This episode starts with a listener confession from a friend of the podcast, GST. From there, I give a budget update. Specifically, I address the idea of selling stuff just so I can buy more stuff, and working to break that cycle. From there, I discuss a bit of a branding crisis I'm currently having regarding all the different monikers I have for all my creative endeavors. Finally, I wrap by addressing a TikTok video made to poke fun at jazz gatekeepers.

New '90s style jazzy hip hop beat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMiOXBu77SY

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

I have a conversation with Bruce, who was known to many on Instagram as @wabisabiheadphones before shutting the project down recently. Bruce and I discuss mutual Cali friends, his upbringing in South Africa, meeting his wife in the UK and moving to California shortly after, befriending a hoarder who left his entire collection of 50,000 records to Bruce, PTSD, SSRIs, and the ways in which "story culture" can lead us to believe our lives will be a lot more exciting than they end up being, amongst other things.

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

The usual budget update, an update on my creative endeavors, then a little monologue on my thoughts about fame, celebritydom, and wealth; and coming to the more recent realization about how much my thoughts about them have affected my well-being and my life in general.

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

In this week's monologue, I talk about my recent obsession with hip hop 12-inch singles, and a general enthusiasm for classic hip hop production (that often samples jazz records). I also talk about my time being creative lately, and how I sometimes struggle to find the time and motivation to make music.

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

In this week's monologue, I talk about some anxiety and intrusive thoughts I've been dealing with the past week or so. I also talk about being (way) over budget, amongst other things.

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

I have a conversation with a good old friend of mine, Chris Reisman, owner of Hudson Valley Vinyl in Beacon, New York. Chris and I discuss our past as hip hop artists, samplers, maxing out credit cards to buy equipment, opening a record store, me getting mad at Chris for not selling me a jazz record, evolving taste in jazz, being opinionated, panic attacks, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and SSRIs, amongst other things.

Hudson Valley Vinyl Website: https://hudsonvalleyvinyl.com

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

In this week's monologue, I talk a little about the budget, how I am getting back into making music, some of my current inspirations, and revisiting the worlds of "jazzy hip hop" and hip hop production.

Yesterday's New Quintet Playlist Made by Me: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6zHgo5QH5n4nZblWIXp6bZ?si=84cfb470d53742b9

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

I kick things off this week with a just-in listener confession. I then talk about getting excited about a new piece of music equipment, and then once I got it, I quickly lost interest. This leads me to discuss creativity and the spontaneity it requires, and how difficult it becomes to find the time and motivation to be creative as I get older. I then return to the topic of the critical seller I dealt with last week, and I then share my thoughts on phono cartridges.

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

This week's DG Monologue is an extended Christmas special of sorts. I read two listener confessions, one about the London Jazz Collector website, the other about negotiating record prices online and in person. I also talk about having a hard time taking a joke, the social challenges that come along with high-functioning autism, one-sided verbosity, feelings of embarrassment and guilt centered around friends getting real with me, wondering if I'm autistic or just an asshole, and more on feeling shame and questioning my standing with other collectors due to my obsession with Blue Note.

My article on the LJC website: https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/guest-post-how-they-heard-it-blue-note-records-and-the-transition-from-mono-to-stereo/

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]

I have a conversation with Joe Fello, a very good friend of mine who was recently diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 47. Joe and I both came up together in the Albany, New York hip hop scene during the 2000s. Later on, a small group of local friends coalesced that Joe and I are both still a part of to this day. Joe and I talk about the Albany hip hop scene, Covid, funny moments with friends referencing jazz, Company Flow, freestyling, IQ tests, Adderall, and complimenting men, amongst other things.

Joe's Instagram: https://instagram.com/thejoeshow

Listener confession form: https://dgmono.com/confession

Email: [email protected]