After years of collecting recorded history, a lifetime spent dumpster diving for all those milestones of the past no one really wanted to hang on to, I decided it was time to share those discoveries with people who probably never heard them before. It’s history and, as much as it has to do with the past, it has some link with the present and probably some harbinger of what the future may or may not be about.
Past Daily started off as a hobby, like collecting stamps or recipes. And then it became a quest to find out how things changed, and in changing, how much they’ve remained the same.
But Past Daily isn’t all about the dim-distant past. Although, to be dead-honest, anything that happened thirty seconds ago is considered past history. So the playing field is pretty wide. Past Daily hopes to be the place you find out about things you wondered about, were curious about, read about.
This is my collection – my archive. Sounds of history and people and culture going back to the 1890’s right up to today – it’s all in the mix. Some of it is great and fun and an adventure to listen to. Some of it is depressing and anger-provoking. But it’s all part of life and our world and much of what has made us who we are today. A lot of it will be unfamiliar to you, or people places and events you’ve heard about, but never actually heard. This is history that can be fun, it can also be thought-provoking and sometimes even disturbing – because that’s what life is about anyway. We’re not all unicorns and popsicles. Sometimes you hear about how we used to be, but aren’t that way anymore. And sometimes you’ll hear how we used to be and haven’t changed that much.
History is mostly about things as they happened before, but also how they are happening again. The old adage of not remembering the past will make you repeat it is true, especially today, right now.
Our world can be alarming but it can also be a place of comfort – things that are familiar that bring back memories and moments that made a lasting impression. The music we remember from that place and time we were growing up; when everything around us was busy stamping its presence in our brains.
They always say it’s alright to look at the past but not stare at it. Everyone has a specific place and time that has meant the most to them. If you’re older you look at what is going on with those younger than you and shake your head. If you’re younger and you look at what was going on before you were born, those things that resonated with people your parents, or grandparents age, you may cringe. Both of you are looking at life from what made a lasting impression on you and when. But learning about it makes you understand why some things are the way they are. Which is why Past Daily is also about contemporary culture and history just as much as history from the past – it all mixes to make the big tapestry.
But to be clear, Past Daily isn’t about Nostalgia and “the good old days” – your best day may someone’s worst and vice-versa. Life is complicated and the events that take place in the course of our lives shape our opinions of it – so there’s no blanket feeling of wistfulness associated with history – just doesn’t happen unless it’s personal; just your personal moment in time.
So Past Daily tries to cover a lot of bases – and we try to do the best we can covering those bases. We cover a lot and offer a lot because like a magazine you can pick and choose the things that interest you the most and leave the rest. Sometimes we get things wrong and it’s up to you the visitor, who may have specific knowledge or experience with something to set the record straight. We’re always up for that because we think it’s important – we don’t re-write history, we can’t – we wouldn’t want to anyway. In many ways, history is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable because it marks something you can learn from and learn not to repeat – and the more witnesses the better. Which is why we try to go after the earliest examples of things or find those people who were there and can tell you in their own voice what it was like.
Our purpose with Past Daily is to turn you on to things – tell you things you might find important. We’re not clickbait, we aren’t trolls and we aren’t “influencers” – we’re like the best daily magazine on the planet, to thumb through and find something you like and we do that every day; seven days a week, no matter what.
Hopefully you will stick around and check in every day and keep coming back. And if you like what we’re doing and want to show your support so that we can keep doing it, consider supporting Past Daily via Buy Me A Coffee, PayPal or Patreon. It’s simple, easy and we can use all the help we can get. It’s expensive, preserving and presenting history and your support is crucial. And tell your friends.
History doesn’t stop and neither does the desire to learn about it.
Enjoy,
Gordon Skene – Past Daily/The Gordon Skene Sound Collection
