Matty Pop Chart

To follow Daniel's Beat Happening post, I thought I would post my own idea of an essential. Matty Pop Chart has been near and dear to my heart since I discovered Plan-it X Records. He used to play drums in Abe Froman, still plays drums in Mt.Gigantic, is the brother of the also wonderful Erin Tobey, and friend to people like Half-Handed Cloud, Vollmar, and Kimya Dawson. In fact, Vollmar produced his most recent release Good Ole Water which also features an appearance from Kimya. Matty Pop Chart's music is probably best described by his name. He plays cute, poppy music on toy pianos, real piano, guitar, keyboard and harmonica. His lyrics are often playful and simple. With song titles like "I Love My Friends," "Things I Like," "I Like to Eat," and "Dancing with your Friends," it can be easy to imagine that his lyrics don't dig too deeply into poetics. Still, there is a beauty about his simplicity that makes him so enjoyable. He also is a rather talented musician. On songs like "Autumn," Pop Chart shows some good technical ability in his guitar playing. Overall, while Pop Chart may be too "cutesy" for some, the fact still remains that he would love making music for his friends and dancing and everything he does regardless of what anyone thought.

To get yourself some Matty Pop Chart, go here!
This is his first album, now out of print, but available for download via Plan-it X Records. Matty Pop Chart and Plan-it X Records will probably come up more and more, just stick around.