Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert is defending himself against accusations of making the worst song of all time.
If you’ve been outside enjoying the last bit of pleasant summer weather before August demands its pound of flesh, you might have missed a days-long online debate about the least revered tracks in history. The discussion was kicked off by a clip of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros performing their 2009 smash “Home.” Ebert felt that his biggest hit wasn’t worthy of the ignominious honor.
In an interview with Stereogum, Ebert said he was shocked his era in the limelight was coming around for reevaluation so quickly.
“I knew that the 2010s were going to have their ironic return at some point. I’d be in a Target and I’d hear shit, and I’d be like, ‘Whoa, okay, so I’ll give it about three years and then we’re back to square one,'” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be this acute and Edward Sharpe-centric.”
Ebert spoke about the genesis of his Magnetic Zeros project, saying it was an attempt to break down a fear of being uncool and vulnerable. The former frontman of dance-punk act Ima Robot felt he’d built up too many walls around himself and was acting in accordance with expectations of a snotty rockstar. He characterized the backlash against his song as an aversion to earnestness, one that no doubt existed at the time his single was climbing the charts.
“It must have been really confusing for the haters, and really sort of awful and disorienting, that this really not rock ‘n’ roll, horribly earnest, cringe thing was just spreading everywhere,” he said. “They really needed this moment. You know, this is a long time coming for the haters, and I’m glad that they’re getting a moment to really let it out.”
Prior to the interview, Ebert had defended the song structurally. He noted that “Home” had good bones and could survive any number of experiments.
“If you pull it out of acoustic guitar, you put a piano there and it works, it’s a good song,” he shared in a video on Instagram. “You pull it out of the piano, you put it on the harp, it’s still working, you take out of the harp, you sing it a cappella, it’s still working, good song.”
Speaking to Stereogum, he declined to add any fuel to the worst song of all time discussion and balked at adding a replacement pick for the single worst tune.
“I don’t think I want to be involved in generating that. Although I love the discourse,” he said. “I think I’m in no position, or maybe too much of the position, to say anything.”
