I want more than a jewel case!

Today's Boston Globe has another story about how CDs have become more unpopular than the clap. "New year brings new challenges for recording industry," written by AP reporter ALex Veiga, also reminds us that newspapers have got a lot of new challenges -- such as better headlines. Veiga says that the music industry is hoping to turn things around with "experimentation":

Music fans are also likely to see ... more albums pre-loaded onto small, portable storage devices. Consumers may also see a bigger push this year for CD singles, dubbed "ringles," that include mobile phone ringtones and other digital content...

Hey, here's another idea. Why not package CDs with liner notes or, better yet, booklets with lyrics and information about the music we're listening to? Maybe something equivalent to the director's commentary on DVDs? One reason I stopped buying CDs was that I got sick of shelling out $15 for a compilation disc (often of jazz performers) and finding nothing inside that told me when tracks were recorded, who played on particular songs, etc. It seemed foolish to buy CDs when I got nothing more for my money than if I downloaded songs from iTunes. (Actually, I got less, since CDs take up valuable space in my apartment.)

Sorry, I'll take a pass on those ringles.