By Severin
It's easy to become intoxicated with decluttering. The last time I carried out a major exercise in it I ended up recycling about ten years' worth of Private Eye magazines. Including ones with all the original news reports about the Post Office scandal. “You could have sold those on eBay,” people told me. But I know I would never have got round to it.
More recently, my dad had to change to living just on the ground floor of his house. Which meant that his offspring had to clear a lot of stuff from what used to be a family dining room and is now a bedroom. That was accomplished but we are still sifting through reams of old bank statements, quotes for loft insulation and instruction manuals for old appliances.
Which is how I came to suggest decluttering as a topic. But it expanded to include tidying up, throwing away, and the cutting out of whatever is deemed unnecessary. Whether physical or emotional. And of course a bit of general cleaning crept in too.
So, to start us off. The simple phrase Strip it Down to the Bare Bones is a manifesto for radical decluttering. In this case the musical sort. And the music suits the message to a tee.
The Last Word of a Shooting Star is a sad song about clearing the clutter away before your death. “And I am relieved that I'd left my room tidy, they'll think of me kindly when they come for my things."
Less is More is another good decluttering motto but here it's also a piece of advice to a lover who is trying just that bit too hard.
Scandinavian Design is minimalist and (can be) starkly beautiful. Get rid of all the unnecessary clutter and stare at your simple furnishings. Not always very cosy or welcoming though.
The more developed (or just richer) parts of the world like to clear away all the unwanted Toxiques from their surroundings. And unload them onto people who would rather they just stopped.
The lyric of My Romance is an altogether more friendly approach to romantic decluttering than the Joss Stone song. Not so much “stop calling me every five minutes” as “I don't need anything but you”.
The title, Ghetto Rock, tells us little abut the contents of the song. In fact it seems to be equally about the joys of litter-picking and of smoking a lot of weed. Apparently at the same time.
Just remember that before you can dispose of any debris responsibly, you have to Pick Up The Pieces.
And before that, you have to decide what is, or isn't Junk. Most of it started off as something you really felt compelled to buy. This Beatles demo version is even more lovely than the official McCartney solo release.
Of course you could just leave it to somebody else to clear your junk and litter away. Maybe even recycle it and “turn it into something new” as in the Wombling Song. Living in Merton, I always liked the Wombles. Even if they did, for a while, encourage the littering of Wimbledon Common by children who wanted to help the furry creatures out.
And speaking of Furry (see what I did there?). He is very keen that people should See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. A task that is often undertaken (see what I did again?) enthusiastically at first. Though that enthusiasm doesn't always persist in the long term.
Cleanin' Out My Closet can be a literal description of a useful task. Or, as here, it can be a rant in which every long standing grievance is vented. Some accounts say that Eminem regretted releasing this. It certainly doesn't pull any punches.
And finally. A woman is clearing out all her belongings including the clothes in the closet before leaving a man while he sleeps. It Does Not Suffice “for you to say I am a sweet girl.” The romance is over and when he awakes he will find that everything is tidy and she is gone.
Orderly Arrangement A-List Playlist:
Biteback – Strip it Down to the Bare Bones (Carpgate)
Mitski – Last Word of a Shooting Star (Vikingchild)
Joss Stone – Less is More (Banazir Galbasi)
Sparks – Scandinavian Design (Vikingchild)
Youssou N'Dour – Toxiques (Nicko)
Carmen McRae – My Romance (Nilpferd)
Tapper Zukie – Ghetto Rock (Uncleben)
Average White Band – Pick Up the Pieces (Banazir Galbasi)
The Beatles – Junk (ShivSidecar)
The Wombles – The Wombling Song (Uncleben)
Furry Lewis – See That My Grave is Kept Clean (Nicko)
Eminem – Cleanin' Out My Closet (Noodsy)
Joanna Newsom – Does Not Suffice (barbryn)
Batched Up Bundle B-List Playlist:
The Spaniels – House Cleaning (Marconius7)
Martha and the Vandellas – Come and Get These Memories (SweetHomeAlabama)
Billie Holiday – All of Me (Nilpferd)
Teenage Fanclub – Start Again (happyclapper)
Peggy Lee – I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair (Loud Atlas)
Maxine Nightingale – Right Back Where We Started From (happyclapper)
Half Man Half Biscuit – See That My Bike's Kept Clean (Nicko)
Sammy Kershaw – Yard Sale (SweetHomeAlabama)
Gala – Freed From Desire (Noodsy)
Nina Simone – Ain't Got No, I Got Life (bluepeter)
The Go-Betweens – Secondhand Furniture (barbryn)
Deco*27 (feat Hatsune Miku) – Winter Cleaning (ajostu)
Jane Jarvis – Organizin' (Banazir Galbasi)
Tindersticks – Travelling Light (Vikingchild)
Neil Young – Thrasher (Noodsy)
Femi Kuti – Set Your Minds and Souls Free (Nicko)
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
Abbey Lincoln – Throw It Away
“You can't lose it even if you throw it away”
Vivian Stanshall – Nice n Tidy
“That's the way that we leave your hice”
Remember … Wombles
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic:
Stop making sense: songs about absurdity and absurdism. The next topic will launch on Thursday after 1pm UK time.
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