is a blog about design, technology and culture written by Khoi Vinh, and has been more or less continuously published since December 2000 in New York City. Khoi is currently Principal Designer at Adobe. Previously, Khoi was co-founder and CEO of Mixel (acquired in 2013), Design Director of The New York Times Online, and co-founder of the design studio Behavior, LLC. He is the author of “How They Got There: Interviews with Digital Designers About Their Careers”and “Ordering Disorder: Grid Principles for Web Design,” and was named one of Fast Company’s “fifty most influential designers in America.” Khoi lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn with his wife and three children.
In some respects, I think Muxtape, the popular site for creating so-called “MP3 mixtapes” is a triumph. Ostensibly a tool for creating personal playlists from nominally legal music tracks, it is in actuality very much a piece of social software. Except that the traditional trappings of social software — buddy lists, presence management, intra-membership messaging, etc. — are almost entirely missing. In a sense, it’s a kind of anti-Facebook, and in that functional asceticism, it’s really kind of a marvel.
On the other hand, minimalism has its drawbacks as well as its advantages. To be sure there’s real beauty to Muxtape’s enormous and simple music playback interface — its single-tasking posture may yet turn out to be as iconic as the original Google home page — but it’s also frustrating.
Muxtape, Are You Listening?
There are two things that I want to do with Muxtape, and that I can’t. The first is browsing other Muxtapes without interrupting the playback of the songs I’m listening to at any given moment. That’s easily enough solved by opening up Muxtape.com in a second browser tab or window, but I find that solution to be pretty clumsy.
The second limitation that frustrates me is not so easily resolved: anyone who’s invested time, energy and personal feeling into compiling a mixtape (read: everyone) is going to have something additional to say about the sequencing, the lyrics, the music, the origin album, etc. For better or worse, a lot of those people will want to write that commentary down, and have it accompany the track listing. Muxtape doesn’t let you annotate your track listings. Which is why I’m listing the tracks from my Muxtape here, where I can annotate as much or as little as I want.
Have a listen over at Subtraction.muxtape.com, and since there’s no commenting functionality over at Muxtape.com either, let me know what you think in the comments below.
If you make it all the way to the end of this mix, you can think of this sugary treat, from an up and coming Swedish chanteuse, as the payoff. Totally worth it.
I think it should be easier to browse Muxtapes, yes, but then again that’s what sites like Muxtapes Stumbler are for.
I’m kind of a fan of ‘letting the music speak for itself,’ so the lack of allowable commentary isn’t too bad. I did have a helluva time getting my tracks to be ordered correctly, as it would say it ‘saved’ them, but then I’d visit and they’d still be out of whack. And then had to re-upload everything after their servers ate a bunch of stuff. 🙁
Anyways, I’ll give yours a listen, and mine’s here.
These ideas are well received here. 8tracks.com has been in the works for a while now with a balance of features and simplicity. Interesting to see how it’ll be accepted ‘post-muxtape’. Send me an email and I’ll add you to the preview list. We’re still in private beta…
Anti-Facebook, perhaps… but this thing is screaming out to be a Facebook widgetpplication. So long vampires and werewolves, bring on Muxtape playlists!
BTW, the disclaimer at the bottom is sort of ambiguous… ‘By uploading a song you agree that you have permission to let Muxtape use it.’ hmm… oh well, :upload:
I admit I don’t use muxtape but I find any web app that doesn’t have commenting/sharing/widgets + all the usual web 2.0 monetization hooks to be very refreshing. It’s super minimal and does what it needs to.
I’m also torn between the stark minimalism and the need for functionality. I want to add artwork! I want Last.fm to acknowledge what I’m listening to! I want to find similar mixes!
I can see this developing into something much more detailed over time, and then probably being snapped up by Apple and squeezed into iTunes, much like the CoverFlow application was. (Not necessarily a bad thing – Apple seem to have lost focus on what iTunes was originally meant for: tunes, not a means to sell mobile phone applications.)
Daniel: There is a lastFM post plugin for Firefox, and muxfind.com lets you discover muxtapes based on either an artist or if you enter an existing muxtape based on that compilation.
That said I’d opt for the minimalism. When people blog about their new muxtapes there’s an actual conversation. If you now added tagging, searching, commenting and what not, that would harm the very basic idea of it. I’ve discovered loads of music by just listening to what people put together, but not if I had decided not to try it based on the notes or comments.
Jan – thank you! I have this strange obsession with having absolutely everything I listen to recorded by Last.fm – seriously, if I hear a song in a shop, I want it acknowledged somewhere that I’ve listened to it! It’s a sickness, I know…
I’m now likely to use Muxtape a lot more, just because of that one plugin!
