The sound of silence

To buy a CD anywhere in Europe, you bring the empty case up to the counter, the clerk finds the disk in a file and puts it in the case, and you walk off happy.

Last night, on the recommendation of my friend Miriam, I bought the new CD by Ben Folds.



This morning at the office, I found something sharp and sliced off the outside wrapping. Then I had to remove the plastic slipcover that told me I was actually buying something called a DualDisc (couldn't they have put a small sticker on it instead)? Then I had to find that knife again, and peel off the seal across the top of the case. This took a couple of attempts. Then I put it in my PC ... and nothing happened. My computer won't read it.

Should listening to a CD really be so labor-intensive?


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