The National Recording Registry: 25 in ’25!

Other notes

• As always, there’s an official playlist for the Class of 2025, courtesy of DIMA, the Digital Media Association.  Available wherever you listen to government curated playlists.
• This is an okay roster of inductees. While there are no recordings I feel are undeserving of recognition, there are also none that I feel were long overdue either. To be fair, none of these are personal favorites of mine, so I don’t have any big emotional attachment to any of these recordings. As far as cultural significance, most of the albums are on here to represent the artists, not necessarily the songs. That being said, it’s nice seeing the likes of Helen Reddy, Tracy Chapman, and Amy Winehouse making the cut.
• According to the NRR press release, “Chicago Transit Authority” received the most nominations from the public for this year’s roster, with “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “My Life” also ranking high among the 2600 nominated recordings. Even more reason to keep submitting your nominations: Your voice matters!
• By my count, 11 of this year’s inductees hail in part or in full from the 1970s, easily making that the most represented decade in this class (second place is the 1990s with four). There’s nothing wrong with having this much ‘70s culture on one list, but doesn’t that seem a bit lopsided? On a related note: the NRR’s write-up on Charley Pride mentions his country music success occurring “[l]ong before Beyonce and others broke the presumed color line of country music”. We get it NRR; Charley Pride’s on here because of “Cowboy Carter”.
• Among the artists this year who are also represented on the National Film Registry are Roy Rogers, Don Rickles, Elton John, and Celine Dion. I’m sure there’s more, especially among the talented creatives that worked behind the scenes of these recordings, but like I said, I had a long day at work so I’m not up to doing my usual amount of research.
• Yes, you read that correctly: There is a collection of folk songs from Virginia singer and activist Nimrod Workman. As best I can tell, that is his real name. Fun Fact: The name Nimrod comes from the Bible, and didn’t catch on as an insult until around the time Mr. Workman was an adult.
• Yes, you read that correctly, too: the Microsoft Windows Reboot Chime is on a list of important American recordings. I don’t know who lobbied for that one, but I salute you. The Windows Chime is to the NRR what “Let’s All Go to the Lobby” is to the NFR: the pick that seems like a random non-entity at first but ultimately expands the definition of a what should be on the Registry.
• Today on “Dear God I’m Old”: music from “Minecraft” and “Hamilton” have been preserved by the Library of Congress. “Hamilton” is just barely hitting its decade mark for eligibility, but I’ll allow it because that show really was a big deal at the time. Take that, “Rent”!
• And finally, a shoutout to Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress. I don’t talk about Carla a lot on this blog, but she is ultimately the one person deciding which films I am devoting my posts to, and the recordings I briefly touch on once a year. As much as I feel the U.S. government deserves to be criticized for some of its most recent decisions, I can’t turn my back on a subsection that has devoted literal centuries to preserving our art and culture. Please send your good thoughts to Carla and all other government employees who are out there helping champion the diverse voices and viewpoints that truly make America great.

Happy Listening,

Tony