Big Changes
You may have immediately noticed that things look a little bit different around here. After considering it for months, I finally migrated the newsletter to Substack. A few reasons for this:
Easier, more versatile and consistent formatting for me, which hopefully results in an infinitely more enjoyable newsletter for you. You can even view the newsletter on the Substack app! Pretty cool.
Easy access to the complete archive, including browsing by genre and collaborators. I happen to think revisiting old mixtapes is nice to do!
Ability for more community interaction, via direct comments and reply emails.
More potential for growth through organic and word-of-mouth referrals. Reality is people are probably more likely to subscribe to a personal Substack newsletter instead of a Mailchimp monthly campaign, as the latter service is mostly used for email marketing.
Anyways, hope you like the changes! I spent at least 20 hours this week importing the entire newsletter archive, retroactively reformatting and updating old posts with new links, and tagging every post. I think it’ll pay dividends in the long run.
Also - I’ve renamed the newsletter to Made You A Mixtape. Feels more appropriate, as that has become what this whole thing is about.
I’d really like this project to continue to grow, and I really appreciate any time y’all share it with anyone. I’ll be wrapping the initial goal of 50 mixtapes in March, maybe taking a month or two off. Then I’ll hopefully hit the ground running with bigger and better plans for the future!
Got an absolute October gem for you this month, a collaboration with one of my favorite creatives: Diana Kolsky. We meditate on the separation between body and mind and all the existential drama that comes from that, but I’ll let her add her two cents below.
Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.
And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?
Ghost in the Machine
Created in collaboration with Diana Kolsky for fall fuzz.
A few words from Diana:
*****
Well well well, if it isn't the season of blood and chocolate and mischief. We cooked up this mix over a cauldron of bones as a soundtrack for your fuzzy fall tableau. Hope it's a spooky one. See you in Hell. <3
*****
Love you all. Hope you enjoy!
Join Me: Catch up on the films of David Lynch.
I love David Lynch a lot. I like him as a filmmaker, as a personality, and as a curator. October’s the perfect time of year to dive into his body of work, so I’m going to dial into the Criterion Channel and catch up on all the films and shorts I’ve yet to watch (some are embarrassing to admit, so I won’t).
Who are you watching this fall? Any under the radar spooky stuff I should check out?
RIYL: Twin Peaks, film noir, camp, Laura Dern, Kyle MacLachlan
Check out Angelo Badalamenti’s theme from Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me.
Some Other Things That Diana Loves
(that you might love too!)
Neko Case's newsletter, Entering the Lung - Nice mix of raging against the machine, nature writing, some spiked Gen X feminism for this ancient millennial, and ephemera—always a treat in the ol' inbox.
John Wick - Only action movie franchise I've gotten into. Closest I've come to successfully meditating is watching extended Wick fight scenes—ballet for us heathens. Love that he never forgets the kill shot.
Functionally Dead - Lefty comedy zine I make with some good folks. We're gearing up for a banger holiday issue—don't miss it.
Melmoth - A terrifically eerie read for this time of year.
This chocolate bar.