The Great Metallica wars of 2000.

On one side, you had teenaged boys with bad taste in music, using Napster to download mp3 files of Metallica mp3. On the other side: the heavy metal band, suing them.

For one brief shining moment this actually became a cultural touchstone. Talk shows debated it, web denunciations went up, and a punk band called J.M. Winkletoes even released a protest song. ("I Got Sued by Metallica Today.")

Mercifully, nearly every link in this 2000 Salon story has since gone dead- except for a Metallica parody at NewGrounds. In it, Metallica clarifies their position - "We don't mind when our fans pay money to wear our promotional shirts..." - before running afoul of a technologically advanced robot named "Napster 2009".

But the controversy continues to this day.