Photo: Wenn
Radiohead’s 1997 album OK Computer is to be preserved by the US Library of Congress, amongst 24 other recordings from the likes of The Doors, Lauryn Hill and Sly and the Family Stone.
Every year, the library selects recordings that are, according to the press release, "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". The library has been preserving these significant recordings for the past 15 years, as part of a preservation act.
The press release states that: “Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with annually selecting 25 recordings that are ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’ and are at least 10 years old. The selections for the 2014 registry bring the total number of recordings on the registry to 425, a small part of the Library’s vast recorded-sound collection of nearly 3 million items.”
This year, the recordings selected to be preserved range from 1890 to 1999.
When deciding which albums to preserve, the library also considers public nominations. This year, Radiohead’s OK Computer attracted a large number of votes largely due to, as the BBC reports, “its themes of anti-consumerism, social alienation, isolation, malaise and an overall atmosphere of melancholy.”
Speaking of this year’s selection, curator Matt Barton told the BBC: "I sort of see it as part of a certain ongoing phenomenon in rock music that maybe begins with the Velvet Underground but also The Doors, who are on the list this year. Pop music is not entirely positive in its outlook, shall we say. I think we can say that OK Computer really sums a lot of that up.''
You can view a list of all of the selected albums below:
Vernacular Wax Cylinder Recordings at University of California at Santa Barbara Library (c. 1890-1910)
The Benjamin Ives Gilman Collection, recorded at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago (1893)
The Boys of the Lough and The Humours of Ennistymon - Michael Coleman (1922)
Black Snake Moan and Match Box Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson (1928)
Sorry, Wrong Number (episode of Suspense radio series) (25 May, 1943)
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive - Johnny Mercer (1944)
Radio Coverage of President Franklin D Roosevelt's Funeral, - Arthur Godfrey and others (14 April, 1945)
Kiss Me, Kate original cast album, (1959)
John Brown's Body (album) - Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson and Raymond Massey and directed by Charles Laughton (1953)
My Funny Valentine - Gerry Mulligan Quartet featuring Chet Baker (1953)
Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford (1955)
Mary Don't You Weep - Swan Silvertones (1959)
Joan Baez (album)- Joan Baez (1960)
Stand By Me - Ben E King (1961)
New Orleans, Sweet Emma Barrett and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (album) - Sweet Emma and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (1964)
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - Righteous Brothers (1964)
The Doors (album) - Doors (1967)
Stand! - Sly and the Family Stone (1969)
Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues (album) - Lincoln Mayorga (1968)
A Wild And Crazy Guy (album), Steve Martin (1978)
Sesame Street: All-Time Platinum Favorites (album) - various artists (1995)
OK Computer (album) - Radiohead (1997)
Songs Of The Old Regular Baptists - various artists (1997)
The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (album) - Lauryn Hill (1998)
Fanfares For The Uncommon Woman (album) - Colorado Symphony Orchestra (1999)
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