not all fixed - mp3s?

so my old friend, miso, came to visit this weekend and suggested i check out a band called Kings of Leon. In short order i had a mp3 of theirs "Kicks" (i believe) that would decide what proportion of my income would be spent on the KoL discography. It it went the way of Stablio, it would save me from blowing $15 of a CD i really didn't like. If it was like Pedro the Lion, well... i'll get another job. anyway.. i have their song and a open up amaroK (Kubuntu's default player) and hit play.
nothin.
it seems to recongnize the mp3 as a valid music file and knows it is 2:09 long... it just won't play. I tested it in Kaffeine too and that didnt work.
alas. this could be a deal breaker. Music is the thing i use my computer for the most.
[shakes fist menecingly]