Hey everyone!
Just a general update here. I love this website, and I love the community here.
I was reading through the forums on the community's tab lately, and I saw a forum that read "What is your favorite FNF song?"
The first comment struck out to me. It was one of the older mods (whose name I will not give), who just so happened to have a problem with how popular Kawaii Sprite was getting. They said they were upset with how Newgrounds was working, and that Kawaii Sprite never gave back to the community, and only stole attention away from more well deserved artists. Which in a sense, is true.
But as I continued to read more of the arguments this commenter made, I saw nothing but complaint after complaint, with no grace, no welcoming to any newcomers to the site. It was toxic, nothing but an orb of negativity placed upon this innocent little thread. It just seemed like baseless attacks against Kawaii Sprite and Friday Night Funkin' just for existing, which angered me.
As someone who recently came to Newgrounds thanks to Friday Night Funkin', and was inspired by the game to create and improve my own music, seeing this gatekeeping happen from older members makes me sad. This game inspired me to share here, and see what others have to bring to the Internet's creativity table. It's so cool and fun here, and sure, Friday Night Funkin' might be taking up most people's attention, but look at Pico. He made a resurgence, and is back in the spotlight. Same goes for Tankman, and many other OGs from the website, including Tricky and Hank J Wimbleton from Madness Combat. You gotta know that it's all thanks to Friday Night Funkin' people are getting into this stuff.
As for KawaiiSprite, he gave back through creating the game's soundtrack. He honored the originals by giving Pico some of the best damn week themes I've ever heard. He gave Tankman some of the best voice lines I've heard since the original series (which by the way is fantastic, and I recommend you watch). And, his music inspired the creation of many mod tracks, including myself. (I'm making a mod for Friday Night Funkin' called "Around the World" with the help of some online friends.) You cannot ignore the big changes that happened.
Much like anything else great, Friday Night Funkin' will indeed fade out, much like other factions of the Newgrounds site, and Newgrounds in general. But it's impact will be legendary to the site's future, I bet. But the conclusion is this. Seeing people complain about FNF just for being popular is like complaining for nothing. If you aren't gonna contribute positively to the fandom, or to Newgrounds, keep your negative opinions to yourself. Don't ruin the experience for the rest of the newcomers to the game, to the site, or to anyone, including myself. Instead, just know that even if better musicians don't get as much attention, they still share here because they want to. They share because they want to see how people like what they make, and what they can do to make it better. Some contribute through music, others through story and game development, others through programming, and others through online and hand drawn art and animation. They share what they do because they love it so much. They want to share that love with the world, even if no one sees it at all. That's the joy of the experience.
Life isn't fair, but I sure don't complain. I'm so glad I've gotten a bit of attention ever since my arrival here. I love making music for you guys, and I'm glad you guys like what I make. It's truly an honor to be here as a newcomer. Just so you know, don't let the naysayers get you down. Just because someone doesn't like something and shits on something for non-valid reasons, they're just being petty and jealous. They only complain because they're not getting the attention they want from others.
As for the answer to that thread, my favorite songs are all the ones from Pico's Week ("Pico", "Philly Nice" and "Blammed.") I also like "M.I.L.F", "Satin Panties", "Cocoa", "Eggnog", and many notable others. Basically, I love all the soundtrack, but Pico's week stood out to me as my favorite.
Stay rockin', folks.