Can't wait for Apple's stodgy old iTunes 10 to be replaced with the sleek, next-generation iTunes 11? Neither can we. It's the new 'Waiting for Godot.' But if one music distribution service's email is to be believed — and that's a big "if" — we'll see it in the next few days.

The venerable iTunes software has been looking long in the tooth for some time, and many users have complained about its slowness and propensity to crash. Apple showed off the upgraded version when it launched the iPhone 5 back in September. The company told us it was coming in October, although it didn't specify a date.

The first rumor to surface suggested we'd see version 11 launched alongside the iPad Mini in October, which would have made a lot of sense. As it turned out, Apple focused that event on hardware launches.

Finally, the day before Halloween, Apple admitted to reporters that iTunes 11 wasn't coming in October. "It is taking longer than expected and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right,” Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr said at the time, adding that the software upgrade would be out "before the end of November."

Now here's your next clue: an email from a German music distribution service called Feiyr.com, courtesy of Cult of Mac:

Feiyr's interest is in getting artists to submit higher-resolution pics, since iTunes 11 will rely more heavily on large album images. (See the gallery below for examples.) The English in the email isn't so great, so it's possible that "next few days" could translate to a week or more — which would still fit within Neumayr's deadline.

We've contacted Neumayr to see what Apple's latest stance on the launch timing is. What do you think is causing the delay? Let us know in the comments.

iTunes 11

Image courtesy of Apple, thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, flattop341