"The mixtape went the way of 8-tracks and dinosaurs shortly after 1995 (my first, last and only mixtape plays heavy on Space Jam). In its place, enabled by the explosive growth of the Internet, digital technologies from Napster to MySpace have risen to satisfy the music sharing demands of audiophiles everywhere. As soon as these technologies are widely known, however, either the glut of users or the long arm of the law intervene to disable them. This is a reluctant column for just that reason: like the locals-only restaurant with an insignificant health-code violation, I fear calling the wrath of our government's innumerable regulatory agencies down upon a site that does what it does well in part because neither you nor the RIAA know it exists.
Muxtape, launched in late March, reinvigorates the mixtape tradition of yesteryear. Streaming free, 12-song, user-generated playlists, the site offers an elegantly designed way to not only explore new music, but also to share one's own. With a minimalist format that asks for no more than an account name, email address and password, Muxtape jettisons the "me"-heavy user profile that distracts sites like MySpace. 12 songs. That's it. This is about sharing mixtapes, not pet and party photos.