Doug Liman's indie movie Swingers was a love letter to friendship, cocktails, and the Hollywood swing scene. The comedy is also likely to have caused something of a pomade and oversized bowling shirt shortage in the late '90s, thanks to its stars Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn.
One such band who appeared to hit the shops early for such items was Orange County band Lit, whose 1999 single My Own Worst Enemy transformed the four-piece into an overnight sensation – albeit a few years in the making.
The band – A. Jay Popoff (vocals), Jeremy Popoff (guitar), Alan Shellenberger (drums), and Kevin Baldes (bass) – were one album into their career (1997's independent release Tripping the Light Fantastic) before scoring an RCA contract and penning the song that would transform their lives.
Article continues belowThe vocalist (the younger of the Popoff brothers by two years) was driving to the band's Anaheim warehouse space to work on songs for what would become their major-label debut, A Place in the Sun.
His 1963 Cadillac DeVille had seen better days, and he had to make a note of his mileage in a notepad as its odometer was, in mechanic's parlance, "absolutely fucked".
Pulling in at a Circle K petrol station, a lyric arrived unannounced, bobbing and weaving in his head as he filled the tank: “It’s no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy, ’cause every now and then I kick the living shit out of me.”
He screwed the cap back on, settled his bill, and wrote the words in his notepad. There was no need, as the lyric was firmly lodged in his brain.
During practice, his older brother began to play a catchy riff repeatedly until his bandmates helped flesh it out into a full song within half an hour.
“I know it’s an easy song to play, believe me – that’s why we wrote it that way,” Jeremy told American Songwriter. “I love that it’s a simple riff in a simple song with a universal theme and groove. I love that kids just learning how to play can play it and get that feeling we did playing Breaking the Law by Judas Priest or Smoke on the Water. It was easy, but you felt that magic, that adrenaline.”
“I’ve said this before, but it’s crazy how, for as long as that song has been around and as popular as it still is, it really breaks the rules of songwriting,” he later explained to Spin in 2024. “Nothing rhymes and there’s no bridge. There’s no guitar solo.”
A. Jay says that the song's non-rhyming lyrics were inspired by a combination of unwise decisions made while boozing.
"It happens when I’ve been drinking Jägermeister," the singer told Spin in 1999. "Sometimes I get in trouble when I get naked in public and have a girl here. It happens when I’ve been drinking Jägermeister. I actually sang My Own Worst Enemy naked in the studio.
“The second verse is about the morning after, when you hear about all the lame shit you did,” he continued. “The last time it happened was when we got really drunk in Laughlin, Nevada, for New Year’s. I stole a janitor cart, and five friends and I jumped onto the flatbed, rode down the sidewalk, and got chased by the cops. The next day, I found a couple of my friends had been taken in by security, who had been searching for me all night. I was tucked away in my hotel room, oblivious.”
The song also gave the singer an opportunity to actually sing rather than shout himself hoarse, as evidenced on their debut.
“I don’t think A. Jay was all excited about screaming all the time," remembers bassist Baldes. "He wanted to sing a little more. It was just a matter of taste. We all grew up on Iron Maidenand Metallica… Elton John and Billy Joel, all combined.”
The song was released in early 1999 and topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in April. Not everyone was in awe of the simplicity of the song and slick production by Linkin Park producer Don Gilmore.
NME's James Oldham described the single as “totally loathsome, poisonous stuff, but quite addictive”, and the song appeared on the magazine's list of '20 Essential Pop Punk Tracks Everyone Should Know'.
We've never not played it. That song changed our lives.
Jeremy Popoff
And even after 25 years, the song continues to seep into many corners of pop culture, including numerous appearances on movie soundtracks and TV shows over the years.
Notably, the single was given a new lease of life when it appeared as a playable track on Rock Band 2 in 2008. It was included in the second-ever episode of Parks and Recreation the following year, where the character Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) is seen going all out on the chorus while convalescing with two broken legs.
Despite sadly losing their drummer Allen to brain cancer in 2009, the band are still together three decades after forming. And My Own Worst Enemy – which has had over half a billion streams on Spotify – will continue to be a fixture in their set.
“I remember playing the Reading festival in England,” the guitarist recalls in an interview with Record Online. “90,000 people singing the song back, going ape. We've never not played it. That song changed our lives.”
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
