Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

who mostly works with artists in the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

genre and is best known for producing six

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most successful period.

Biography

Litt began as an engineer in the late 1970s, working on recordings by Ian Hunter and

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

.Ankeny, Jason " Scott Litt Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2010-04-05 He made his debut as a producer with

The dB's The dB's are an American alternative Rock music, rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album ''Stands for Decibels'' is acclaimed as one of the great "lost" pow ...

''Repercussion'' album in 1982, going on to work with Chris Stamey,

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

, and Beat Rodeo. His breakthrough as a producer came in 1987 with

's ''

Document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

'' album. Litt had first worked with the band on the track "Romance" for a film soundtrack,Hogan, Peter (1995) ''The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M.'', Omnibus Press, , p. 45 and went on to enjoy a long and successful association with the band which included production of their albums ''

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

'' (1988), '' Out of Time'' (1991), '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), ''

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

'' (1994) and ''

New Adventures in Hi-Fi ''New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' is the tenth studio album by the United States, American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the fol ...

'' (1996). In 1997, R.E.M. and Litt discontinued their collaboration. Apart from R.E.M., the most commercially successful act Litt worked with was

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, for whom he mixed the singles "

Heart-Shaped Box "Heart-Shaped Box" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the third track on the band's third and final studio album, '' In Utero'', released by DGC Records in September 199 ...

" and "

All Apologies "All Apologies" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the final track on the band's third and final studio album, '' In Utero'', released by DGC Records in September 1993. The song ...

" from the 1993 album '' In Utero'', and the posthumous release '' MTV Unplugged in New York'' (1994). Litt also remixed " Pennyroyal Tea" and the remix was set to be released on the single, but the single was retracted shortly after Kurt Cobain's death. His remix can be found on

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

and

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

versions of '' In Utero'' as well as ''

'', Nirvana's greatest hits collection. In 1999 and the 2000s, Litt worked with

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

to produce two of their records ''

Make Yourself ''Make Yourself'' is the third studio album by American rock band Incubus. It was released on October 26, 1999, through Epic Records and Immortal Records. The album received double platinum certification by the RIAA and produced three charting ...

'' (1999) and ''

Morning View ''Morning View'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Incubus, released October 22, 2001, through Epic Records. A companion DVD, '' The Morning View Sessions'', was released on May 29, 2002. Continuing the move away from nu metal, th ...

'' (2001).Incubus feature
, ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', November 2001, retrieved 2010-04-05 Litt also mixed songs for

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...

including "Miss World", "Asking For It", "Jennifer's Body", and "Softer, Softest" off their album '' Live Through This''. He has also worked for

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...

,Chonin, Neva (1998)
Liz Phair ''Whitechocolatespaceegg'' Review
, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', July 30, 1998, retrieved 2010-04-05 Juliana Hatfield, the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duet (music), duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in Primary school, elementary school and began performing together as Secondary school, hig ...

, Paul Kelly, New Order, The Replacements,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

('' Dream of Life''),

The Woodentops The Woodentops are a British rock band that enjoyed critical acclaim and moderate popularity in the mid-1980s. History The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial lineup of Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar, formerly of the Wild Swans ...

('' Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway''), That Petrol Emotion ('' Chemicrazy''), Counting Crows,

Days of the New Days of the New was an American rock band from Charlestown, Indiana, formed in 1995. The band later relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. They consisted of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians. They are best know ...

," Scott Litt Credits,

, retrieved 2010-04-05

The Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American emo band from Kansas City. Formed in 1995, the band was a major act in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album '' Something to Write Home About'' r ...

,"THE GET UP KIDS 'On a Wire'", ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', June 28, 2002

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 2002, with whom he released eight studio albums. After ...

Harrington, Richard (2003) "For Once, Marley Isn't Being a Family Man", ''

'', June 6, 2003 and Alela Diane. Litt also started his own label, Outpost Recordings, initially in partnership with

IRS Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave music, n ...

employee Mark Williams, and funded and distributed by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

.Morris, Chris (1998)
Flat Duo Jets Fly a New Route
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', September 5, 1998, retrieved 2010-04-05Fletcher, Tony (2002) ''Remarks: The Story of R.E.M.'', Omnibus Press, , p. 291

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Litt, Scott American record producers Living people The Get Up Kids Place of birth missing (living people) R.E.M. personnel 1954 births