4th gen won't sync with Mac, iTunes keeps freezing up

I have a 4th generation iPod touch that is updated as far as I can tell. I haven't recently updated iTunes on my computer for fear that it will reject my iPod. (Don't know why, possibly something to do with many apps not working for 4th gen and I don't want iTunes to do the same.) I plug my iPod into the computer and it starts to sync, but it never gets through all 7 steps, usually freezing or never progressing past step 5. Presently it's frozen saying "cancelling sync" which is ridiculous because I just barely started the sync.

Any ideas? I just want my music...