So...why should I buy it, exactly?

The RIAA sucks. In their misguided, bullshit war on piracy, they've managed to piss off just about everyone, included the loyal music buyers (like myself) who still buy just as many CDs as they used to, before the advent of file sharing. Well, they just lost me. And it wasn't even something they did to me directly. Let me tell you why.

My dad bought a new CD. It doesn't matter who the artist is or what album it is, because I bet shit like this is going to keep happening. Anyway, he was upset that it wasn't playing on his portable CD player, so he asked me to see if I could figure it out.

This CD is a flipper, with a CD side and a DVD side. I'd seen discs like it before, and was struck by the ingenuity that the RIAA was using in it's effort to combat piracy. Have the album on one side, and extra content like videos, studio sessions, or live concerts on the other. That way, if you pirate the audio, you're not getting all the extra shit. Ingenious.

I explained to my dad that he was trying to play the DVD side, and he should just flip it over to play the music. He did so, and it still refused to play. Hmm. Ok, I suggested we try it on the computer. If nothing else, he could rip the songs and then reburn it to play it on his portable.

Just one problem: it wouldn't play on the computer, either. The drive failed to recognize there was even a CD present. I tried flipping it over, and the DVD booted right up. That's fantastic, but how the hell am I supposed to play the audio portion, and just the audio? So I checked the CD case. There's a handy table that has "CD * side" and "DVD side" on the back. Under "CD * side" it says, "Audio tracks." On the "DVD side" table heading, it said, "Audio in surround sound, music videos, and outtakes." I wanted to know what the hell that asterisk meant, so I found a line at the bottom that read, "* The audio data on the CD side is not in a standard CD audio format, so some CD players may not be able to play it."

What the fuck? Not in a standard CD audio format? It's fucking CD audio, for chrissakes, how can it not be in a standard format? Let me get this straight: We've got a CD, that my dad paid for like the good consumer that he is, and you're telling me that he can't fucking play it in his goddamn CD player? You expect me to play it in the DVD player so I can get it in "surround" sound? Fuck you! I'm the goddamn end-user, not you. I decide how the fuck I want to play my music, not you. I don't use my fucking DVD player to listen to music, and I don't know anyone who does.

More importantly, I know why the RIAA is pulling shit like this, because they have a raging hard-on for stopping piracy. But let me give you a clue, RIAA: you don't treat your customers like criminals, or they'll start acting like it. Fuck you, RIAA. I will never, ever, buy another fucking CD ever again. You all can take your anti-piracy hard-on and shove it straight up your collective asses.