Daniel Miller: In my track listing above, you can click on any artist name for more information, or on the track name for a link to the original album on Amazon.
Muxtape is listening 🙂 The minimalism is a both a design intent and a side effect of being (for now) a one-man operation. It’s definitely my goal to keep it extremely simple and focused, but the lack of certain features has more to do with my being slow to develop them than a conscious decision not to implement. When I first launched the site I thought I’d be spending the next months working on the experience, but it became popular so fast that I’ve had to put much more time into scaling and making sure the trains run on time.
In any case, the features are coming, and they address your concerns exactly. Individual track captions have been on my list for a while (a common use case I’ve seen is people doing a weekly email with an updated muxtape and liner notes; soon you’ll be able to accomplish the whole package within the site). The ability to browse through muxtapes while continuing to hear music is possible through an alternative interface that’s in private beta right now (and which I’d be happy to add you to).
Jan & Daniel — integrated last.fm support is days away. The reporting is already working, I just want to make sure the interface for linking your account is right before I launch it. The next step will be incorporating your listening data for recommendations.
Khoi, thanks for the review, Subtraction has been a longtime influence for me and I was thrilled to read your thoughts.
I do think allowing comments with each track would add some meaning without too much clutter, fwiw… but dig the stripped down interface, no question. Great work, Justin. The updates you have planned sound promising. Really cool of you to weigh in here, too.
I’m definitely enjoying your musical tastes, Khoi.
And I like how muxtape doesn’t have any debris in their design, I’m loving it.
Reminds me of what Songerize used to be, before they shoved millions of ads on it.
Jose Espinal
I think that the feature to keep playing the song in the playlist while one browses other ‘muxtapper’s’ list can be done implementing the same technique that keeps facebook’s chat opened in the bottom of the screen, even while browsing the whole facebook.
I enjoy the minimalism of muxtape as it reminds me of the simplicity of oldschool mixtapes. I don’t mind the barebones approach they employ. I think it’s a trip.
I use last.fm when I want to discover new artists in a souped-up environment.
Also- I’m glad to see you’re still alive and kicking!
I don’t think I could disagree *more*. I love Muxtape for it’s uncanny ability to force me to listen to music ‘the right way’ — in order, no cheating, and without any distractions.
The idea of ‘the mix’ is that it’s a crafted experience, one to be enjoyed as a whole document. As Muxtape stands currently, this is nailed 100%. You can listen to music pretty much anywhere on the net these days — why should we change the _one unique_ music experience to conform and morph into just another annoying, ‘social music experience’.
For the ability to browse and listen at the same time, perhaps you can use Fluid.app to help you. I have it set up, so that other muxtapes show up in CoverFlow style. You can resize how large the CoverFlow panel is.
In some respects, I think
All I want is the ability to ‘remux’ songs from someone’s muxtape, similar to rebloging in Tumblr.
I think it should be easier to browse Muxtapes, yes, but then again that’s what sites like Muxtapes Stumbler are for.
I’m kind of a fan of ‘letting the music speak for itself,’ so the lack of allowable commentary isn’t too bad. I did have a helluva time getting my tracks to be ordered correctly, as it would say it ‘saved’ them, but then I’d visit and they’d still be out of whack. And then had to re-upload everything after their servers ate a bunch of stuff. 🙁
Anyways, I’ll give yours a listen, and mine’s here.
These ideas are well received here. 8tracks.com has been in the works for a while now with a balance of features and simplicity. Interesting to see how it’ll be accepted ‘post-muxtape’. Send me an email and I’ll add you to the preview list. We’re still in private beta…
Anti-Facebook, perhaps… but this thing is screaming out to be a Facebook widgetpplication. So long vampires and werewolves, bring on Muxtape playlists!
BTW, the disclaimer at the bottom is sort of ambiguous… ‘By uploading a song you agree that you have permission to let Muxtape use it.’ hmm… oh well, :upload:
Agree on the notation would being cool.
Love your mix. Where is the Annuals tune from??
I admit I don’t use muxtape but I find any web app that doesn’t have commenting/sharing/widgets + all the usual web 2.0 monetization hooks to be very refreshing. It’s super minimal and does what it needs to.
I’m also torn between the stark minimalism and the need for functionality. I want to add artwork! I want Last.fm to acknowledge what I’m listening to! I want to find similar mixes!
