I'll take "literate" over "cool" any day of the week
iTunes protect format has an "m4p" extension. To convert to "mp3" either download an app (there are tons that do just that, many are freeware), or burn to CD and then rip as mp3. Warning: taking the latter route may result in major deterioration of sound depending on the album.
Better alternative: never, ever buy something off iTunes. Ever. Just don't.
On the subject of YYYs acoustic, if you take the electric guitar away from Nick for Modern Age and give him an acoustic guitar, and keep Karen's vocals
exactly the same, voila, you've got a perfectly good acoustic track. I didn't like those tracks as much as the quasi-punk sound in songs like Tick and Art Rock, but I did enjoy them. Seeking this sort of variety separates the YYYs from the sort of one album wonder they got pigeonholed as in the hiatus before Show Your Bones and gives them artistic room to devleop into a real, long-term band. I'm all for it.