1 post tagged “eulogy”
Dear friends and loved ones. Perhaps you know why I have gathered you all here today. Perhaps you don't. But the truth of the matter is, today is the day that we say goodbye to a dearly beloved friend.
DailySonic.
Many of you may be asking, "Who is this DailySonic?" and "Why are we holding their funeral?" But allow me to say that nothing, nothing deserves a eulogy more than this amazing podcast.
DailySonic was formed a little bit over a year ago by a group of New Yorkers who loved the underground music scene and loved to share it with their friends. So they started a podcast. A small, NPR-type podcast called DailySonic. It got off to an ambitious start, playing three episodes a week, and quickly gained massive popularity. Each episode was sure to have something that would interest the listener, for not only did DailySonic play and discuss independent, underground music, but it had a variety of other segments, and each touched a warm, fuzzy spot in the listener's heart.
There was the science "hour," where the wacky character "Isaac Dolom" (real name, Adam Grossman) explained to us the workings of such things as silly putty, taught us how to make the perfect snowball, talked to the Norse god, Thor, and proved to us that cows could not land on their feet when pushed off of a six story parking garage.
And who could forget the outspoken feminist Angela Lovell? She shared with us her life stories, how she "stripped" for a charity benefitting skin cancer, how she'd been kicked out of church three times for speaking her mind, and, of course, the reason why going to MySpace causes her to rush to the bathroom every time she sees the page load.
Each segment was something special, and each voice gave the segment a new and interesting personality. Sure, there were some songs that you wouldn't like, and some guest speakers or interviews that you barely paid attention to, but it was the whole package that really mattered. Often times, you would find a new band that you'd never heard of before, and you would find yourself completely in love, awed at the fact that you had never listened to them in the past.
All of these things drew us in. And we knew that we had something special when some of the segments just brightened your day, making you smile wryly as you lay down or took a walk, listening to it your MP3 player.
It was Michelle Sarkany's soft, shy, uncomfortable voice that made me keep listening to the "What's up with...?" column. It was Adam Varga's poorly-hidden awkwardness as he asked people to tell him thier 30-second life stories on the streets of Manhatten that made me keep watching my iTunes library for the new episode each week.
I was not a DailySonic convert for as long a period as some of my friends, but it gripped me and I held it tightly to my chest, refusing to let it go no matter what. Such love...it was no wonder that the announcement a few months ago upset me so much.
I was shocked. I was confused. But most of all, I was worried when they announced that they would be cutting down to just one episode a week, due to lack of funds. They sold their T-shirts online and asked for donations, but it simply wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to keep this poor group of radio artists living on the cruel streets of the internet.
I watched in horror as the episodes grew shorter and shorter. What once used to be a weekly show with each episode being, at the very least, an hour long, was now limping towards the finish line with threadbare episodes at a mere twenty minutes each.
And that was when the knife fell, about a month ago. I refused to believe my eyes as I watched my computer download something called, "Dailysonic - Goodnight - Our final episode."
It hurt. It hurt to read their final message on the website, thanking the cast, crew, and listeners. It hurt to think that, at the end of November, the archives would be gone, and DailySonic would be wiped from all existence. But most of all, it hurt like a real bitch whenever I thought about how I would never hear "Isaac Dolom" reenact historical moments in crazy voices, or that I would never again hear Michelle Sarkany laugh while on-the-air about how some celebrity had named their child "Ger-majesty."
They will be missed, for, as of earlier today, DailySonic flatlined. The plug was pulled and the shades drawn as the main website was officially shut down.
Goodnight, DailySonic. We've tucked you in and shut off all the lights.
Now rest in peace.
