Matthew Barton

Twenty-five new recordings have been added to National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress -- from The Wild Tchoupitoulas to Betty Carter and Pink Floyd. Matthew Barton, Cur...

Every year since 2002, the Library of Congress has unveiled a new list of additions to its National Recording Registry. 2011’s twenty-five selections include the earliest-known commercial sound recording… the psychedelic-rock of the late Arthur Lee and his band Love... and the pioneering hip hop of the Sugarhill Gang. Matthew Barton, the curator of Recorded Sound at the Library, tells us more.

Matthew Barton, Curator of Recorded Sound at the Library of Congress, and Anthology Film Archives archivist Andrew Lampert, pay tribute to "Tony Schwartz and the Sounds of His City."

Since 2002, the Library of Congress has annually added recordings of great historical or cultural importance to its National Recording Registry. 2010’s twenty-five selections span the years 1853-1994 and include the earliest known recording (the recently discovered Phonautograms of Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville)… the freak-rock of the late Captain Beefheart... and the pioneering hip hop of De La Soul. Matthew Barton, the curator of Recorded Sound at the Library, joins us to explain the how and why behind this year’s selection.