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	Power pop[1] pop punk[2]
Length	45:16
Label	RCA • Dirty Martini
Producer	Lit Don Gilmore
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 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.^[4]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
College Music Journal	favorable March 29, 1999 (p. 25)
Robert Christgau	C[5]
Melodic	[6]
NME	(4/10)[7]
Wall of Sound	72/100[8]

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."^[7] 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).^[9]

Track listing

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

B-sides

1. "Bitter"
2. "Money"
3. "Down” (acoustic)
4. "Snowblind"

Personnel

Lit A. Jay Popoff – lead vocals Jeremy Popoff – guitar, Moog synthesizer, backing vocals Kevin Baldes – bass Allen Shellenberger – drums Additional musicians Don Gilmore – backing vocals, handclaps on "Lovely Day" Michael "Elvis" Baskette – handclaps ("Lovely Day") Larry Williams – saxophone ("Happy") Reggie C. Young – trombone ("Happy") Gary Grant – trumpet ("Happy") Jerry Hey – trombone ("Happy") Niels Bye Nielsen – Mellotron ("Perfect One") 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 Artwork Brett Kilroe – art direction Kalynn Campbell – illustration Jon Gipe – band photography Dennis Hallinan – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999) Peak position US Billboard 200[10] 31 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[11] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position US Billboard 200[12] 106

Singles

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

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[14]	Silver	60,000^^
United States (RIAA)[15]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

Citations

1. "A Place in the Sun - Lit". AllMusic.
2. "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". NME.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
3. "Billboard". May 8, 1999.
4. "Lit". Facebook. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
5. "CG: Lit". Robert Christgau. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
6. Wippsson, Johan. "Lit - A Place in the Sun". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
7. "Album Reviews - A Place In The Sun". NME. June 26, 1999. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
8. Remstein, Bob. "Review: A Place in the Sun". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 6, 2001. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
9. Sayce 2014, p. 36
10. "Lit, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
11. "Lit, TLN". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
12. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
13. "Canadian album certifications – Lit". Music Canada. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
14. "British album certifications – Lit – A Place in the Sun". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
15. "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.