| A Place in the Sun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 23, 1999 | |||
| Studio | NRG Studios, North Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 45:16 | |||
| Label | RCA • Dirty Martini | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Lit chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from A Place in the Sun | ||||
| ||||
A Place in the Sun is the second studio album by the American rock band Lit, released on February 23, 1999.
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 originally 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 .
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. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| College Music Journal | favorable March 29, 1999 (p. 25) |
| Robert Christgau | C [4] |
| Melodic | [5] |
| NME | (4/10) [6] |
| Wall of Sound | 72/100 [7] |
The album peaked at #31 on the US Billboard 200, Singles from the album were "My Own Worst Enemy", which reached #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart for eleven weeks, "Zip-Lock" and "Miserable". A Place in the Sun has been certified platinum by in sales by the RIAA, in the United States.
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". [1] 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." [6] NME listed the album as one of "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". [2]
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). [8]
All tracks are written by A. Jay Popoff and Jeremy Popoff, except where noted
| 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" (J. Popoff) | 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" (Danny Peck, A. Popoff, J. Popoff) | 4:30 |
| 12. | "A Place in the Sun" | 4:20 |
| Total length: | 45:16 | |
Ruta E. Sepetys – management |
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Miserable | US Modern Rock Tracks | 3 |
| My Own Worst Enemy | US Adult Top 40 | 30 | |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 | ||
| US Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 51 | ||
| US Top 40 Mainstream | 31 | ||
| Zip-Lock | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 34 | |
| US Modern Rock Tracks | 11 | ||
| 2000 | Miserable | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 29 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [12] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [13] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [14] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and post-hardcore from the mid-1980s Washington, D.C. hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands Rites of Spring and Embrace, among others, pioneered the genre. In the early and mid 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, and pop-punk bands, including Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Cap'n Jazz, and Jimmy Eat World. By the mid-1990s, Braid, the Promise Ring, and the Get Up Kids emerged from Midwest emo, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Meanwhile, screamo, a more aggressive style of emo using screamed vocals, also emerged, pioneered by the San Diego bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow. Screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.
Smash is the third studio album by American rock band the Offspring, released on April 8, 1994, by Epitaph Records. After touring in support of their previous album Ignition (1992), the band recorded their next album over two months at Track Record in North Hollywood, California. Smash was the band's final studio album to be produced by Thom Wilson, who had worked with them since their 1989 eponymous debut. This also marks the first album where Dexter Holland is credited with playing the guitar as opposed to vocals only.
Ska punk is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones, making the genre distinct from other forms of punk rock. It is closely tied to third wave ska which reached its zenith in the mid-1990s.
New Found Glory is the second studio album and major label debut by the American rock band of the same name. It was produced and mixed by Neal Avron and released on September 26, 2000, through Drive-Thru and MCA Records. Featuring a new recording of the band's breakthrough single "Hit or Miss", the album was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with shipments of 500,000 units.
Americana is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Offspring, released on November 17, 1998, by Columbia Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), the band commenced work on a new album in July 1998.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the following day in the United States. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was the last album recorded with founding member Bill Berry, original manager Jefferson Holt, and long-time producer Scott Litt. The members of R.E.M. consider the recorded album representative of the band at their peak, and fans generally regard it as the band's last great record before a perceived artistic decline during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It has sold around seven million units, growing in cult status years after its release, with several retrospectives ranking it among the top of the band's recorded catalogue.
American Idiot is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2004, by Reprise Records. As with their previous four albums, it was produced by Rob Cavallo in collaboration with the group. Recording sessions for American Idiot took place at Studio 880, in Oakland and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, both in California, between 2003 and 2004. A concept album, dubbed a "punk rock opera" by the band members, American Idiot follows the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a lower-middle-class American adolescent anti-hero. The album expresses the disillusionment and dissent of a generation that came of age in a period shaped by tumultuous events such as 9/11 and the Iraq War. In order to accomplish this, the band used unconventional techniques for themselves, including transitions between connected songs and some long, chaptered, creative compositions presenting the album themes.
The Orange County Supertones were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an independent band. The band temporarily disbanded in 2005, though reunited in 2010 to resume touring and recording before permanently disbanding in 2017. The OC Supertones were one of the first widely successful Christian ska bands.
