The Library of Congress has selected twenty-five “culturally important recordings” for special preservation in the National Recording Registry. They include an episode of the Lone Ranger radio show and the Rolling Stones’ hit song, Satisfaction … but no Bob Dylan songs!

OK, the preceding was just an experiment with attention-getting-false-outrage. Dylan’s entire 1963 Freewheelin’ album was already added to the 2002 registry, so it would not be fair to say that he has been snubbed.

The newly announced 2006 registry also contains some songs and artists that would likely be familiar to listeners of Bob’s XM show, “Theme Time Radio Hour.” There is the Carter Family peforming Wildwood Flower, Red Foley performing Peace In The Valley, Carl Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes and also Charley Patton doing Pony Blues. All in all, it looks like the Librarian of Congress and his cohorts are doing a pretty good job. (Of-course, they might save some effort by just preserving all of Dylan’s radio shows.)

You may well wonder what exactly it means that these recordings have been selected for preservation by the Library of Congress, as do I. Especially after reading this disclaimer on their own website:

This is a national list and many of the items listed are housed in collections across the country. The Library of Congress does not currently hold copies of all the recordings listed.

So, in what sense are they being preserved by the Library of Congress? Apparently only in the sense that they are on a list or registry of recordings, the last copies of which are not to be destroyed or allowed to fall to ruin. I don’t know what kind of field teams the Library of Congress employs to go out and make sure this is so.

Well, now back to not worrying about it.

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