I. Jamuary 2023 Is Technically Over!!

So this post will mostly gravitate around Jamuary, a really dumb tradition Droid started in 2022 that attempts to inspire gullible musicians to write a song a day for the entire month of January, despite the front page of Newgrounds saying Jan 1st - Jan 30th. Let us not forget that there is one day left of the month, we still have the 31st to look forward to! Honestly, I'm skipping the 31st to protest a day that shouldn't exist. It's a power move. Last year I skipped the 30th of Jamuary to prepare for and host a Newgrounds Winterfest panel called "music is 4 everyone." This year I'm skipping the 31st to listen to music by others that fell for Droid's holiday. Don't let my attitude or words fool you, I'm very grateful that Droid got this event off the ground because you can learn a lot along the way and produce some great stuff by forcing yourself into a daily workflow. Expect a song sometime tomorrow instead :p

There were years in which I only put out a handful of songs because I was so infuriated by bad quality and gear. I only wanted to put out good music those years but as a result put out almost no music. Jamuary forces you past the feeling that things need to be great all the time. At art school I learned that the best medicine for bad drawing is to draw everyday. It's the same when learning how to play an instrument. Creatives will sometimes state that they prefer to see quality over quantity but quantity is what refines your work and leads to quality. Quantity is essential in the grand scheme if you want your work to lead to something bigger.

There are some tunes I'm very happy with this month but first, a shout out to the other artists that kept up the hustle, and those that tried.

baryiscool - I will verify that this man wrote a song everyday and therefor earned his name baryiscool. I'm waiting to hear back from him for some guidance and input into what he's most proud of but for now, here are a couple of tracks I listened to that stood out:

[EDIT] bary got back to me with Rise Of The Dragon King and eXtraverted. These are his favorites from the month:

epikuro - Another user that stuck with the holiday and wrote a song a day, epikuro had some serious diversity and breadth. It looks like they're suffering from a zero bomber, if you're reading this help fix those scores. Like bary, I hit him up for guidance through the 30 track catalog but I'm still waiting to hear back. These are a few tracks I've listened to so far that I liked:

Epik got back to me really early in the morning with a few suggestions and favorites:

[EDIT]

hyenaedon - I wasn't even aware hyena was doing the event until I was tagged in their own Jamuary blog but they managed to write a song a day for the entire month! When asked for a few favourites I was directed to "Spudnuts," "Rym Flare," and " Celesta. "

TeraVex - started out strong on day one and two but we lost him early on. We all know that mofo can write though so let's refrain from shaming him <3

Droid - We lost our host early on this year. He forgot to make a thread for the event but I'll still champion him for inspiring the massive amount of work that went into our songs this month. I've seen conflicting posts from him in the past stating the fear that he needs to spend less time online or that he needs to focus more on real life but we've all been there. Screen time is a massive paradox of feelings. I suspect he didn't make the thread on purpose hoping we'd forget about the month BUT WE'RE STILL HERE BITCH AND WE LOVE YOU.

DiosselMusic - Made a brief appearance with six Jamuary tracks after missing the first seven days. I can appreciate the hustle though and I'm a huge fan of their DNB [that's a relative phrase, I don't spend enough time listening to their work and dropping them reviews but it's really good stuff.] It sounds like from the six tracks posted they were feeling a humble prog hiphop/house sound that wanted to remain a little gentle.

MilkyPossum - Our darling milk maiden started out really strong but we lost her early on like so many greats. I love her energy and her work echoes a hectic desire to write video game music like no other. In my mind, I put her and Teravex in the same category of people that can write continuously, unabashedly, and with impressive style. Let's celebrate her participation regardless of the drop off because in all reality, writing a song a day means you have no life or perhaps a unique life conducive to focus entirely on writing. Everyone that dropped off is living their lives everyday and a love for music is something easily burned. Everyone that attempted the event deserves some love and respect.

[EDIT] I forgot to point at acheney for starting an unnoficial offshoot thread early on but he removed his Jamuary tracks and stopped posting so I'll assume he felt some sort of emotion? Regardless of his reasons I want you all to clap with me for his efforts. Bless his heart.

I'll continue to edit the above section as the day goes on and note the people and tracks I missed. Hit me up with suggestions below, I want to post tracks that people are proud of <3

II. Music Videos In Front Of A Laundry Machine

As part of Jamuary I decided to show off some of my film chops. Despite studying cinematography in both high school and University I almost never dig into that world. The speed at which the technology and formats changed was enough to make my head spin. Learning on linear and nonlinear editing machines in highschool I quickly had to adopt new information to account for better gear in uni, blue-ray, surround sound, video synthesis, animation, multiscreen installations, and a handful of other things that may or may not be out of style already. The world of technology changes fast and I couldn't adopt reasonable strategies to keep up. The following videos are entirely for fun and not meant to be taken seriously. Regardless I'm very proud of the life I live and these videos are a glimpse into what I consider a humble existence in the middle of nowhere.

I got so much laundry done this month DX

III. A Few Jams I'm Proud Of This Month

Since I don't have to message myself and wait for a reply, here are a few tracks I'm super pleased with this year and why:

^ Probably a little over compressed but a good start to the month. I felt like the first of Jamuary last year was a little weak but this years first track gave me the hubris and energy I needed to make it through the month. When you start off on a good foot the need to outdo yourself becomes more palatable.

^ The fuck was I on day 2, this one brings me much joy.

^ Technically a cop out, I wrote this song a few years ago. I deleted the heavy drums from the track and imo, it shines really well without them.

^ This one got almost no attention, possibly because I tried to steal the genre Goth music instead of labeling this as dubstep? Who knows, I just like the obnoxious ass lead and DMX samples. Personal amusement.

^ Fuck, I need to make more easy listening. I don't have any trouble writing this kind of stuff but the psychological desire to spend my time sampling DMX and writing super obnoxious synth leads is powerful. Sue me.

^ Spent a lot of time playing Fromsoft games this last year, Bloodborne is a gem. When I love something, I sample it. All the yelling and screaming samples this month came from it, don't report me to corporate. I'm just vibing.

^ I write one four to the floor track every three to five years and they almost always sound like my dubstep stuff. This is it for you four-to-the-floor lovers, here's your gross pulsating four-to-the-floor shlop. Love it or leave it.

IV. I Love You

I'm really bad at responding to messages and staying active despite the fact that I seem to have all the time in the world right now. My life is very conducive to making things and staying on my computer but there's a psychological conflict to spend time away from my screen. Perhaps it was my mom growing up as she took away tv and game privilege, trying to reinforce the need to "play outside." Maybe it comes from social media execs warning us against excessive screen time. When notifications pile up I get a lurching sick or fear that I'm letting people down or that I'm ignoring them. Despite Jamuary, we should all strive to spend less time on our computers. I often thank the existence of Newgrounds because I would never have found my fiance and my amazing life without a strange series of events that led me to drive around the country meeting people. The peer pressure to make digital things is a hauntingly fascinating aspect of Newgrounds that borderlines a shared sickness but we're all sick together. You people are all amazing, never insignificant, and always fascinating. I love you all, even when I don't take the time to say it <3

Cheers!