My Own Worst Enemy (song)

"My Own Worst Enemy"
A young blonde woman wearing a short gold dress does a pose with a blue background and a three piece circle behind her.
Single by Lit
from the album A Place in the Sun
B-side "Bitter"
Released March 2, 1999
Format CD, 7"
Recorded 1998
Genre
Length 2:49
Label RCA
Writer(s)
  • A. Jay Popoff[1]
  • Jeremy Popoff[1]
Producer(s) Don Gilmore, Lit
Lit singles chronology
"Bitter"
(1997)		 "My Own Worst Enemy"
(1999)		 "Zip-Lock"
(1999)

"My Own Worst Enemy" is a song by the American alternative rock band Lit. It was released in March 1999 as the lead single from their second album, A Place in the Sun, released in 1999. The song spent eleven weeks at number 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and went on to become a staple in the band's live set. In addition, the song also crossed over to mainstream rock radio, hitting number 6 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In 2014, the American post-hardcore band Get Scared covered the song on the album Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2.

Critical reception

James Oldham at NME described "My Own Worst Enemy" as "Totally loathsome, poisonous stuff, but quite addictive."[2] The song was late included on "The Essential Pop Punk Playlist" by NME.[3] It has also been featured on Fuse's "14 Best Pop-Punk One-Hit Wonders", who has called the song "self-deprecating and catchy".[4]

Music video

The music video features the band as well as some scenes of a bowling tournament. It was directed by Gavin Bowden and released in June 1999.

Track listing

  1. "My Own Worst Enemy" – 2:58
  2. "Bitter" – 3:30
  1. "My Own Worst Enemy" – 2:58
  2. "Money" – 2:58
  3. "Lovely Day" – 4:06

A-side

  1. "My Own Worst Enemy" – 2:58

B-side

  1. "Bitter" – 3:30

In popular culture

The song is featured in the 2012 movie American Reunion, although it is not featured on the original soundtrack of the movie, the video game Rock Band 2 and in the TV show Parks and Recreation which featured some of the characters playing the song on Rock Band 2.

Chart performance

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Canada Rock (RPM) 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 56
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 16
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 51
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[9] 31
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[10] 1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[11] 30
Preceded by
"Every Morning" by Sugar Ray		 Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single
April 10 – June 19, 1999 		Succeeded by
"Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (CD Maxi-single)". Discogs. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ "NME Reviews - Lit : My own worst enemy - NME.COM". NME. September 12, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Essential Pop Punk Playlist - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ "14 Best Pop-Punk One-Hit Wonders". Fuse. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lit – My Own Worst Enemy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  8. ↑ "Lit Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Lit Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Lit Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Alternative Songs for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Lit Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

External links