records and mp3s, all in one!

So the best new thing is happening - recently, andy and i have bought some new records. Of these new purchases, I had two lovely surprises. In both the new calexico and the new hidden cameras LPs, the record makers have been nice enough to include a little piece of paper. the paper gives you a website and a code, and you log on and plug in the code, and...voila! you have downloaded the full album in mp3 format! isnt that amazing? i sure think so. I wrote to merge records (label that put out hidden cameras) to tell them how great i thought it was, and they told me that a few of their new releases (including lambchop and m ward) will also include this feature. my reasoning is this: i hate buying cds these days because, in all honesty, i just rip them to my itunes, put them on my ipod, and put the cd away in a closet. However, records, of course, have a special place on the shelf, and they just sound better. (and, more often than not, they are cheaper!) so, of course it's annoying to buy the record, then pay to download the songs as well. and it takes so much time (and sounds kind of crappy) to rip from record to computer (can you really even call that ripping?). anyway, that is why i love this new "thing" that some labels are doing, and i hope it continues and proliferates. yay.