Jason has been keeping things quite busy here, but in case anyone is wondering - I AM still alive, just not on a computer quite as much these days. But though I've fallen behind on all things MP3, I've still been doing a lot of listening. The brunt of my pile is the harvest from a killer used sale at Other Music, but more on those later - they've all taken a backseat to the new Crazy Rhythms mix CD RVNG PRSNTS MX4. If that title sounds familiar, it should; it's the latest in RVNG's mix series, the follow-up to Tim Sweeney's MX3 from last year. As much as I loved MX3, I can't say it ever consumed my ears quite as much as the new MX4 has this week. It's yet to leave my CD changer.

Dan Selzer and Mike Simonetti together form Crazy Rhythms, and I believe this is their first official release. (Though since Dan founded Acute Records and Mike founded Troubleman Unlimited, they've had their paws on plenty else.) Their RVNG bio (worth a read, it's funny) notes that "Mike is partial to old-school hip-hop that sounds likes disco and dirty, dirty house music and Dan is partial to gay electronic disco and new wave that sounds like house music. They both like Post-Punk and Acid, and they invented No Wave. Their beatmatching skills are impeccable, but used sparingly."

As you might guess from the above, the mix covers a lot of ground - new wave, disco, italo, post-punk, more - and the song selection is aces throughout - fun, funky, instantly catchy. Though close to all 18 of the songs were new to me, more than a few have already been stuck in my head. The highlights are everywhere - early on it's the 1-2-3 of Klein & M.B.O.'s NYC tribute "The Big Apple," Wide Boy Awake's "Slang Teacher" (available at Fluxblog), and a wild synthed out cover of "Whole Lotta Love" by Massimo Barsotti D.J. From there, it continues strong right up through the end, when they mix Dinosaur's "Kiss Me Again" into the Feelies' "Crazy Rhythms" (which is great, you can download it at 20 Jazz Funk Greats, scroll a bit). I got obsessed with "Kiss Me Again" - an Arthur Russell tune with David Byrne on guitar - after hearing it on Optimo's Psyche Out mix, but that was actually a different mix. The version on MX4 is the original A-side - surprisingly different but just as fantastic. On paper, I figured it'd be my standout song on the disc. In actuality, I'm enjoying the whole thing too much to pick favorites.

Instead I'll just point out the best part of this mix - it's only $3 plus $1 or $2 postage. It's not officially out until August 30, but preorders will start shipping next week. Check out the RVNG site for more details, including the tracklisting. And let me know if you can help me find MX1 or MX2 - both are sold out, but this series is inspiring the completist in me.