Top 10 Newsletters of 2020
It’s December here at Do You Know What I Love The Most?, and that means it’s time for Year End Lists! I’ll be devoting the rest of this month to rounding up and discussing the various media released in 2020 that meant the most to me — just like every other website on the internet! Isn’t that special?
For our first installment, I’m going to get a bit sentimental (or self-indulgent?) and look back at the work I’ve put out this year: namely, this newsletter. Since finally taking the Substack plunge back at the end of March/the beginning of Covid I’ve sent out 40 editions, and while I enjoyed writing all of them, obviously there are some that I like more, or think work better, than others. Here’s my ten favorite (as of now — ask me next week and I might make totally different choices), listed in chronological order. I hope you find something here to appreciate, either a gem you missed the first time around, or an old favorite to revisit.
Be The Steven You Want To See In The World, April 2 2020
This is the first edition of this newsletter that I’m fully, thoroughly proud of. I just think there’s a really good blend of critical analysis and personal writing here. Too often my newsletters fall into one or the other, and while there’s nothing wrong with either, the balance this article strikes and the way the two intertwine is something I wish I could pull off more often. Also, this topic is just one that’s really important and personal to me, and I’m proud of how much of myself I poured into this article.
That One Scene (Upgrade Edition), April 6 2020
I love the “That One Scene” concept and really want to make it a recurring feature of this newsletter — twice I’ve had ideas for more but just haven’t gotten around to writing them, which frustrates me even though it’s something totally under my control. Beyond that, though, I just think this is also some of my better critical analysis. I show the scene, explain what appealed to me about it, what made it work, and how that structure makes the rest of the movie work as well. It’s concise and clear, which aren’t always my strongest qualities. Also, this has one of my better “Check Out” segments, which manages to not just give information about the movie I discussed in the newsletter, but to find interesting, interconnected media to recommend as well.
Watching My Heroes Turn Human In Front of Me, April 15 2020
Writing this one was cathartic. I hadn’t really gotten the opportunity to talk about this incident all that much, and it felt good to get it out. Perhaps more importantly, it touches upon parts of the (very loose) theme of this newsletter that I rarely get to, talking more about the way our love for art and artists effects us as individuals — and about the humanity of the artists behind our favorite art in general — than just the art itself. I think it’s an important idea to cover, and I’m glad I got to.
The Saga of (Del)Ray Ramsey, May 25 2020
One of my readers described this piece as “well written and passionate, insightful and reasonable,” and man oh man do I appreciate that compliment. I think some of my pieces about lesser known topics, usually comics, might veer a little too close to info dumps for comfort sometimes, but I think I did a good job with this one providing enough context to explain my perspective without inundating my readers with too many unnecessary or confusing details. The Delray situation is unique enough that it always stands out in my memory when I think back about the various pieces I’ve done, and hopefully it does for readers too.
When the Artist Overwhelms the Art, July 9 2020
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is probably the most critical attention Forever + Ever X Infinity got from any outlet, so I’ll give myself some kudos for writing the (self-proclaimed) definitive piece on the album. I’m also proud of the conclusions I came to here as I analyzed this album and as I wrote this piece; “this record is Gilbert grasping to regain his youth” was a thought that didn’t pop into my head until late in the process, but it’s the Rosetta Stone for understanding the entire album. Maybe it’s not the nicest to an artist whose work I’ve generally enjoyed, but the criticism is well-explained, mostly-polite, and entertaining to read, and that, far more than niceness, makes a quality piece to me.
The Perfect Pilot Episode: The Umbrella Academy, August 12 2020
From a numbers standpoint, this is the best performing newsletter I’ve written thus far, and I get it. I actually managed to get this out in time to tap into some of the hype surrounding Umbrella Academy Season Two, but more importantly, I also think it’s just a damn good piece. It helps that I get to unravel a pretty excellent bit of screenwriting; there’s a lot to dig into in this pilot, and I’m really happy with the way I did so. Sometimes the stars just align for you, and everything came perfectly into place for this one.
Scott Pilgrim: Defining My Twenties, Defining the 2000s, August 20 2020
Some of these articles I’ve really struggled with, poured countless hours into writing and editing and still had them turn out not exactly as I had hoped. Writing this one, though, felt almost effortless, and came out even better than I’d hoped. I think that comes through in the finished product; to me, at least, it feels breezy and like a quick, light read, even though it’s actually fairly long. This is also another one where I think I just struck a really strong balance between personal writing and critical analysis, and I also love that I got to talk, not just about how a piece of media effected me, but how it effected and reflected society at large. That was something new and different for this newsletter, and I think it makes this piece stand out.
The Non-Love Love Songs of Dan Campbell, September 2 2020
This is, without a doubt, my favorite piece I’ve written for this newsletter. Campbell’s songs are just something I’m really passionate about, so the process of immersing myself in them was extremely enjoyable, and in doing so I think I was able to come up with a really strong thesis that encompasses and encapsulates his entire career. I feel like I was able to highlight and explain the emotional resonance I find in Campbell’s music, and hopefully I was able to pass even just a little bit of that on to you guys as well. I was planning this piece for a long time and it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to, and that’s so satisfying to me.
To All The Mosh Pits I’ve Loved Before, October 7 2020
If I’m being honest, this piece felt a bit self-indulgent to me as I was writing it — and still does even today to an extent — but the reaction I got from readers was greater than just about any other edition of this newsletter I’ve sent out. You guys really seemed to respond to my stories and were eager to share your own with me as well, and that means a lot to me. I’d love to foster that sense of community here more often, and for that reason alone, I’ll never forget this one.
How “Destiel is Canon” Utterly Broke Me, November 9 2020
I had more fun writing this piece than I did any other edition of this newsletter, easily. Just a big constant grin on my face the entire time. I think that sense of fun and levity shines through in the finished product, but even if it didn’t, I’d still always remember how much fun I had with this one, and that definitely counts for something.
Honorable Mention: My Life as a Pre-Teen Spy, April 20, 2020
To date, this is the only edition of this newsletter that actually lost me a subscriber, but instead of turning me against it, I think it just made me more protective of it. I can get being turned off by my childhood scrawlings in the first half, but I also think they’re cringe-inducing in a way that might be fun for people other than me to read. I also really, fully, legitimately love the thought I put into analyzing Harriet the Spy in the second half. Perhaps a more successful take on this piece would’ve found me combining those two halves somehow, I dunno. That’s what ultimately keeps this one out of the top ten, but it’s still a piece that stands out to me as one of my more memorable and interesting.
ABOUT
“Do You Know What I Love the Most?” is a newsletter from Spencer Irwin. Spencer is an enthusiast and writer from Newark, Delaware, who likes punk rock, comic books, working out, breakfast, and most of all, stories. His previous work appeared on Retcon Punch, One Week One Band, and Crisis on Infinite Chords, and he can be found on Twitter at @ThatSpenceGuy. If you like this newsletter, please subscribe and share with your friends!