#55 - A Love Letter to Earnestness | Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)

Why do our hearts long for renown and how might we meet that longing in a way that actually fertilizes a garden of rich, creative pursuits? Lately I’ve been re-examining a lingering desire for fame. I experience it in flavors of lack, or envy, or regret as if I somehow missed out on the grand adventure of celebrity. Do you sometimes feel the same? No matter my personal growth, there’s a small of me that still believes I might be happier if the whole world knew my name. This week on the podcast I pose this question to the eloquent rockstar Alex Ebert, frontman of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. What follows is a passionate love letter to earnestness. On the show, we discuss social anxiety and how the stage is the only place where Alex feels completely authentic. We talk about unmuting kink and how sex is a portal to permissiveness. We rage against the gatekeepers of cool and wax on the importance of being earnest. Finally, fame may seem to be a way to transcend death, but if every life is an epic, we are all already famous. In addition to his work with the Magnetic Zeros, Alex is the former frontman of the band Ima Robot. He also has a successful solo career including one of my favorite songs, Truth, which appears on this podcast. He won a Golden Globe for his film score for All Is Lost. He is also a political activist and a technologist, and his latest album I vs I, features the song Stronger with a splendidly avant-garde performance on The Colbert Show. LINKS Alex Ebert: https://www.5amedude.com/ Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: https://www.edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.com/ Ima Robot: http://imarobot.com/anothermanstreasure/ Tuners.io Alex Ebert: "Stronger" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQQKvEaq1kI The Avalon Village in Detroit: http://theavalonvillage.org/ Finite and Infinite Games: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713 King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064 TIMELINE :01 There’s something legitimate about the desire to be famous :08 Does Alex feel social anxiety recording with me :14 Why the stage is paradoxically the only place we can escape social anxiety :17 The world of sex is a portal to our permissionful selves in a way that almost nothing else is :24 The possible unmuting of kink :34 The Gatekeepers of Cool and the Importance of being earnest :45 Social anxiety boils down to a fear of death from being exiled from tribal belonging :51 Fame is a way to transcend death :56 Every life is an epic 1:00 Suicidal thoughts and the nimble dance on the edge of depression 1:07 Life is a game of courage, go fearward my friend 1:11 What would a home run look like? 1:19 YES MY DESTRUCTION! How do we allow death to turn life into poetry 1:26 We’re all already famous