John and Ringo Come To Their Senses

If the rumors are true, then two of my long-standing gripes with The Beatles seem to be about to disappear. Mac Daily News is reporting that two very big announcements may be on the horizon:

First, it appears that the long-simmering legal battle between the band and Apple Computer is over. The lawsuit is reportedly just about settled, and the rumor is that Apple will be announcing via a commercial during the Super Bowl that the Beatles's catalog is finally coming to iTunes.

Second, and even more important, the band's catalog is finally being remastered. Seriously, the fact that the band milked its unmastered catalog for more than 20 years after the advent of the compact disc is really pretty ridiculous. While I'm sure a lot of people still buy the albums anyway, I know there are a lot of us out there who have refused to drop money on the older, lesser quality masters. Now I can finally feel good about spending $15 on a Beatles disc. Oh, and it looks like the remastered discs may be available exclusively on iTunes for a few months as well.

Good news all around. Just wish I hadn't sold all my Apple stock last year. Otherwise I might be able to just quit this job once and for all.