LA's Extreme Animals have a strong affinity for pop in a way that some of us might be too embarrassed to admit to. The duo is comprised of Jacob Ciocci from the Paper Rad DIY artist collective and USCD professor of pop studies, David Wightman. The latter has taught classes in pop, heavy metal, hip-hop, and "avant garde and experimental practices of the 20th and 21st century," and a little bit of it all makes it into their collaborative musical endeavors. What started as a project that translated '90s-era trance into live noise shows  featuring "spastic drums, junk electronics, and distorted vocals"  has gradually turned into a full-blown live art show that's played everywhere from NYC's MoMA to Dan Deacon's Wham City.

This week's Mix of the Week is the duo's wonderfully spastic mix for Mixpak Records. The 50-minute mix covers the spectrum of current radio hits [Britney and Ke$ha included], catchy hip-hop hooks via Young L and Rick Ross, emo dubstep courtesy of Skrillex, and some of their own production. We're not the biggest fans of mash-ups, but this mix is full of clever transitions between bizarrely paired tracks that will undoubtedly make you bop along. Loops of "I'm a butterfly," from Die Antwoord's "Enter the Ninja" are played against BEP's "I'mma Be" [re-worked into "I'm a bee"], for example. Later in the mix Nicki Minaj and Issue/Juiceboxxx battle with a chorus of "Yaaa-s." And let's not forget that they managed to sample an episode of Boy Meets World in here too. [It's the one where Cory tricks Topanga into admitting she likes him.]

The whole thing ends with the group's self-titled "Bar/Bat Mitzvah Megamix" that includes a cheesy run through Genesis, Alice Deejay, and 50 Cent, among others. The trick with this mix is to embrace your inner pop-cravings and just go with it.

[Download the mix here.]

Tracklist:

Britney Spears - "I Wanna Go" / Bun B - "Your Everything"

Martin Solveig and Dragonette - "Hello" (Extreme Animals rainbow rock intro)

Adeptus ft. Justin Bieber - "One Night Stand"

Extreme Animals - "I Don't Want No Man (demo)"

Travis Porter - "Make It Rain" / Rage Against The Machine - "Killing In The Name"

DJ George Costanza - "Soulja Boy Meets World"

T3eth - "Care Bear" (Extreme Animals remix)

Billy Joel - "Pressure"/Ke$ha - "Blow"/Rick Ross - "Tupac's Back"

Die Antwoord - "I'm a butterfly" / Black Eyed Peas - "I'm a bee"

Riff Raff SODMG - "Jose Canseco"

Extreme Animals - "4 Whom Do Da Bells Ring (demo)" / Young L - "Loud Pockets"

Korn and Skrillex - "Get Up" / Swizz Beatz - "Everyday (Coolin')"

Extreme Animals - "Do U Thank U R Cooler Than Me (demo)" / Nicki Minaj - "Did It On Em"

Issue and Juiceboxxx - "Yaaaa"

Glass Popcorn - "Ed Hardy"

Extreme Animals - "Party in the U.S.A Remix (demo)"

BOTDF - "Bewitched"

Bankie Phones - "WhiteCupCake"

Le1f - "Wet Werk"

Ceephax Acid Crew - "Nigel Ringtone"

Calvin Harris featuring Kelis - "Bounce"

Pictureplane - "No Eyes"

Genesis - "Mama"

Extreme Animals - "BAR/BAT MITZVAH MEGAMIX (demo)"