Jonny Polonsky – In My Mind

Jonny loves Frankie.

Like many rockers in the early ‘90s (not the least of which was Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain), Jonny Polonsky had a crush on Pixies, the legendary band fronted by Frank Black (although he called himself Black Francis in those days), that introduced extreme dynamic shifts, crushing guitars, odd meters, and an unerring (though slightly skewed) pop sensibility, making grunge possible and, perhaps, inevitable. Jonny, an irritatingly proficient musician (the album this was taken from (Hi My Name is Jonny) was recorded when he was 22 and all the instruments were played by him), sent demo tapes of his songs to Frank Black, who was impressed enough with them to produce them into the aforementioned album, which is the very definition of power pop.

Quirky, funny, heartfelt, sweet, and maddeningly catchy, Hi My Name is Jonny is the feel-good album of 1996, closely related to Fountains of Wayne, albeit a bit quirkier. Some of the best cuts on the album are the shortest (It’s Good to Sleep, one of my favorites, barely breaks the one minute barrier), and that’s the one flaw of the album. With ten little power pop gems, the album isn’t even half-an-hour long, and I, for one, could stand a lot more of this infectiously sunny music.

Hi, Jonny, my name is Chris, and I am quite delighted to make your acquaintance.