My Own Worst Enemy (song)

"My Own Worst Enemy"
Single by Lit
from the album A Place in the Sun
B-side	"Bitter"
Released	March 2, 1999
Format	CD, 7"
Recorded	1998
Genre	Pop punk[1][2][3][4]
Length	2:49
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	A. Jay Popoff[5] Jeremy Popoff[5]
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 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. The single just missed the top half of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 51 on the chart and spending 20 weeks on the chart. The song has been misattributed to Blink-182 and its title has been mistaken as "Please Tell Me Why"..^[6]

Critical reception

James Oldham at NME described "My Own Worst Enemy" as "Totally loathsome, poisonous stuff, but quite addictive."^[7] The song was late included on "The Essential Pop Punk Playlist" by NME.^[1] It has also been featured on Fuse's "14 Best Pop-Punk One-Hit Wonders", who has called the song "self-deprecating and catchy".^[2]

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

• Europe CD single^[8]

1. "My Own Worst Enemy" – 2:58
2. "Bitter" – 3:30

• Europe CD maxi-single^[5]

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

• UK 7" Vinyl^[9]

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)[10]	56
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[11]	17
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	16
US Billboard Hot 100[12]	51
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[13]	31
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[14]	1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[15]	30

References

1. "The Essential Pop Punk Playlist - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
2. "14 Best Pop-Punk One-Hit Wonders". Fuse. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
3. "Woodstock ’99 Report #16: Lit Get Down, Buckcherry Get ‘Lit Up’". MTV.
4. "Lit drummer Allen Shellengberger has brain cancer". Musicradar.
5. "Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (CD Maxi-single)". Discogs. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
6. "15 Songs You’ve Been Calling The Wrong Thing For Years". BuzzFeed. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
7. "NME Reviews - Lit : My own worst enemy - NME.COM". NME. September 12, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
8. "Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
9. "Lit - My Own Worst Enemy (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lit – My Own Worst Enemy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
11. "Archive Chart: 1999-06-20". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
12. "Lit – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
13. "Lit – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
14. "Lit – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
15. "Lit – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Lit. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• "My Own Worst Enemy" Official music video on YouTube