My Name Is Jonas

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"My Name Is Jonas"
Promotional single by Weezer
from the album Weezer (The Blue Album)
ReleasedMay 10, 1994
RecordedAugust–September 1993 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC
Genre
Length3:24
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Ric Ocasek

"My Name Is Jonas" is a song by the American rock band Weezer. It is the first track on the band's self-titled 1994 debut album, also known as The Blue Album as well as being the only promotional single off of the album. It was written by guitarist/vocalist Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson and guitarist Jason Cropper, and produced by Ric Ocasek. Cropper wrote the song's acoustic intro; it is one of his only Weezer songwriting credits, as he left the band before the release of its first album.[3]

Background[edit]

The song was inspired by Cuomo's brother, who was having insurance problems after a serious car crash while at college. According to Cuomo, the song "explains how The Plan is reaming us all, especially my brother."[4][5]

"My Name Is Jonas" was written in the key of B major.[6] However, as the song is played with guitars tuned a half-step down, it is played as if it were in the key of C.

Reception[edit]

Melissa Bobbitt at LiveAbout named "My Name is Jonas" the seventh best Weezer song, writing that its lyric "the workers are going home" was "a righteous way to kick off a weekend".[2] Michael Gallucci from Diffuser named it the third best Weezer song.[7] In his 2010 book Music: What Happened?, Scott Miller describes the song as "musicality everywhere, theatrical dynamics, little golden lyric details where the subplot reveals the whole mood."[8]

In other media[edit]

This song is featured in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as a playable track, and was released as a downloadable song for the Rock Band series[9] and Rocksmith 2014.

Covers[edit]

Affinity covered the song on the album Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer.[10]

In 2021, Taking Back Sunday released a cover of the song as a single.[11]

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the '90s". Ultimate Classic Rock. September 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bobbitt, Melissa. "Top 13 Weezer Songs". LiveAbout. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Luerssen D., John. Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press, 2004, ISBN 1-55022-619-3 p. 61
  4. ^ Luerssen, John D (2004). Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press. pp. 110–111. ISBN 1550226193.
  5. ^ Runtagh, Jordan (May 10, 2019). "Weezer's Blue Album: 10 Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone.
  6. ^ "My Name Is Jonas". Musicnotes.com. 1994.
  7. ^ Gallucci, Michael (January 20, 2013). "10 Best Weezer Songs". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  8. ^ Miller, Scott (2010). Music: What Happened?. 125 Books. ISBN 978-0-615-38196-1. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  9. ^ Holden, Tom (October 2007). "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock: Rock Your Way to the Top". Independent PlayStation Magazine (128): 26.
  10. ^ Semioli, Tom. "Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  11. ^ Lavin, Will (October 18, 2021). "Taking Back Sunday share cover of Weezer's 'My Name Is Jonas'". NME. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
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