Tupac, R.E.M., Patti Smith, and 22 others inducted into the Library of Congress

By Sean O'Neal | June 23, 2010 | 9:00pm

Aux Features Music

The Library of Congress today announced its annual list of songs deemed worthy of saving from a raging wildfire, or whatever it is the National Recording Preservation Board does with them. As always, inductees into the National Recording Registry were nominated by the board and online suggestions from the public, under the criteria that they be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and at least 10 years old. (See you in a decade, “Blow That Vuvuzela”!)

And once again, it’s an eclectic mix, ranging from Little Richard to Willie Nelson to Patti Smith to Bill Cosby’s second comedy album to field recordings taken from the Battle of Guam. Of particular note is Tupac Shakur’s “Dear Mama,” which will become only the third hip-hop song (after Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy) deemed worthy of preservation, chosen because it’s a “moving and eloquent homage to both his own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference,” and the fact that it’s “relatively tame.” Here’s the complete list in chronological order—and feel free to start compiling your own suggestions for next year’s inductees, keeping in mind that the full list already includes Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, the Star Wars soundtrack, and a recording of Kewaunee, Wisconsin’s foghorn.