Welcome!
Oh look another awkward intro post to a Substack!
There is something both very 2023 and also very retro about every post where someone welcomes you to their Substack.
In one way it’s very of the moment, as plenty of journalists and writers use platforms like Substack as other social media places seem to be unwelcoming to text based posts.
But the retro part is how The Great Substack Rush is so like the blogging era of the late 00s/the early 10s . Then fashion, music and culture was covered by people keen to make their name but also written in a way that felt less about brand building and a tad more grounded.
And here I trot, just as the year wraps, thinking finally I’ll give this place a go. It comes as I try and consider my relationship to social media both personally and professionally. I also miss writing regularly too. While I’ve had a busy and fun couple years with work, writing doesn’t factor in as much as it used too. The muscle you get from writing regularly is one I’d like to return to.
Goodreads and Letterboxd have certainly given the almost competitive rank and review approach to pop culture plenty of life. And I can see the appeal. I have always enjoyed reading and writing reviews. When I was a teenager I sent my local paper review of movies I’d seen and they... ran them? Somehow I hustled a newspaper column without even meaning to?!? Truly I wish I had that brazen self belief now.
My plan with this newsletter is to try and share a post once a week. I want to talk about stuff I’ve been watching, reading, listening to be it books, articles, films & tv and maybe even share pop culture stories I’ve found interesting that week. I like the idea of doing some hot takes on pop culture every now and then too.
Given that it’s the end of the year I figured I’d do some “stuff I loved this year” posts to get the ball rolling. I love talking about this kind of stuff on Instagram stories but between how they completely gut your story views and the limits of a 15 second post this feels like a nice spot where that stuff could live.
Truthfully, the videoification (not a word but hey) of so much of social media leaves me cold. Obviously video can be fun, interesting, a great way to get an idea across etc but TikTok and Instagram are in a race to make EVERYTHING a video when it doesn’t need to be. It feels like an obvious and cynical ploy to keep people on their phones for longer and “content” is king. And “content” frequently feels like stuff nobody really wants to be making, nobody really wants to be watching but is what is rewarded. It’s also lead to a kind of sameness I find to be frank… corny as hell and I’m not sure where I fit in.
Perhaps this is a way for me to share things you’ll enjoy reading and carve out another space online when so much of it feels like it may not be for me. But also if you see me doing a GRWM FOR A DAY AT WORK video in like 8 weeks you better keep your mouth shut and hit like. Thanks!
We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited to give this a try. I would like it to be something I do for fun and can work around my schedule. It’s tricky trying to make fun for side hustles and hobbies. I’m still asked about my Real Housewives podcast and if it’ll come back and truthfully it’s hard to make time for those kind of side projects. I’m hopeful that this newsletter will be a chance to work at writing in a way that’s relatively easy to fit in.
Thanks for reading and for signing up if you do <3