Synopsis

In a stark desert wasteland, a young Edward Sharpe wanders through a surreal landscape shaped by isolation, memory, and family conflict. The film opens with intimate home-movie footage of Alex Ebert's father chanting while holding Alex's baby sister, before shifting into a mythic narrative in which Sharpe confronts his father and experiences a series of disturbing hallucinations. Blending personal history with post-apocalyptic imagery, the video presents Sharpe's origin as both a family reckoning and the first chapter in a larger spiritual adventure.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Desert Song" serves as the first installment of SALVO!, an intended 12-part feature-length musical built around the Edward Sharpe character.

• The video's opening footage was shot by Alex Ebert's mother during a family trip through the desert. It shows Ebert's father chanting while cradling Alex's baby sister, Gabi.

• The story draws on Ebert's personal connection to his middle name, Tahquitz. He later learned that the name refers to a demon in Cahuilla tradition, a discovery that informed the video's themes of identity and inherited mythology.

• The video's wasteland setting and stark visual style establish the cinematic world continued in the next SALVO! installment, "Kisses Over Babylon."

• Alex Ebert produced the video and also helped edit it. The production credits list Benjamin Kutsko and Cory Marrero as visual-effects artists, with David Myrick handling cinematography.

• Although SALVO! was planned as a 12-part project, only the first few installments were completed. The ambitious series ultimately stalled because of the time and resources required to produce it.

• The song appears on the band's 2009 debut album, "Up From Below," making the video both an independent short film and part of the album's larger mythology.