There are New York City landmarks known worldwide, and then there are those that only locals know. Little things in the landscape: a strange tree, a favorite bodega, the Dr. Zizmor subway ad, and the Arecibo car service, which runs out of Park Slope. It was there for you before Uber. Before cabs would take you home to Brooklyn. And it has long been home to some of the most beloved and loathed hold music. So be-loathed that musician David Nagler has played it between songs at shows:

But the song is over, friends. Lindsay Robertson called Thursday and found a generic, sterile greeting replaced the old smooth muzac callers had become accustomed to hearing:

Holy shit, Arecibo car service changed their ICONIC hold music! (cc @davidnagler) Bittersweet!! — Lindsay Robertson (@lindsayism) September 1, 2016

I called Arecibo Thursday evening for some answers and an employee told me that yes, the hold music had changed, and that yes, customers have been asking about it, and that no, he did not know why. "The owner changed it," he laughed as I pressed him further on the subject. Employees were not made aware of the change, or the reason for it.

Now all we have are the memories. Nagler told me on Thursday evening:

"Arecibo has been my main car service since about 2005. Before that I used Cobble Hill Car Service but they were frankly kinda mean. Arecibo was cheaper, though in calling Arecibo sometimes you'd be put on hold for five minutes or more. The hold music was really catchy, very CD 101 Smooth Jazz, and was unidentifiable. A lot of the musicians I played with lived in the Carroll Gardens/Park Slope area, so they all knew it as well. I decided to play it at exactly one show at Union Hall, because it was just down the street from Arecibo HQ. I'm generally on the lookout for covers like that—I've been wanting to do the Cobble Hill Cinemas theme for a while."

Please hold while we listen to that classic:

Nagler continued, "I haven't been able to be put on hold for more than 10 seconds today—they've upped their customer service in this post-Uber era—so I haven't gotten to hear much of the new song, but it doesn't seem nearly as smooth."

I asked Robertson for further comment on this unexpected ending, and she reminisced: "For at least the past decade and probably much longer, the Arecibo hold music was an earworm for anyone who spent a lot of time in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and surrounding neighborhoods. I've heard it less over the years (gee, wonder why?) but Arecibo is still by far the cheapest way to get to either airport from those neighborhoods. It's going through my head now, and I'll miss it. End of an era."

It was polarizing, yet brought us all together.

The arecibo hold music should be the national anthem of Brooklyn — jess kimball leslie (@jesskimball) December 10, 2011

I left NYC before Uber took over and just got sad thinking about the Arecibo hold music slowly fading into nothingess — Sara Schaefer (@saraschaefer1) June 6, 2016

@pushinghoops delete that shit, let the arecibo hold music wash over you. Five minutes! — Jody Avirgan (@jodyavirgan) February 7, 2015

@galeamonster tried to figure a good way to tweet Arecibo hold music at you but came up empty WAIT doot doot doooo doot doot doot doot doot! — Jenny Owen Youngs (@jennyowenyoungs) April 30, 2013

I love the Arecibo hold music. — Candace Williams (@TeacherC) November 25, 2010

I just realized the song that's been stuck in my head all morning is the Arecibo hold music. — David Marchese (@david_marchese) June 26, 2014

you know you're a Brooklynite when the hold music for Arecibo gets stuck in your head — Jacky Tran (@waxyjax) October 11, 2012

Was on hold with Arecibo so long I started picking out their hold music on the banjo #fb — Scott Trudeau (@sstrudeau) November 20, 2012

The worst way to break up with someone (in Brooklyn) would be over the phone and then play the Arecibo hold music when they call back. — Lynne Elizabeth (@lynneelizabeth) February 11, 2012

Great. Not only are they late, but I now have the Arecibo hold music stuck in my head. #StillBetterThankTheContinentalHoldMusic — Theodore Leo (@tedleo) September 22, 2011

Everyone blame Jack: