Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are a band that frequently capitalizes on nostalgia-- so it only makes sense that for a charitable compilation of original songs about mothers, the band (was the only act who) took a child's perspective. 'Every Mother Counts' is an organization that increases awareness of maternal mortality, and they've now curated two collaborative discs with Starbucks, featuring artists like Bono and the Edge, David Bowie, Eddie Vedder, Faith Hill, Lauryn Hill, and more. The second volume is out in May, but today the Magnetic Zeros contribution is on the internet for your listening pleasure.

"Mother":



The track originally premiered on Spinner, where Ebert gave a bit of detail:

"'Mother' the song sprang from 'Mother' the poem, a poem I wrote about a year ago to my mother," Ebert explains to Spinner. "I wanted to explain to her that taking her for granted for so much of my life was less a function of my admitted selfishness and more a function of her unwavering love for me. Her unflinching steadiness I took to be immovable fact -- I took her for 'granite,' as the poem goes, to make my stand upon.

"A simple piece of music, more a landscape for the poem to live in, would do. And keeping the poem entirely intact, without addition or subtraction, without chorus or bridge, would only do. And so I wrote and demo'd the song 'Mother,' and then nearly forgot about it (perhaps taking even the song for granted) until Christy asked us if we would contribute a song to Every Mother Counts. As it stands it is one of my favorite pieces of ours, and I am very grateful that it has found a place to live and give in this album."

He's the coolest.