Edward Sharpe and the “worst song ever”: The potential pitfalls of concepts influencing music
Jimi Hendrix, the Sex Pistols, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. There is something about the past which is equally endearing and embarrassing.
On the one hand, while we gaze back in time at certain musical movements and rage that we weren’t alive to see them, we equally look back at others and ask, “What were we thinking?” That seems to be the general consensus when many modern music lovers listen to indie music from around ten years ago that leaned heavily into the quirky, nonsensical, stomp-clap-hey side of things.
One of the bands at the forefront of this musical movement was Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The band championed the quirky sound of indie folk music, with stripped-back production and lyrics that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, yet somehow felt strangely relatable.
One of their most popular songs was ‘Home’, which is commonly dubbed by pessimists as one of the worst songs ever written, but at the time of release, it was something that people worldwide were whistling on their way to school. The truth is, ‘Home’ certainly isn’t the worst song ever, pretty far from it, but people seem to think that it is because of how representative it is of a musical movement which we now deem to be cringeworthy.
The way that ‘Home’ is such a staple of this genre is one reason why people seem to hate it, but there were other factors involved when writing for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, which also impacted the music they made. One of the biggest contributing factors was that the band was driven by concept, and while music is filled with beloved characters and concepts that have led to the creation of masterpieces, following one too strictly can also act as a hindrance.
The band was started by Alex Ebert, who had previously found moderate success in Ima Robot. He submerged himself in the Los Angeles party lifestyle, which resulted in drug addiction. Once he split up with his partner, Ebert decided to go to rehab to get clean, and in doing so, became obsessed with a character that he had created called Edward Sharpe.
Ebert described Sharpe as a messiah-like figure, who was “Sent down to Earth to kind heal and save mankind, but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love”. The character seemed to be a creation that stemmed from Ebert’s recent break-up, but rather than leave him as a piece of fiction, the musician brought him to life and started a band based on this new deity.
When discussing the character that inspired this band, Ebert said he believes he had lost his sense of self, and writing through the lens of someone fictional seemed easier. “I don’t want to put too much weight on it,” he said, “Because in some ways it’s just a name that I came up with. But I guess if I look deeper, I do feel like I had lost my identity in general”.
“I really didn’t know what was going on or who I was anymore. Adopting another name helped me open up an avenue to get back.”
Alex Ebert
When you better understand the concept behind a song like ‘Home’, the lyrics begin to make sense. The character is pining to find the place where he feels most comfortable, but given that the lyrics are written by Ebert, who felt particularly lost at the time, the markers that identify “home” seem somewhat generic.
Everything in that song is cloudy, other than the notion of being in love. It worked for music during this period, as many bands were writing in this manner, but with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard for people to listen to the song and feel a connection because it doesn’t feel like there is a connection to make in its vagueness.
Lyrics like “Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie, chocolate candy, Jesus Christ, ain’t nothing please me more than you,” don’t go down as well in 2025 as they did in 2009. That being said, the changing taste surrounding this song also reflects changing taste in music as a whole. There are always going to be cultural shifts in music, and just because people look back on that late-noughties era with disdain, it doesn’t necessarily make the music unlistenable.
All in all, while there are some problems, you could listen to a lot worse than ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Ebert seemed to understand the changing nature of music. While he enjoyed working with and writing with the band, after a few members left and one too many changes were made, he believed he had run his course with the character. The band didn’t formally announce a break-up, but did confirm they would be going on an indefinite hiatus in 2017.
Fans were given a brief glimmer of hope when the line-up of Woodstock 50 was announced and Edward Sharpe was on there; however, when this event was cancelled, the band didn’t seem to make any plans to reschedule their reunion. We are living in a period where this calibre of music is seen as cringeworthy; this period will pass, and in years to come, many will likely look back on a song like ‘Home’ fondly. When that time comes, maybe a reunion is in the works, but for now, Edward Sharpe is a character banished to the realm of fiction.
