Free REM Song for your iPod at Starbucks

Today's post deserves to be broken down into its various parts:

Free: The music sample is now as easy as picking up a little piece of paper the size of a VISA card and entering a number into your iTunes account. Presto!

REM Song: REM, the alternative band that's been around for more than three decades, now offers Oh My Heart to coffee buyers. The Out of Time album is marking its 20th anniversary now!

iPod: When I was a kid, a six-transistor radio with AM reception or a miniature reel-to-reel tape player was an amazing device. I've seen 45 records with a big hole in the middle, cassettes, and CDs. Who'd think you could cram more than 2,400 songs (with plenty of room for more) onto one pocket-sized device? I love my iPod Touch.

Starbucks: Now celebrating it's 40th birthday, the ubiquitous coffee, snack and mug distributor, has its own music publishing business! That's great. However, having already put most neighborhood coffee houses out of business, the company (rumor has it) has its eyes on S.F. Bay Area rival Peet's. Oh, please don't take my Peet's away!