I came across a blog post a few weeks back (apologies, but I cant find it and therefore can't give attribution) that reminded me that I have Too Much Music. Music that I either don't like all that much or won't ever listen to again. One of the things about digital music (well, digital anything, but that's another issue) is that it's so easy to accumulate that I tend to, you know, accumulate it. To an absurd degree. Then, when I want to find something I have to dig through a bunch of crap to get there, and I have ADHD, so I get distracted, and why do I have that anyway and what was I doing again?
Anyway, I currently have over 7000 songs in my iTunes library, not a ridiculous amount but a Lot. So, I've decided to undertake a vicious, no-holds-barred, sorry but you suck and I don't love you any more culling of my music library, and to compound this error of judgement I'm not downloading anything until I get through it all. Unless it's something I really want, like a new They Might Be Giants or Fountains of Wayne (both of which have appeared since I made this decision). Pantheon acts get a pass, but you can bet I'm not going to buy the latest whiny, polyphonic hipster crap by some bearded nitwit like Bon Iver (whoever that is) until I cut some other shit.
So. Rules.
1 - I'm going to listen to everything at least once, in alphabetical order, by artist. I also considered doing it in they order the songs were recorded, but I'm pretty sure that some of my leftover new wave stuff from the late 80s is going to suck, and I can't imagine listening to just that for a month.
2 - If it's an album, I listen to the whole thing, in order. I reserve the right to cut some songs from a particular album but keep others. For pantheon acts like R.E.M. this is unlikely, but then again "Up" and "Accelerate" were kinda crappy on the first few listens, so it could happen.
3 - I rate it, 1 to 5 stars (which I already do, sorta), but then decide: Dig it, Hold it, or Bury it. Sometimes the rating will be album-wide, sometimes just individual songs. I'm making this up as I go along.
The most important rule is that I Write About It, whatever comes to mind. Maybe it's why I bought it, maybe it's what girl I was trying to impress, maybe it's the socio-political impact, maybe it's a dirty joke. Whatever.
So here goes. Be gentle.
Anyway, I currently have over 7000 songs in my iTunes library, not a ridiculous amount but a Lot. So, I've decided to undertake a vicious, no-holds-barred, sorry but you suck and I don't love you any more culling of my music library, and to compound this error of judgement I'm not downloading anything until I get through it all. Unless it's something I really want, like a new They Might Be Giants or Fountains of Wayne (both of which have appeared since I made this decision). Pantheon acts get a pass, but you can bet I'm not going to buy the latest whiny, polyphonic hipster crap by some bearded nitwit like Bon Iver (whoever that is) until I cut some other shit.
So. Rules.
1 - I'm going to listen to everything at least once, in alphabetical order, by artist. I also considered doing it in they order the songs were recorded, but I'm pretty sure that some of my leftover new wave stuff from the late 80s is going to suck, and I can't imagine listening to just that for a month.
2 - If it's an album, I listen to the whole thing, in order. I reserve the right to cut some songs from a particular album but keep others. For pantheon acts like R.E.M. this is unlikely, but then again "Up" and "Accelerate" were kinda crappy on the first few listens, so it could happen.
3 - I rate it, 1 to 5 stars (which I already do, sorta), but then decide: Dig it, Hold it, or Bury it. Sometimes the rating will be album-wide, sometimes just individual songs. I'm making this up as I go along.
The most important rule is that I Write About It, whatever comes to mind. Maybe it's why I bought it, maybe it's what girl I was trying to impress, maybe it's the socio-political impact, maybe it's a dirty joke. Whatever.
So here goes. Be gentle.