You probably haven't heard of Matt Farley, but there is a very high statistical probability that he has written a song about the exact street where you grew up. Or your favorite pizza place. Or your specific first and last name.
He’s the guy.
If you’ve ever fallen down a Spotify rabbit hole searching for a song about "Peoria, Illinois" or "The Best Dentist in Sacramento," you’ve encountered his work. It’s not just a hobby. It is a massive, sprawling, and deeply weird musical empire built on the back of the internet’s most specific search queries. Farley isn't just a songwriter; he's a data-driven folk hero who realized long ago that while everyone is trying to write the next "Bohemian Rhapsody," nobody was writing a song about the town of Oskaloosa, Iowa.
So he did.
The Genius (or Madness) of Motern Media
Matt Farley operates under the umbrella of Motern Media. To understand the scale of what we’re talking about here, you have to look at the numbers. We aren't talking about a dozen albums. We are talking about over 24,000 songs.
Yes, 24,000.
Most of these are released under a dizzying array of pseudonyms. If you’re looking for songs about cities and towns, you’re likely listening to The Local People. If you want songs about every imaginable first name, you go to The Name Jams. If you’re into birthday songs, it’s The Birthday Crew. There is even a band called The Toilet Bowl Cleaners that focuses exclusively on—well, you can guess.
It sounds like a gimmick. Honestly, it is a gimmick, but it’s one that works because Farley actually understands the mechanics of the streaming era better than most major labels. He realized that the "long tail" of the internet is infinite. A million people might not search for a song about a specific obscure town in Nebraska, but ten people might. And if you have 20,000 songs, those "tens" add up to millions of streams and a legitimate mortgage payment.
Why Do People Care About Songs About Their Town?
There is something inherently funny and strangely validating about hearing a stranger sing the name of your tiny, overlooked suburb. Farley’s lyrics for The Local People are often charmingly literal. He’ll mention the local high school, a prominent park, and maybe a restaurant that’s been there for forty years.
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He isn't trying to be Bob Dylan. He’s being a mirror.
I remember the first time I found one of his tracks. I searched for a tiny town in Massachusetts where my cousin lives, and there it was: a piano-driven, slightly upbeat tune that basically just listed facts about the area. It feels like a personalized gift, even though it was generated as part of a bulk recording session in a basement in Danvers.
The Process: How Do You Even Write That Much?
People always ask how he does it. Does he use AI? In 2026, with generative music being everywhere, it's a fair question. But Farley has been doing this since long before the AI boom. His process is a masterclass in efficiency and "good enough" production.
- Batching: He sits at his keyboard and records dozens of tracks in a single sitting.
- Template Songwriting: He often uses similar chord progressions and structures, swapping out the nouns.
- Research: He uses Wikipedia and Google Maps to find the "hooks" for each town—the landmarks, the history, the vibe.
- Authenticity: Despite the speed, there is a human quality to his voice. It's earnest. It doesn't sound like a robot; it sounds like a guy who really wants you to enjoy your time in Poughkeepsie.
Farley has famously stated in interviews that he tries to be the "most prolific person in the world." He’s basically turned himself into a human search engine. While other artists spend three years "finding their sound" for a ten-track album, Farley has already released 500 songs about different breeds of dogs and every city in the UK.
The Economics of Being the "City Song Guy"
Let’s talk money, because that’s usually where people get cynical. Farley has been open about the fact that this is his full-time job. In a world where Spotify pays fractions of a penny per stream, the only way to make a living is through volume.
He is the king of the "Micro-Niche."
If you write a song called "I Love You," you are competing with billions of other songs. If you write a song called "The Town of North Middleton is Great," you are the #1 search result for that specific phrase. Forever. He has effectively SEO-optimized his entire musical career. It’s brilliant. It’s basically the musical equivalent of "squatting" on valuable domain names, except he’s actually providing the content people are looking for.
It's Not Just About the Search Results
While the city songs are the bread and butter, Farley has gained a cult following for his "Motern" philosophy. He hosts a podcast, makes low-budget movies (like Local Legends), and maintains a bizarrely personal connection with his fans. He even puts his real phone number in many of his songs.
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Seriously. You can call him.
He’s built a brand around being the most accessible "celebrity" on earth. This isn't just about gaming an algorithm; it’s about a man who decided that the traditional path to stardom was broken and decided to build his own weird, sprawling, 24,000-room mansion instead.
What Most People Get Wrong About Matt Farley
The biggest misconception is that he’s a "troll" or that the music is "bad."
Sure, if you’re looking for intricate production and orchestral arrangements, you’re in the wrong place. But if you listen to his "serious" work—the stuff he releases under his own name or with his band The Moes—you realize the guy can actually write a hook. He has a deep appreciation for the history of pop music. He loves The Beatles, he loves the Beach Boys, and he understands the structure of a song that sticks in your head.
The "spam" music is the day job that allows him to be a pure artist on the side. It’s a trade-off. He spends 90% of his time being a content factory so he can spend 10% of his time being a filmmaker and a songwriter with total creative freedom.
The Cultural Impact of the Specific
We live in a world of "Universal Content." Netflix shows are designed to appeal to people in 150 countries simultaneously. Top 40 hits are scrubbed of any specific local references so they can play in a mall in Dubai or a club in Miami.
Matt Farley is the antidote to that.
He is hyper-local. He is hyper-specific. In a weird way, his song about a random town in Maine is more "real" than a million-dollar production that’s trying to please everyone. It celebrates the mundane. It says that your boring little town deserves a theme song, even if that theme song was written in five minutes by a guy in his basement.
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Notable Pseudonyms to Look For:
- The Local People: For all your city and town needs.
- The Name Jams: If you want to hear your name sung 50 times in three minutes.
- The Toilet Bowl Cleaners: Juvenile? Yes. Profitable? Also yes.
- Papa Razzi and The Photogs: Songs about every celebrity you can name.
- The Great Billiards: Songs about... well, everything else.
What You Can Learn From the Motern Method
Whether you’re a creator, a business owner, or just someone trying to figure out how to stand out in 2026, Farley’s career offers a pretty clear lesson: Don't compete where everyone else is playing.
If you try to be the best "generalist," you’re going to get crushed by people with more money and better AI tools. But if you become the world’s leading expert on something incredibly specific—even if that thing is "songs about towns in the Midwest"—you can carve out a space that nobody can take away from you.
Farley didn't wait for a record label to give him permission to be famous. He just started typing names into a spreadsheet and singing them into a microphone. There is something incredibly punk rock about that.
Next Steps for the Aspiring Motern Fan
If you want to experience the Farley-verse for yourself, don't just take my word for it. Go to your streaming platform of choice and type in the name of your hometown followed by "song." If it’s there, check the artist. If it’s The Local People, you’ve officially been "Farley-ed."
After that, look up his movie Local Legends. It’s a semi-autobiographical look at his life as a prolific creator, and it’s surprisingly touching. It explains the "why" behind the 24,000 songs. It’s about the hustle, the obsession, and the weird joy of making things just because you can.
Finally, if you’re feeling brave, find the song with his phone number in it and give him a call. He might actually pick up. Just don't be surprised if he’s in the middle of recording a song about a brand of crackers or a city in Bulgaria. The grind never stops.