Virtual mixtapes 29.03.2008
The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. #
Lately, a couple of web services has brought the mixtape back. One is muxtape. it's simple, clever, and it just works, really. I can dig it, I really can (especially the RSS-feature, so you can subscribe to someones mixtapes).
Another mixtape service on the web is mixwit, but I haven't tried it. Judging on sheer simplicity, Muxtape wins hands down, but who knows, mixwit might have a couple of tricks up their sleeves that I haven't explored.
Anywho, where does this newfound love for virtual mixtapes lack compared to the old school version? That you don't have a physical object, that you can take around with you, and you can't play the songs when you want to, you have to be at your computer, although, admittedly, they are more ubiquotous today than tape players. But it's still not the same charm as the old school mixtape. But wait, somebody thought about that.
Although it still relies on a computer to actually play the tracks, suck has created a USB mixtape where you can decorate it, write all the tracks on the sleeve and all that, and inside there's a 64Mb USB stick, perfect for 10-12 tracks in somewhat decent quality.
I'm tempted, because I love mixtapes, the old school way, with physical cassettes, and a cassette recorder, and I guess this is the closest you get to that feel.