Lit are an American rock band formed in 1988 in Orange County, California. They have released seven studio albums, but are best known for their 1999 album A Place in the Sun, which featured the hit single "My Own Worst Enemy". "Zip-Lock" and "Miserable" were also successful, leading to a platinum certification for A Place in the Sun.
Horrorscope is the second studio album by American rock band Eve 6. It was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California. The album was influenced by Lit's A Place in the Sun (1999). It was released on July 25, 2000, through RCA Records. The neologism "Horrorscope" is not actually used within the album's lyrics; though the chorus of "Sunset Strip Bitch" contains the proper word "horoscope."
American Hi-Fi is an American rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1998. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Stacy Jones, lead guitarist Jamie Arentzen, bassist and backing vocalist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan. Prior to the group's formation, Jones was well known for being a drummer in the successful alternative rock bands Veruca Salt and Letters to Cleo. American Hi-Fi has a close relationship with Miley Cyrus, whose band shares two members with American Hi-Fi. The group has a mixed musical style that includes influences from pop-punk, alternative rock, and power pop.
Tripping the Light Fantastic is the debut studio album by the American rock band Lit. It was released on April 1, 1997, on Malicious Vinyl Records. The band eventually left the record label owning the rights to Tripping The Light Fantastic, and it was reissued on the band's own label, Dirty Martini, with distribution through their then label RCA Records.
Anything is the seventh studio album by U.K. punk rock band the Damned, released by MCA Records in 1986. On the album's release, it charted in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 40, and was certified as silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Four singles were released that all charted in the UK.
"Flavor of the Weak" is a song by American rock band American Hi-Fi. The song was released as the first single from their self-titled debut album on December 22, 2000. It is the band's highest-charting single, reaching number 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaking within the top 50 in Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Broadcast to the World is the sixth studio album released by American punk rock band Zebrahead. The album was influenced by Lit's A Place in the Sun (1999). It is their first album with new co-vocalist/rhythm guitarist Matty Lewis, who replaced former member Justin Mauriello after he left the group in late 2004.
The Art of Losing is the second studio album by American rock band American Hi-Fi. It was released on February 25, 2003, through Island Records. While touring in support of their eponymous debut studio album (2001), the band wrote new songs on their tour bus. They initially recorded for the album at Sunset Sound Studio 2 in Hollywood, California, with producer Nick Launay, before moving to Media Vortex in Burbank, California, and Sage and Sound, in Hollywood of the state. It has been described as pop-punk, power pop, and rock, while received comparisons to the works of Blink-182 and Sum 41.
American Hi-Fi is the debut studio album by American rock band American Hi-Fi. It was released on February 27, 2001, by Island Records. Stacy Jones formed American Hi-Fi in 2000; later that year he went to Maui, Hawaii to record drums for Nina Gordon's debut solo album. The rest of American Hi-Fi joined Jones and recorded their debut album with producer Bob Rock at Planation Mixing and Recording. Described as a pop punk and power pop album, American Hi-Fi was compared to Blink-182, Foo Fighters, and Weezer.
Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 April 2007 by Domino Recording Company. Recorded in East London's Miloco Studios with producers James Ford and Mike Crossey, the album was preceded by the release of lead single "Brianstorm" on 2 April 2007. It was the band’s first album with new bassist Nick O'Malley, replacing their previous bassist Andy Nicholson, who left the band shortly before the North American tour of the band's debut studio album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006).
"My Own Worst Enemy" is a song by the American rock band Lit. It was commercially released in June 1999 as the lead single from Lit's second album, A Place in the Sun, which was also released that year. The song was only moderately successful at first, reaching number 17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on February 27, 1999. It later achieved mainstream success, peaking at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song's success helped A Place in the Sun to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 27, 1999, for sales of 1,300,000 copies in the United States. At the 1999 Billboard Music Awards, "My Own Worst Enemy" won the Modern Rock Track of the Year award. Its music video was filmed by Gavin Bowden in a Long Beach bowling alley. That alley was Java Lanes on P.C.H. It was inside the Famous Tiki Bar which was the home of DiPiazza's Restaurant.
All Killer No Filler is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41, released on May 8, 2001. It was certified platinum in the United States, Canada, and in the UK.
