First all, most of us have been making playlists on the web for many years. This has been facilitated by services like Webjay, Pandora, and Last.fm (just to name a few). The ability to make a playlist on Myspace...with it's vast library of music...has been LONG overdue. It actually boggles my mind that it took them this long. It took a conterversial app made by a former myspace employee (playlist.com) to wake the folks at Myspace up. I couldn't imagine myspace existing for four-plus years without a million or so members complaining that they could only get one myspace song on their page at a time.

As far as the "mixtape", comparison, I think myspace is forgetting about both the intimacy and the portability of a true (physical) mix-tape. I doubt if Rob Gordon is sitting in his downtown Chicago apartment right now creating "mix-tapes" on myspace and emailing them to all his ex- and potential girlfriends. Does myspace even give you the option to create custom playlists for your friends and send them privatley? I haven't seen that option, but I could be wrong.

The "mix-tape" culture continued with the CD-R almost ten years ago when CD burners on desktop computers became standard and is still thriving today. It's still called a "mix-tape" by many today regaurdless of it's base format. I , for one, love making mix-tapes for friends, family, and potential mates. Until they start making USB flash drives more, should I say, "cute", then the life of the mix-tape will end with the CD. CDs, just like their cassette tape contemporaries, have a limited amount of time and space, which helps make the customized group and order of songs more special and intimate. Compare that to the lost and infinite experience one could feel on a 2GB flash drive or a web-created playlist. 

I am not knocking your new music service yet, Myspace. So far it has had it's ups and downs. I just didn't buy your mix-tape analogy. The retro cassette is cute and all, but until you unleash a service that burns custom CDs for us to send as gifts, then I don't see your "mix-tape" campaign working.