The cleaning

I looked at my iTunes directory the other day.  Over 4,300 songs.

That’s too many.

Recently I purchased a last-generation iPod Classic 160g music player, with the specific plans of keeping that bad boy for the rest of my music-enjoying life.  And when I synched the iPod up to my iTunes computer storage program, I let the electronics do their thing – and eventually my music library transferred over to the new music player.

It was really only then that I realized that I’ve got a lot of junk on my iTunes.

And it was at that moment that I decided it was time for a music cleaning.

I figured if I could shave off at least 200 to 300 music tracks that I never listen to, that I don’t even know why they’re on my iTunes in the first place… then that’s fine.

Oh look, here’s a whole batch of clips I made from the mid-2000’s.  During that time, the Albany Patroons dance team (the “Emeralds”) needed some edited music for their dance routines.  I offered my services, and was able to trim down songs like Flo Rida’s “Low” and U2’s “Vertigo” into 60-second bite-sized dance routines.  Don’t need these any more.  Delete, delete, delete.

At one point in time, I had a turntable hooked up to the back of my computer, so that I could actually “rip” 45’s and LP’s into personal .mp3 files.  Somewhere along the line, I ended up also acquiring those same songs through either an iTunes purchase or a CD import.  Keep the best version, delete the old one.

Oh, here’s some songs I imported from a CD to make a personal CD for someone.  I don’t like this music, so why am I keeping it in my computer?  Delete.

Fragments of songs.  Don’t know where I got them, don’t care.  Delete.

Here’s some music I added when I was working on an article about this band for Goldmine magazine.  When did I write this article?  2005?  How many times have I listened to that band’s music in the past ten years?  Twice, if at all?  Delete.

It’s hard.  Part of me is saying, “Chuck, you made a conscious effort to enjoy that band’s music at one time, why are you cutting it out of your life now?  You’ll never be able to play that song again, and if you want it you’ll have to re-purchase it at some point in time.”

Maybe.  Or maybe, at age 51, I don’t have too many years left on this earth.  And I’ve already trimmed my massive record collection down to a couple of cardboard boxes of 45’s and a small shelf of LP’s.  So why should I let my iPod get bloated with songs I’ll never consciously choose?

I set a magic number for cleanings.  I would stop when I only had 4,000 tracks on my iTunes.  I pulled out duplicates and kept the best version and deleted the worst.  I cut songs from college.  I cut songs from impulse purchases.  I sliced away songs that I acquired from a dozen different sources.

I have to do this.  It’s cleaning.  Cleaning of my iPod and iTunes and cleaning of my iSoul.

And then finally… I looked at my tally.

4,000 songs left, over ten uninterrupted days of non-repeating music, nearly 14.5 gigabytes of melody and beat and groove and funk and emotion and noise and memories left.

And then I clicked on the “Recycle Bin” on my computer screen.  And just like that, the tracks I never listened to will now be tracks I will never listen to again.

It’s moments like this that I have to let go of my past.  Keep only what makes me happy.  Cut loose the fragments of that which does not.

It’s tough to cut things loose.

But, more times than not, you have to do that.

That’s the most important part of life.  Keeping what makes you smile, and removing that which makes you cry.

And no, I don’t mean keeping my mouth and removing my eyes.