Explore the Jank

Janky -

1. janky
(adjective) inferior quality; held in low social regard; old and delapidated; refers almost exclusively to inanimate material objects, not to people
We tried to pick up on these girls waiting for the bus, but I was driving my sister's janky 1989 geo metro so we just got clowned instead.

2. janky
adjective used to describe a person, place or thing which is questionable, #ed up, wrong, strange, broken down, undesirable, and/or just some thing you can't think of another word for. The origin of this work is explained somewhat in the conversation example. Friends and I were sitting around drinking coffee one morning, and I was bitching about my empty cup when my friend blamed the lack of coffee on the "janky ass coffee maker." I have since heard the word in the movie Friday.
Other forms: janked, janked up, janked out,
I was dancing with my friends and some janky old muther#er came up to me and started grabbin' my ass!

Michelle: yo, when's that coffee going to be ready?

Crystal: I don't know. This janky ass coffee maker takes forever.

He was a weirdo and made me feel all janked out, so I left.

I didn't get into Harvard. I don't know what I'm going to do now - it's totally janked up.

I play a lot of Magic: The Gathering and lately the tournament play has become extremely dry as people are spending money on powerful cards without putting much thought into any kind of creative decks, or deck building of their own at all, for that matter.

In fact, there are something called net decks. A net deck is a deck that is made online and passed around through the Magic community and copied, most of the time card for card exactly, by players who like to think they are the good at the game. A lot of the tournaments are dominated by these players, and people who try building their own decks are ridiculed or whatever.

Anyway, my friend and I have been playing Magic together for 10-15 years, a lot of times on a daily basis, and we make our own decks exclusively. Due to this, we have developed our own play-style over a long period of time. My friend and I are both able to annihilate people who have $200.00 + decks with decks worth under $20, at least on occasion enough to raise some eyebrows. And there's an Eldrazi reference for you die-hards out there!

(He's better than me at Standard, but my draft strategy is so janky that people often refer to it as "lucky")

So lately, whenever my friend or I come out with some kind of combo that dominates in a limited format (where you build your deck on the spot) or Standard format, it's called Janky. But really, what's wrong with doing something that no one else does?

In fact, what is right about doing something just because everyone else is doing it? In fact, how is that even worth anyone's time to copy others, and in fact, if someone is hostile towards someone else who can crush them with a $20 deck, they are missing out because that person is a genius and they are losing a chance to interact with someone who's going to make a difference in the world. So I guess the cool thing to do would be to relax - it's just janky.

Janky doesn't even have to be good, it just has to be worth the experience. My point is, if something's worth the experience, it will probably end up good, or at least worthwhile.

That's all metaphorical for the big picture, but it applies to my music career as well. I was recently told by some semi-famous and definitely talented band that it was a "mistake" not to use Pro Tools (a high-end recording software) for recording. The guy knew a lot about recording equipment, which I thought was awesome - any kind of passion is awesome -

But, I record all of my tracks using Audacity (a free program) and they end up sounding similar in quality as famous bands' tracks. In fact, they sound better than the ones I recorded on Pro Tools, because Pro Tools was too much of a crutch. It's called talent. And a lot of it is lacking because people aren't using their brains, instead, they are buying fancy stuff.

I don't think any of the musicians we played with were bad, by any means -

But, if my band was good enough to go on stage with a few good bands from Seattle due to our net presence (not good on stage, by any means, because we haven't practiced thoroughly enough), which we made for free, our logos, which my band-mate and I were the lead creative designers on and spent about $200 on, our music tracks, which we spent $100 mastering along with some special favors thrown in... but no money recording itself, because I do the studio tech myself.

The music videos are entirely produced for free as well, and quality enough, apparently. But of course, not using Pro Tools is a mistake. Not using that damned Autotune is a mistake.

Really? Is it? Is it a mistake to have talent? Is it a mistake to be inventive and dare to be different? I tell you, it's not. If I see someone genuinely exploring life out there and having fun, there's going to be hardly any occasion where I'm going to judge em badly for it.

So I ask you, members of ATS, explore the jank. Find the treasures that are actually worth having in this life, for God's sake. Stop wasting time buying expensive crap, in fact, buy the least expensive crap you can and see if you can compete with it. It's called character, and it's actually a lot more fun.

It's also cheaper -. And going against the grain builds talent. And that's where you are going to find your soul, because you are going to be forced to use it! Who knows? Maybe you will even find someone worth being with along the way.

One thing's for sure, I'll be there.

Not sure of the connection to philosophy and metaphysics, but I hear what you are saying.
I have never heard of the word Janky although I am knockin on 50 yo and hail from Oztrayla so I am sure
I am not up to date with the current youthspeak.
I run a small Print and Design business and have used Corel Draw since version 3 back in 1996, I refuse to pay the big dollars required to run a Mac operation and also refuse to buy the over inflated and time wasting Adobe platforms. The skill I have and my designers have on the PC and CDR platform is perfectly acceptable in the Printing field even though most companies spend big bucks on the Mac/Adobe Jank.
Yep thats right Macophiles, I call it as i see it. Mac and Adobe = Jank.
Too many people fall in to advertising hype and the want and need to have the newest gizmos such as the newest Iphones. I am more than happy with my HTC phone, I keep clear of anything Apple as I believe it to be rotten to the core.

reply to post by kudegras


Exactly - thank you - I know of other professionals as well who rely on their skill over their fancy softwares. I like how you just called Adobe jank. There is no need to put a brand name on talent. Talent is entirely separate from fancy equipment, in fact, it's often inversely related.

reply to post by darkbake


You made me 'feel' bad LOL

I bought lots of apps just for drawing/animation, and ended up only using a number of them.

(Was planning to buy cintiq to replace the intros I use for quite awhile, but mind decided not to, after reading this topic)

But I guess you're right. the talent must be used instead of using expensive apps that come with most of the features I probably wont use

Thanks, Good post btw *thumbs up*

reply to post by darkbake


I'm down with this messages.

One of my favorite musicians, John Darnielle of the band the Mountain Goats, used to record all of his albums on an old Radio Shack boombox. The guy is a musical genius, whose fan-base is absolutely loyal. They're even trying to get him elected as a Poet Laureate. He didn't begin his career with fancy thousand-dollar equipment. Nope. A guitar and a boombox.

Another personal friend of mine has been making music from his home for more than 15 years using Audacity and other free / cheap programs. While he'd love the opportunity to have a studio, and the fancy equipment to tweak his work to his heart's content, he is more than satisfied to just be able to craft his music the way he wants, and to be able to put even a mere semblance of his dream out there for the world to see, and hear.

One of my favorite poems:

The old men had died, thinking their sons were cowards,
their daughters, whores.
The temples fell into sand, so tiredly they fell
weeping dry years.
I met a young girl once, many times;
she was mortal from the neck
so we only met in passing.
And she said to me
(so softly, lest I fall)
She said: 'My father died a desert, I'll die the rain'.

comes from a book called "Ghosts of a Tired Universe" by the author Jonas Samuelle. He writes and self-publishes all of his work, often handing it out for free to interested parties. He's only got three books to his name right now, but, he's living the dream, and doing what he loves the way he wants, without letting the world shape and change his vision into something else. Most interesting of all? His work is rather original and unique for the fields that they fall in. A fresh perspective on the metaphysical and westerns.

I always appreciate the work of someone who puts their heart and soul into doing what they love. When you'll suffer for your work, you're the best kind of artist there can be.

~ Wandering Scribe

Nice saying it makes me appreciate music in a different view

reply to post by dodol


Hey