Secret Code in Email about Derek Webb's New Album

I got this email from Derek Webb this morning:

friends-
this is turning into a bigger deal than we expected. as a result, we’re having to temporarily _pull everything online down (can’t explain now). and to be on the s_afe side, i’m going to pe_rsonally go offline while we sort this out. i re_ally shouldn’t use my twitter account for now either so _don’t expect any updates there.

make no m_istake, our trouble with the label over content i_s very r_eal, and not as simple as one word; we’re backed into a corner. but we have applied all of our creative resources to th_is, working furiou_sly to create something that we believe not only subverts any leg_al issues but should also be a _pretty wild ride.

so this will be the l_ast email for a while. we’ll t_ry to lea_k information via a new tw_itter account, @ssyndrome. you’re o_n your own so start payin_g attention. i’l_l see you _on the o_ther side-
derek

Obviously a code — if you read only the letters after the underscores, it says: “paradise is a parking lot.”

Then I went to DerekWebb.com, and it’s been “taken down.”  BUT, if you view the HTML source of the page, you’ll see a link to http://www.derekwebb.com/ssyndrome.php, which continues the puzzle. It’s a form with this text:

wha_t do you _wan_t? (erro_r -0558 103)

Which decodes to… TWTR? Twitter, I’m guessing. So I’ll be watching the Twitter user from the email (http://twitter.com/ssyndrome) to see what happens next. If you notice anything, please post a comment and I’ll do the same!

7 Responses to “Secret Code in Email about Derek Webb's New Album”

  1. Derek says:

    Next instructions are: “Go to Ugly Mugs in East Nashville, ask for a ‘Stockholm Latte’” — do I actually have to go there? Long drive… :)

  2. Derek says:

    @matthewjk on twitter said he called Ugly Mugs and they said they were already out of Stockholm Lattes (at 8:14am). Waiting to see what happens next…

  3. Derek says:

    I just tried entering 58,112 words into the form at http://www.derekwebb.com/ssyndrome.php (using Perl and a dictionary file). No dice.

  4. DW says:

    Answer to “what do you want?” is “kickdrum”.

  5. DW says:

    If you live in Waco, TX, I’d go to Common Grounds Coffee and ask for Dr. Carver.

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