Lit (band)
This Orange County band captured late-90s suburban angst with a platinum album and the ubiquitous rock anthem 'My Own Worst Enemy'.
1969–2009 (age 40)·American rock band·Birthday: September 15·Generation X
Biography
Emerging from the same Southern California pop-punk scene that birthed bands like The Offspring, Lit carved out a distinct, more radio-friendly niche with a blend of crunchy guitars and melodic hooks. Brothers A. Jay and Jeremy Popoff, alongside Kevin Baldes and Allen Shellenberger, built a steady following before their 1999 breakthrough 'A Place in the Sun' catapulted them to national fame. The album's lead single, 'My Own Worst Enemy,' became an inescapable soundtrack of the era, a self-deprecating party anthem that defined a certain brand of post-grunge recklessness. While subsequent albums never matched that commercial peak, the band maintained a loyal fanbase through relentless touring, their sound a permanent fixture on rock playlists. Lit's active run concluded in 2009, though reunion shows have kept their high-energy catalog alive for audiences who came of age with their sun-soaked, slightly bruised rock.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Lit was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Lit Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Lit's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
Key Achievements
- Achieved platinum certification for their 1999 album 'A Place in the Sun'.
- Scored a massive mainstream rock hit with the single 'My Own Worst Enemy,' which reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and dominated rock radio.
- Released seven studio albums over a career spanning from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s.
- Had additional rock radio hits with the songs 'Zip-Lock' and 'Miserable' from 'A Place in the Sun'.
Did You Know?
The band's original name was 'Razzle' before they changed it to Lit.
Drummer Allen Shellenberger was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 and passed away in 2009, which contributed to the band's initial hiatus.
The music video for 'My Own Worst Enemy' was filmed at a house party in the Hollywood Hills.
Lead vocalist A. Jay Popoff is married to actress and model Lisa Origliasso from the Australian duo The Veronicas.
“"I went to a party, I passed out on the floor. I woke up with my head on the bathroom door."”
