" and "Quicksand," an acoustic version of "Down," and the B-side "Money," was released in 2020 in celebration of the album's 21st anniversary. ^[5]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
College Music Journal	favorable March 29, 1999 (p. 25)
Robert Christgau	C [6]
Melodic	[7]
NME	(4/10) [8]
Wall of Sound	72/100 [9]

The album peaked at #31 on the US Billboard 200 chart and #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Three singles from the album were released: "My Own Worst Enemy", "Zip-Lock," and "Miserable." A Place in the Sun has been certified gold by in sales by the RIAA in the United States on June 21, 1999, and later certified platinum by the RIAA on October 27, 1999.

The first single from A Place in the Sun, "My Own Worst Enemy," reached #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart for eleven weeks, reached #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and reached #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "My Own Worst Enemy" was certified double platinum by the RIAA on May 8, 2020, 21 years after the single's release. The album's second single, "Zip-Lock," peaked at #11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and #34 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. "Miserable," the third single from the album, peaked at #3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, #29 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and #17 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

A Place in the Sun received mixed reviews. Leslie Matthew in AllMusic described it as "an album that is sonically more focused, but it also unfortunately makes the band sound like replicas of a dozen of their post-grunge contemporaries: neither Better Than Ezra or Less Than Jake". ^[2] At NME , the songs "My Own Worst Enemy" and "No Big Thing" were described as having "a hook as sharp and persistent as a leech". It went on to say, "Gonzoid trash fun maybe, but how we got from The Dead Kennedys to here remains a mystery." ^[8] NME listed the album as one of "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". ^[1]

The album was a massive influence on Eve 6's Horrorscope (2000), Good Charlotte's Good Charlotte (2000), American Hi-Fi's American Hi-Fi (2001), The All-American Rejects' Move Along (2005) and Zebrahead's Broadcast to the World (2006). ^[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by A. Jay Popoff and Jeremy Popoff; except "No Big Thing," written by Jeremy Popoff. Additional lyrics on "The Best Is Yet to Come Undone" are written by Danny Peck.

No.	Title	Length
0.	"Hidden intro track"	1:38
1.	"Four"	3:21
2.	"My Own Worst Enemy"	2:49
3.	"Down"	3:43
4.	"Miserable"	4:16
5.	"No Big Thing"	2:32
6.	"Zip-Lock"	3:32
7.	"Lovely Day"	4:06
8.	"Perfect One"	4:09
9.	"Quicksand"	3:18
10.	"Happy"	2:50
11.	"The Best Is Yet to Come Undone"	4:30
12.	"A Place in the Sun"	4:20
Total length:		45:16

2020 Digital expanded edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Quicksand" (Live at Woodstock, 1999)	3:30
14.	"Four" (Live at Woodstock, 1999)	3:06
15.	"Down" (Acoustic version)	3:46
16.	"Money"	2:59
Total length:		58:37

Note

• The hidden into track in the pregap that can be heard by rewinding the CD before track 1 is included as part of track 1 on digital editions.

B-sides

• "Bitter" – 3:30
• "Money" – 2:59
• "Down” (Acoustic version) – 3:46
• "Snowblind" – 4:06

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. ^[11]

Lit A. Jay Popoff – lead vocals Jeremy Popoff – guitar, Moog synthesizer, backing vocals Kevin Baldes – bass Allen Shellenberger – drums Additional musicians Don Gilmore – handclaps (7), backing vocals Michael "Elvis" Baskette – handclaps (7) Larry Williams – saxophone (10) Reggie Young – trombone (10) Gary Grant – trumpet (10) Jerry Hey – trombone (10) Niels Bye Nielsen – Mellotron (8) Management Ruta E. Sepetys – management

Production Don Gilmore – producer, engineer at NRG Studios Bruce Flohr, Ron Fair – A&R direction Patty McGuire – A&R relations Matt Griffin – assistant engineer Daniel Mendez – editing, engineer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, Cameron Webb – assistant engineers George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound Brian Malouf – mixing at Pacifique Brian Young – mixing assistant Produced by Don Gilmore and Lit Artwork Brett Kilroe – art direction Kalynn Campbell – illustration Jon Gipe – band photography Dennis Hallinan – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for A Place in the Sun Chart (1999) Peak position US Billboard 200 [12] 31 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [13] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for A Place in the Sun Chart (1999) Position US Billboard 200 [14] 106

Certifications

Certifications for A Place in the Sun

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [15]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [16]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA) [17]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

Citations

1. "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". NME.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
2. "A Place in the Sun - Lit". AllMusic .
3. "Billboard". May 8, 1999.
4. "Lit". Facebook. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
5. Crone, Madeline. "Behind the Song: Lit, "My Own Worst Enemy"". americansongwriter.com. American Songwriter. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
6. "CG: Lit". Robert Christgau . Retrieved February 19, 2017.
7. Wippsson, Johan. "Lit - A Place in the Sun". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. "Album Reviews - A Place In The Sun". NME . June 26, 1999. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
9. Remstein, Bob. "Review: A Place in the Sun". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 6, 2001. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
10. Sayce 2014, p. 36
11. A Place in the Sun (CD booklet). Lit. RCA. 1999. 07863 67775-2.
12. "Lit Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
13. "Lit Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
14. "1999: The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. December 25, 1999. pp. 20–45. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
15. "Canadian album certifications – Lit". Music Canada . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
16. "British album certifications – Lit – A Place in the Sun". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
17. "American album certifications – Lit – A Place in the Sun". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved November 7, 2021.

Sources

• Sayce, Rob (June 2014). Bird, Ryan (ed.). "Hall of Fame: A Place in the Sun". Rock Sound (187). London: Freeway Press Inc. ISSN   1465-0185.