The Library of Congress said today it will preserve everything from a tinny 1888 recording of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to Prince’s incendiary album “Purple Rain” as part of its latest slate of entries to the National Recording Registry. The Library each year preserves 25 recordings it feels are “cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures for generations to come.” This year, a wide variety of recordings will be added, including: Bo Diddley’s songs “Bo Diddley” and “I’m A Man,” Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” recognized as the first hit rap song, Booker T and the MG’s “Green Onions,” Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy soundtrack…
Browsing: Library of Congress
I came across this interesting nugget in an article about the Library of Congress’ efforts to permanently archive 120 years of film history. Ken Weissman, supervisor of the Library’s film preservation laboratory, has started a pilot program to once and for all fix a mistake caused by the agency’s lousy interpretation of copyright law more than a century ago. The Library started archiving films in 1894, and over the next two decades, accumulated some 3,000 movies such as The Great Train Robbery and A Trip to the Moon. But the Library’s interpretation of the then-current copyright law led it to conclude that these newfangled motion pictures…
It seemed like everybody lined up to honor Michael Jackson after his death this summer, and yesterday the Library of Congress bestowed its own posthumous accolade on the late singer: “Thriller” will be the first music video added to the National Film Registry. “Thriller” showed that music videos could be entertaining films in their own right — more than just a commercial for an album. The 14-minute film was directed by “Blues Brothers” auteur John Landis, featured narration by the awesomely creepy Vincent Price, and inspired prison dance troupes all over the world. Each year, the Library of Congress selects…