I can see this developing into something much more detailed over time, and then probably being snapped up by Apple and squeezed into iTunes, much like the CoverFlow application was. (Not necessarily a bad thing – Apple seem to have lost focus on what iTunes was originally meant for: tunes, not a means to sell mobile phone applications.)
Anyway, here’s mine.
Daniel: There is a lastFM post plugin for Firefox, and muxfind.com lets you discover muxtapes based on either an artist or if you enter an existing muxtape based on that compilation.
That said I’d opt for the minimalism. When people blog about their new muxtapes there’s an actual conversation. If you now added tagging, searching, commenting and what not, that would harm the very basic idea of it. I’ve discovered loads of music by just listening to what people put together, but not if I had decided not to try it based on the notes or comments.
Jan – thank you! I have this strange obsession with having absolutely everything I listen to recorded by Last.fm – seriously, if I hear a song in a shop, I want it acknowledged somewhere that I’ve listened to it! It’s a sickness, I know…
I’m now likely to use Muxtape a lot more, just because of that one plugin!
… except I can’t get it to work. Poo.
Daniel Miller: In my track listing above, you can click on any artist name for more information, or on the track name for a link to the original album on Amazon.
One can hardly believe that’s not James Brown.
But, well… yes. You were right.
Muxtape is listening 🙂 The minimalism is a both a design intent and a side effect of being (for now) a one-man operation. It’s definitely my goal to keep it extremely simple and focused, but the lack of certain features has more to do with my being slow to develop them than a conscious decision not to implement. When I first launched the site I thought I’d be spending the next months working on the experience, but it became popular so fast that I’ve had to put much more time into scaling and making sure the trains run on time.
In any case, the features are coming, and they address your concerns exactly. Individual track captions have been on my list for a while (a common use case I’ve seen is people doing a weekly email with an updated muxtape and liner notes; soon you’ll be able to accomplish the whole package within the site). The ability to browse through muxtapes while continuing to hear music is possible through an alternative interface that’s in private beta right now (and which I’d be happy to add you to).
Jan & Daniel — integrated last.fm support is days away. The reporting is already working, I just want to make sure the interface for linking your account is right before I launch it. The next step will be incorporating your listening data for recommendations.
Khoi, thanks for the review, Subtraction has been a longtime influence for me and I was thrilled to read your thoughts.
I’m quite happy with the limited feature set myself. My only wish is to be able to search for muxtapes by the creator’s proper name (not username).
Indeed, nice mix Khoi.
Each of us at Burst made our own Muxtapes back near its launch.
I do think allowing comments with each track would add some meaning without too much clutter, fwiw… but dig the stripped down interface, no question. Great work, Justin. The updates you have planned sound promising. Really cool of you to weigh in here, too.
I’m definitely enjoying your musical tastes, Khoi.
And I like how muxtape doesn’t have any debris in their design, I’m loving it.
Reminds me of what Songerize used to be, before they shoved millions of ads on it.
I think that the feature to keep playing the song in the playlist while one browses other ‘muxtapper’s’ list can be done implementing the same technique that keeps facebook’s chat opened in the bottom of the screen, even while browsing the whole facebook.
I enjoy the minimalism of muxtape as it reminds me of the simplicity of oldschool mixtapes. I don’t mind the barebones approach they employ. I think it’s a trip.
I use last.fm when I want to discover new artists in a souped-up environment.
Also- I’m glad to see you’re still alive and kicking!
Jan, thanks so much for the link to the Last.fm script.
Justin, thanks so much for listening to your users and creating a great product.
Khoi, thanks for introducing me to Jeremy Jay. Great Muxtape.
I don’t think I could disagree *more*. I love Muxtape for it’s uncanny ability to force me to listen to music ‘the right way’ — in order, no cheating, and without any distractions.
The idea of ‘the mix’ is that it’s a crafted experience, one to be enjoyed as a whole document. As Muxtape stands currently, this is nailed 100%. You can listen to music pretty much anywhere on the net these days — why should we change the _one unique_ music experience to conform and morph into just another annoying, ‘social music experience’.
Anyway, that’s my take.
…and Muxtape for nobody at the moment, it seems:
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/subtraction.muxtape.com
Seems like everyone else’s are off the air too, though.
I agree with your comments, though especially about the notes/annotation thing.
For the ability to browse and listen at the same time, perhaps you can use Fluid.app to help you. I have it set up, so that other muxtapes show up in CoverFlow style. You can resize how large the CoverFlow panel is.
Great selection of songs! And of course I’m proud and happy to find Moto Boy in your Muxtape.
Here’s a mux you might like: pastell.muxtape.com
It’s the bands featured this summer in the club I’m running in Malm, Sweden.