Clean Up Clean Up, Everybody Do Their Share, Pt. 1

I've been accumulating music quite quickly over the past few months, grabbing just anything I hear about from a friend, or read about in a magazine, or hear on XM or elsewhere. Since I store it all on a hard drive, I don't have space restrictions, so I haven't done much culling. If I don't like something, it just sort of sits there, unlistened-to.

It still comes up when I play music on shuffle, though, and since I downloaded this really cool plug-in for MediaMonkey called ScrobblerDJ, I end up in the middle of these long strings of music that I don't care for. So I thought I'd go through the collection and actually delete some of the stuff I've listened to and been unimpressed by. So the following albums are going by the wayside (and if you're the person who gave me a particular album: no offense, and thanks!).

This week we'll cover A-F:

Annie, Anniemal -- Why did I get this in the first place? I guess because "Chewing Gum" was mildly catchy. Three years later, it seems as dated as Britney Spears' "Toxic," and not nearly as good.

Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll -- I think that, in general, I don't like irony in my music. I like cleverness, but for the most part I want bands that are bands, not bands that are bands about bands. Musically, It's OK, but I can't shake the archness.

Basement Jaxx, Remedy -- My like of, and tolerance for, electronic music is limited. I freely plead ignorance in this genre and honestly am not too interested in giving the time & effort necessary to learn. So I'll stick with my Massive Attack and DJ Shadow records.

Be Your Own Pet, Be Your Own Pet -- Sleater-Kinney > Yeah Yeah Yeahs > Be Your Own Pet.

Beulah, When Your Heartstrings Break/The Coast Is Never Clear -- My friend Scraps has turned me on to untold amounts of great music I might never have otherwise heard. Among the bands that he sent my way are Ted Leo & the Pharmacists and my beloved Spoon. Unfortunately, not every band can be a winner, and after multiple attempts these Beulah records continue to fail to click.

Black Eyed Peas, Monkey Business -- I'm not crazy, right? Black Eyed Peas started out as a sort of socially-conscious hip-hop group? Not sure what happened but multiple listens have failed to suss out the social implications of "Don't Phunk With My Heart." "Pump It" is still insanely catchy, but any time I want to hear that song I can just go to a sporting event.

Bloc Party, Silent Alarm/A Weekend In the City -- Note to self: stop buying records by bands described as "art rock." You don't like it.

Cafe Tacuba, Re/Cuatro Caminos -- Sorry, Jaime. No me gusta.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Some Loud Thunder -- It's not because of the hype; it's because it just really never grabbed me.

Cyann & Ben, Spring -- I like some French music (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and I like some post-rock (Tortoise, Low), but I apparently like no French post-rock.

Dar Williams, Another Green World -- Adequate folky rock. Haven't listened to it in years and can't tell you anything about it.

Dungen, Ta Det Lugnt -- Swedish folk rock? Did I really think this was a good idea at some point?

Editors, The Back Room/The End Has a Start -- In the category "bands who sound like Interpol," they're no Interpol. And I'nm not even that big of an Interpol fan.

Enon, Hocus Pocus -- One advantage of my current situation is that I'm able, and therefore willing, to sample just about anything. If something gets a rave somewhere, I'll check it out, even if it isn't my type of music. There are plenty of albums I enjoy because they are what I consider to be the pinnacle of a specific genre or style. But anything that ends up short of that high mark in that genre doesn't hold my attention, and this is one of those albums.