RIP. MIX. BURN.

Although Apple will unveil its new OS X operating system tomorrow, we're still on Commodore 64s, so we barely noticed all of the Silicon hype. Still, the name Apple rang a bell, because we at hitsdailydouble.com watch a lot of television—it sure beats working. And lately we've been enchanted by Apple's spots touting the company's new iTunes software and iMacs with CD-RW drives. First of all, that dork Jeff Goldblum isn't in them. More importantly, they come out and say that the reason people want CD burners isn't because they're backing up data—people love to make mix CDs. As for the other, more nefarious use of burners, say, making a copy of the new Daft Punk record for your cousin or downloading tracks from the new Radiohead from Napster, the spots address that as well.

In case you have a job that actually requires you to work, here's the scenario:

Young guy sits down in an empty concert hall. There are 20-some-odd people standing on the stage. He says, "Hello," they say hi back, and it becomes apparent that the group includes George Clinton, Dwight Yoakam, Aimee Mann and other musicians. The guy says "For this CD I'd like to start with Liz Phair's, ‘Polyester Bride.' Camera shows Liz, who demurs with something like, "Sure, for you." He then goes down the line, asking for songs from De La Soul, Smash Mouth, Ziggy Marley, Clinton, Deep Dish, Lil' Kim and Barry White. The commercial ends with the Apple logo and the words "Rip. Mix. Burn."…which is what people can do with Apple's iTunes software. Put a CD into the drive, rip songs to MP3, create a mix of tunes and then burn it onto disc.

But in small print, the words "Don't steal music" also appear at the end, apparently a concession to George Clinton, who wanted to endorse the product but not Napster-related ripping.

More intriguingly, there's a big collection of stars and non-stars on the stage—Wilco, Exene Cervenka, Iggy Pop and Chuck Berry are also there—but it's presented so low-key that you have to see it more than once before you realize that Apple got Iggy and Clinton and Barry White, not only on the same stage, but in a commercial. It was probably a good-sized check for Cervenka and the Wilco boys, certainly more than they've made from record royalties. And it gives the spot credibility with music fans.

If you have Quicktime and a fast connection, click here to watch the full two-minute version. Then get back to work.