I missed Monday’s music update. Sorry about that. Let’s just blame it on the holiday, Memorial Day. It’s not like I was taking the day off or anything. No, I was at work, grinding out another 8 hours of punching numbers into a computer, without a single open place to get a cup of coffee. God, I hate when I’m decaf.

Once, a while back, someone asked me why I never got into the laptop-DJing scene. I’ve been sticking strictly to vinyl since I got my start all those years ago. I said to the guy (and I think I was on to something) that DJing through a computer always felt too much like the button-punching I have to do at my day-job. It just wasn’t as much fun. I like the thought of getting away from the screen and getting my fingers on some actual records. Software DJing feels too much like playing a lame rhythm video game; fun for a bit, but not nearly at satisfying at the end of the day.

But I’ve got a nice set for you today from a couple of talented laptop junkies out of Bologna, Italy, that go by the name of Apes On Tapes. This set was recorded live from Sugarbabe , a really nice looking music/clothing/culture boutique in Italy that I’ll totally have to check out whenever I actually get to Europe, and put on by a group called DJs For Sale, who have some other nice mixes you might want to check out. The pictures with this update were all taken from their webpage or MySpace, and judging by the acts they book to play at the shop, they’re definitely worth keeping an ear to.

I guess I picked today’s set for a few reasons. First, it’s from a little while back, and I’ve got some good memories to it. I ended up listening to quite a lot it from my broken MD player through one cross-country road-trip last year (does north-to-south still count as “cross country”? I was crossing it, just, you know, vertically), and a road-trip is a hell of a way to put a mix to the test. I’ve been listening to it again today, and it’s still a nice set, even after a number of plays. Second… well, last week was basically a funk-ish mix, the week before that was some slower 3am downtempo stuff, so for this week smooth laptop glitchery seemed only natural.

And lastly, after finishing up the first season of Heroes last week, I just had to pick these guys after seeing how one of them had uncanny resemblance to my man Sylar. Seriously, check it out.

For the usual artist shout-outs, from what I recall in this set, there’s some Dabrye, some Slicker, and more than a few Prefuse 73 tracks, but they’re sequenced well enough not to feel like you’re getting too much repetition. You get the idea. And if you don’t, just click “Play” up top, and you will soon. Remember, if you’re looking for more music and you’ve missed any of the weekly sets (or just like reading my bitching cultural critique), you can check past editions/archives of The Unnamed Vinyl/DJ Mix Column right here.

‘Til next time, keep those playlists fresh.