Remarks by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong broadcast from the moon. (1969)
The landing of Apollo 11 on the moon had the world glued to its television set, yet the most enduring memories of the achievement are aural: "Houston. Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed.... I’m going to step off the LEM now. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." These words, first broadcast from the moon, have become some of the most recognizable and memorable sentences spoken in United States history.
The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East. (1971)
This classic 'live' performance of southern blues rock contains a powerfully emotional rendition of "Tied to the Whipping Post" sung by Gregg Allman. That song became a touring standard for the band while the album received wide acclaim for its lengthy improvisational jams featuring the distinctive dual lead guitars of Duane Allman and Dickie Betts. [more here]
Star Wars (Soundtrack). John Williams. (1977)
This soundtrack score has been credited with reviving symphonic film scores in Hollywood motion pictures. The recording was a best-seller, its themes well remembered and often quoted. When the blockbuster motion picture was released in 1977, home video did not exist. It was the soundtrack recording which enabled audiences to evoke images from the film in their living rooms.
Recordings of Asian elephants by Katharine Payne. (1984)
Katharine Payne's recordings of Asian elephants revealed that the animals use infrasonic sounds to communicate with one another. Such acoustic monitoring of the mammals has provided important insights into the mechanisms by which matrilineal groups of elephants maintain distance among one another over time and how males locate receptive females. In addition, the use of recordings has proven a very effective method for surveying populations of elephants. It has opened new windows into the complex lives of elephants and provided a tool for conservation. The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at Cornell University holds this important collection of recordings.
Fear of a Black Planet. Public Enemy. (1989)
Fear of a Black Planet brought hip-hop respect from critics, millions of new fans, and passionate debate over its political content.The album signaled the coupling of a strongly political message with hip hop music. Its hit single, "Fight the Power," was the theme for Spike Lee’s powerful film, Do the Right Thing. Public Enemy forged a new sound for hip hop that included funk rhythms, samples from James Brown and Eric Clapton, and found sounds. [more here]
Nevermind. Nirvana. (1991)
This surprising chartbuster from a grunge band from Aberdeen, Washington brought to the public’s attention a new, heavily distorted sound that would catch on and prove an enduring influence in rock. Characterized by raw vocals, driving rhythms and surprising shifts in dynamics, the record resonated with America’s youth and climbed to number one on the Billboard charts, selling over 10 million copies. [more here, here]
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
Well we didn't all that list since it is at the link.
To take this much of the text, in this case, it should be pointed out, is OK because it is a 100-percent government release. As in, no copyright.
I'll have to get back this but very cool. I was going to commend the poster for the link back to other blogcritic articles - before I saw it was EricO. :-)
2 - Eric Olsen
bolded the titles to make it more readable; yes, government source, ripe for the picking, but I did include my own input as well: that which is not indented
3 - DrPat
Well, I thank you! I would never have thought to check the list without this link and the substance posted here. It makes me feel good to realize I have more than a half-dozen of these in my own collection...
4 - Eric Olsen
glad it was helpful, the '02 and '03 lists are worth perusing as well
5 - Eric Berlin
Man, I'd love to check out those Murrow broadcasts from London circa The Blitz. Now that's some history for you.
Yesterday, I was walking along when the Ewok celebration from Return of the Jedi popped into my iPod. That song transitions into the Star Wars main theme, and I was thinking about how amazing it is, how striking, how original, how utterly... Star Wars it is. If that's not the greatest movie theme ever, I don't know what is.
6 - Eric Olsen
I love the jaunty faux-jazz of the nightclub scene in the original
7 - Eric Berlin
Are you talking about the Cantina scene? That music is fabulous. And I love the blue dude with like elephant-type hands that plays the keyboard-like instrument.
8 - Eric Olsen
yes, cantina, it's been a while
9 - Al Barger
Bad as I hate the idea of guvment as art critic, I gotta say this is a pretty sweet list. Jimmie Rodgers, the Beach Boys and Public Enemy all together. Plus some real pickin' fiends from Flatt & Scruggs and the Allman's. What more could you want?
10 - JR
Actually, it's the government as a library, maintaining our intellectual infrastructure. These are just the librarians' picks.
11 - Eric Olsen
with nominations from the public
12 - Dave Nalle
I've got 8 of those on my iPod including 2 of the albums. Not bad. Bet you''d never guess which ones I have tho.
Dave
13 - Beto Mattos
Friends!!!
Friends are with a lot of affection and pleasure that me same Beto Mattos singer and Brazilian composer request her/it this recording support, because I have a wonderful work of a lot of more success with the bankruptcy of the big ones recording in Brazil am disabled of selling my work, so much that with the great success of my album don't have cd in the market and I seek a recording one or even dealer that can help myself in this process visits my site hears some of the music hope to count with this considered company.
www.betomattos.art.br
011 (97342103
14 - Joe Arnold
Mike Johnson's "YODELING 40 YEARS" 2-disc CD
is now part of the Library of Congress' Recorded Sound collection!
What's so special about Mike Johnson's release, you ask, since there have been many, many yodeling albums containing 20 to 30 yodeling songs on them! Quite true, but none of them can boast that ALL of the songs on those releases were written by ONE person! Well we can, because all 50 of the yodeling songs on this 2-disc CD album were written & composed by Mike Johnson.
These songs will take you on a journey from Mike's raw beginnings and development to becoming Country Music's No.1 Black Yodeler. Also debuting on this release are more of Mike's unique wordless yodeling songs like "Black Yodels No. 2 to 7", "Snuggle-Up Yodel", "Wild Horse Yodel", and "Yodel Round Up." Mike has written over 100 yodeling songs.
On 15 March 2007 we received a confirmation letter from the Library of Congress informing us that Mike Johnson's "Yodeling 40 Years" and "Black Yodel No.1" CDs, and related yodeling material, are now part of the Recorded Sound Reference Center's permanent collection. This is a part of the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.
Mike Johnson is also one of the 18 World Famous Yodelers featured on the "Rough Guide To Yodel" CD, singing his ever-popular "Yeah I'm A Cowboy."
Wanna hear some of those songs, go to www.indiecharts.com/yodeler
Wanna see Mike in action, go to www.YouTube.com and type the following titles into the Search Engine bar;
1. Mike Johnson's Tarzan Did! [Mike is 60 years old on this performance]
2. Mike Johnson's Wild Horse Yodel [and this one too!]
3. Mike Johnson - Mama Don't Allow No Music Round Here.
Radio DJs can download Mike Johnson songs at;
www.airplaydirect.com/music/bands/12725
Mike's Mother's Day hit "DID YOU HUG YOUR MOTHER TODAY?" is now part of the CD Baby lineup.
www.cdbaby.com/all/mikejohnson
Have a good day.
Joe Arnold, Roughshod Records
P.O. Box 100933, Arlington, Va. 22210