A couple of weeks ago I went onto Amazon, looking for something that now I don't remember, and you know how Amazon has personal recommendations for you, based on previous purchases?  They wanted to recommend me a new King Crimson CD!  Live in Argentina, only recently released though the concert was years ago.  I was so excited, I didn't read much about it but checked the price, knew I could afford it and ordered it.

When my parcel arrived and I examined it more thoroughly, I was a little disappointed because I'd been expecting a double CD, and although technically it was, it was actually two recordings of basically the same concert, one afternoon and one evening performance on the same day, and there were only two tracks which were different between disks one and two.  They are one of my favorite bands (the favorite, depending on my mood) so it was no great loss and I was sure I'd find differences and nuances between the tracks that would have me prefer one to the other, but still I was expecting a lot more new-to-me material, and a tad disappointed.  "I need to pay more attention and read descriptions more thoroughly," I remarked to Alan, "though let's face it, I'd have ordered it anyway."  This turned out to be a rather prophetic observation.

Some days passed without my listening to my new discs.  I'm carpooling again with one of my besties, Anne, thanks to her new job across the street from mine.  She only rides with me in the mornings, and hitches home with her husband Rick so we spend the entire morning commute yakking, catching up, sharing recipes, making fun of people we don't like, and not listening to music.  I listen to music on my afternoon commute but several days passed without SiriusXM doing enough heinous things on enough channels to compel me to put in a CD.  That day came last Thursday, however.

"Oh!" I thought to myself.  "I have new Crim!  I shall listen to some!"  I dug through my backpack one-handed, unearthed my treasure and put in the first disk.  Nothing happened.  The 'CD/digital audio' icon appeared on my screen but nothing happened.  I tried fast forwarding, I ejected and re-inserted but got a whole bunch of nothing.  I frowned.  I picked up the last CD I'd had in the player, which I'd laid on my passenger seat (Wilco, Kicking Television) and tried that.  Wilco worked.  I frowned again, switched discs and still no Crimson.  I tried blowing the disc off, wiping it on my jeans - nada.

I tried Rush.  Clockwork Angels played.  I tried the second King Crimson disc.  Nothing.  WTF?  Was my CD player trying to tell me something about my taste in music?  If so, why spew venom on King Crimson?  If I'd tried to play Ke$ha, I'd understand.  I kept swapping CDs but apparently Wilco and Rush were fine with my CD player, but it utterly rejected King Crimson.

I started grumbling to myself, wondering what was wrong with my CD player and what it would cost to fix:  doubtless a lot, and a lot that I'd have to spend in the near future.  I have a personality quirk that, while I don't mind at all doing without a thing, I utterly cannot stand to have the thing and have it not work.  I'd be fine if my car didn't have a CD player, but since it does, I want it to play music.  I'd get by okay if we didn't have a Blu-Ray player, but since we do, I expect to insert a disc and watch a movie.  Thus I knew, that even though a car CD player was not a necessity like food, water, red wine and chocolate, I'd be getting that mother fixed even if timing and money was inconvenient.  Otherwise, every time I drove somewhere, it would be sitting there...right in front of me...mocking me...gloating about my inability to play King Crimson on it.  I was working myself into being pissed off, thinking how inconvenient it was going to be to get the car to the dealership - and next week a holiday weekend! - and the expense right before Christmas and just GRRRRRR.

Exhibit A:  my new King Crimson purchase:

Fortunately, there is nothing wrong with my car's CD player, only its operator.

Exhibit B:  my new King Crimson CDs themselves:

Notice anything unusual about these CDs?

Like, oh, I dunno, maybe that they're DVDs?!?

I should pay more attention when ordering.  Damn you, Amazon one-click!