As you know, Past Daily is in the middle of its Spring Fundraiser – we have to do this a couple times a year. We have to do it to raise enough money so we can keep the operation going, keep the archive preserving and digitizing and keep the website cranking out stories and sounds and music and history every day.
Takes a lot of time – the average day is about 14 hours. All that is spent researching, digging and digitizing, finding the right photos and eventually writing so you can read what’s going on while you’re listening, or read why you’re listening to it in the first place.
Admittedly, it’s a labor of love. Truths to tell, I’ve been collecting most of what you hear here for most of my life. And unlike a lot of collectors or archives and libraries, I don’t want this collection to sit in some dark room, waiting for a garage sale, a wrecking ball or to have it carted off to an institution who will bury it in another dark room. I don’t think that’s what history is all about – it’s about discovering and being informed and being reminded of events you may have forgotten, or events you didn’t think anything of at the time, but which became a life-changing moment in retrospect.
There’s a lot that goes on in the average day – most of it we miss, some of it comes back to haunt, but most all of it is chronicled in some way; filed for future reference – someplace.
And that’s the same thing with Pop Culture and Music, and we feature a lot of that on Past Daily. Every night we run something brand new or completely rare; a session recorded for a radio station, like the legendary John Peel Sessions for the BBC, or the in-studio sessions for Swedish Radio of new bands, unsigned bands – a lot of music to digest. Add to that, on Wednesday we offer a Classical Music Concert; most of the time something new from one of the hundreds of broadcast concerts around the world. On Saturday we offer a legendary Rock concert, going back to the early 1960s. On Sunday its Jazz and on Sunday night it’s rare and vintage Classical recordings. And in between all that are interviews, documentaries and a grab-bag of history that doesn’t quite fit in any category.
That’s what we do – and we do it every day – and we do it every week. And we’ve done it for almost five years – offering rarities, history and amazement – and all for the price of a cup of coffee, if you feel like it.
What we offer is for free because you shouldn’t have to pay to be curious, shouldn’t have to pay to be informed.
And that’s why you should contribute to Past Daily. Not a lot – as much as you’d like – as much as you feel like having this sort of culture and history and amazement at your fingertips – every day. You should contribute if you feel like what we do is important to have access to – something you want to be a part of.
Look – I know it’s rough out there. News really isn’t news anymore – history seems a lost cause – Music is only what you have delivered to you by people who really don’t care all that much, and curiosity is rapidly becoming a luxury.
I would like to think Past Daily is trying to make a difference, at least trying to keep all the curiosity and exploration and need-to-know alive, because it’s important to know about your culture, what other people are doing and thinking and what gets them excited.
So I’m in the midst of doing this fundraiser – trying to raise enough money to keep it all going, all giving back.
If you’re up for it, and can afford to chip in a little, no matter how much or how little, please click on the box below and make your pledge. It may not seem like a lot to you, but when you add it up with all the 5,000 + people who come by every day to visit – it’s huge.
I promise not to be a pain and to keep bugging you, but sometimes people forget – just like history. And a little reminder now and then makes all the difference.
We’re coming up on the weekend, and hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot of you between now and Monday morning. Tell your friends while you’re at it and don’t forget to click on the link in the box below:
. . . is it a deal?
Gordon Skene
I just made my regular contribution. It would be more if not for three daughters in college at the same time. This page is a daily stop and a constant delight. In this unusual election year, I would love to hear some multi-ballot convention coverage, like 1940 GOP presidential balloting or the VP balloting at the 1956 DNC.
Stay tuned – I was actually going to run some of the 1956 convention as we get closer to the current ones. Thanks again for your contribution – it’s people like you who make me always want to do my best!
Gordon