💐 Episode Summary

In this episode host Dinah Alobeid talks to her confidante and friend of over 20 years, Elyse Merlo, one of the hosts of Genre’d podcast. With a chronological breakdown of her favorite music that she wants played at her funeral, this episode features a walk through some of the best music you may have never heard of. This convo highlights fun and surprising b-sides from No Doubt, Billy Joel, Hanson, and more,  and Elyse’s love of lyrically dense, powerhouse singers. You can expect to walk away with some strong opinions and an inside look into the glam open casket dreams of this fabulous, theme-loving, craft queen herself, Elyse. 

💿 Songs Mentioned

1. “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles

2. “Like A Prayer” by Madonna

3. “Mine” by Taylor Swift

4. “Misery Business” by Paramore

5. “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” by Taylor Swift

6. “I Lost A Friend” by FINNEAS

7. “Golden” from KPOP Demon Hunters

8. “Black Sheep” by Metric 

9. “Burn” from The Hamilton Soundtrack (sung by Phillipa Soo)

10. “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga

11. “Me and Mia” by Ted Leo and The Pharmacists

12. “Sunday Morning” by No Doubt

13. “Portions For Foxes” by Rilo Kiley

14. “Yearbook” by Hanson

15. “Ocean Eyes” by Billie Eilish

16. “Man From Milwaukee” by Hanson

17. “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers

You can listen to Elyse’s playlist on Spotify.

🎙 About the Guest

Elyse Merlo is a recovered English major, sometimes professor, and keeper of a million hobbies. She’s also the host of Genre’d, a book podcast she co-hosts with her sister where they love to read, rant, and recommend.

🌹 About Play This At My Funeral

Play This At My Funeral is a deeply fun, slightly macabre, always heartwarming show about the songs that shape our lives — and the ones we’d play at our funerals. Each episode invites a guest to curate the playlist for their own (hypothetical) send-off and share the stories that made those songs matter. 

In each episode, host Dinah invites a guest on to talk through the soundtrack of their life: the songs that have held them in moments of anguish, haunted them on the regular, and maybe just maybe even saved them. It’s a cozy, 45-minute-ish journey through meaningful lyrics, vivid memories, and the emotional mixtapes that mark our most human moments.

Think Desert Island Discs meets Films To Be Buried With — but with more vibes and fewer survival scenarios.

The show is created and hosted by Dinah Susan Alobeid and is edited and co-produced by Alice Marcondes. 

💜 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts

• Please leave a 5-star review and share with someone who’s quietly building their own “funeral playlist” (or should be!)

• You can follow the show on Instagram at @PlayThisAtMyFuneralPodcast and TikTok at @PlayThisAtMyFuneralPod and Dinah on IG @DinahSusanAlobeidWrites

• You can watch the podcast video episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WriteDanceRepeat/playlists 

• Stay in touch with Dinah by joining her Substack community at Write, Dance, Repeat

🎙 About the Host

Dinah Susan Alobeid is a writer, dancer, and VP of Communications & Content by day (not always in that order). She’s the creator and host of the newly launched “Play This At My Funeral” podcast. Her fiction has appeared in Porter House Review, Five on the Fifth, and Reverie Literary Magazine and her nonfiction and poetry can be found in Spectrum Magazine, MediaPost, and more. She lives in New Jersey (even though she’s a born and bred New Yorker) with her partner and their rambunctious toddler. 

I hearby declare that I do not own the rights to any music or lyrics played during the recording of this podcast. All rights to the music and audio belong to their respective owner(s).