It’s like surfing porn and coming upon your wife in one of the pictures…

I have to admit, it was weird seeing my album on Amazon.com and iTunes, but it’s even weirder seeing your songs in a mix on Pandora in between Wilco, the Shins and John Prine.

I got an e-mail from one of my old bandmates (the one with his back to the camera, leading to the many “Walter is Dead” rumors) who told me the following tale:

It’s Sunday night (actually Monday morning now) and the wife and kids are at camp. I’m home alone and listening to Pandora. I’ve got channels like Napalm Death, Superjoint Ritual and Soulfly, you know, easy listening stuff but, as of late, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bikini Kill, Throwing Muses, Shonen Knife. One of the bands on that channel is The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. I click on Pandora’s “More Info” link for them and then click on the band Santa Dog in the “Related Bands” section. From there I notice The Fondas as a related band of Santa Dog. I almost don’t click on The Fondas, but the thumbnail of their album cover has a picture of the band and I wanted a better look at it (mostly, I wanted to see what the girl in the band looked like).

So, I’m reading the synopsis of The Fondas latest album, Runaway Bombshell, and take a look at the “Similar Albums” section. There’s The Smoking Popes and Be Your Own Pet. Nothing new, I’ve heard of them before. Then…

Lester Norton, Like Sailors Do.

My first thought is, “I’ve got to get a link to this and send it to Lester, he would be amused by the fact that someone has the same name and has an album on Pandora.” I click on the “Listen to a Sample” link for of one the songs and nearly have a myocardial infarction, “That’s not someone with Lester’s name, it is Lester.”

After the initial shock, I realize that I’m not surprised at the fact that you’ve released an album. If any one could do it, it would be you. What I’m really floored by is the way that I found it. Of all the thousands (millions?) of links that I could have possibly clicked, how the hell did I get to your album? To draw a poor allusion: It’s like surfing porn and coming upon your wife in one of the pictures, so to speak.

Wicked cool, non?

So, go ahead and get set up with Pandora, then create a “Lester Norton Radio” station. You might actually like it!