Mixtape for the Apocalypse is where I write about the things that stayed with me: films that got under the skin, albums that attached themselves to particular years, old technology that was far more awkward than nostalgia admits, and the objects we somehow keep carrying from one phase of life into the next.
I’m a designer by trade, which probably explains why I notice packaging, title sequences, production design, armour, typography, interfaces and the way a record sleeve can lodge itself in memory almost as firmly as the music. I grew up with cassettes, VHS, magazines, record shops and computers that expected you to know what to type before they would do anything useful.
The site began as a place for long-form film and music writing, then gradually made room for television, model kits, collecting, physical media and technology. That sprawl is deliberate. Culture never arrived in neat categories when I was younger, and I don’t see much reason to pretend that it does now.
What I write about
- Film and television, especially horror, science fiction and fantasy
- Music from the cassette and CD years through to whatever the algorithm turns up next
- Physical media, archiving and the peculiar satisfaction of owning the thing
- Model kits, collectibles and hobby objects
- Retro technology and the machinery that quietly shaped everyday life
- Memory, design and the small bits of culture that survive long after their moment has passed
The writing is personal rather than definitive. I’m interested in what a film, record or object does once it collides with memory, age and whatever else life has piled on top of it.
If you’re new here, Start Here is the easier route into the archive.