There are strange things afoot.
So, back on Monday, you may recall (or merely look downward two entries) that I posted up a new .mp3 of a song called “Jeff Lynne” that will be on the new CD. I received some very kind comments from you guys (thanks, again). A friend also posted it to a Jellyfish mailing list he happens to be on. Another person on that list has a live365 station, and saw the song and added it to that week’s show (he’s played me before).
All of which was very nice. But then… then it got odd.
About 9 months ago, I signed up for the digest version of an ELO mailing list. Well, the main list, actually, one of the people responsible for it is in charge of the remastered editions of the ELO catalog that started coming out last year. I signed up for it because I knew I was recording this song, and I wanted to find out a way to try and get the song to Jeff Lynne if I could. I didn’t ask at the time, though, I figured I would try to insinuate myself a little into the list, so it would seem less self-serving to have joined, and then ask when the song was ready. Of course, being me, I never really insinuated myself at all, I lurked almost exclusively, as I tend to do on any list I have ever joined.
So, Monday night I get the digest version, and I see my name listed in the headers. Someone has posted about the song, someone I don’t know. How he found it I have no idea. Two other people responded favorably. It was kind of cool, being pre-empted like that, stumbling across my name where I least expected it. I thought about posting, but thought I’d wait to see if there was any more response. When the next digest came there was no mention, so I decided to just let it lie. They knew about the song, and some people had heard it, that seemed pretty good.
Except, Tuesday I checked my web usage stats on the site. Wednesday I checked them again. By the end of yesterday, 539 people had downloaded the song. It’s not a huge number by any means, but it is a definite large spike from anything else I have ever offered up on my own site. The only advertising about it would have been from my mailing list (about 250 people) and the mention Adam gave it on the Jellyfish list. Sarah went looking around the web and found a number of different ELO sites with message boards… where I had become a topic of some discussion. Yesterday I got an email from the owner of the list I am on, who didn’t realize at the time that I was on the list, telling me that my song was causing “quite a commotion” on the list. She asked me some questions about it in order to satisfy people on the list, and forwarded me one person’s stab at the lyrics.
She also asked if I had sent a copy to Jeff’s manager, saying she could get it to him for me if I wanted.
I refer you to this, written almost exactly a year ago today, for reference as to the magnitude of this offer.
I cross my fingers and wait.