Simon And Garfunkel
Short Songs For The Shortest Day: When Brevity Is A Necessity You'll Want This Playlist
By Andrew Lockwood in Music / Festivals on 21 December 2020
On the shortest day of the year you don't have time for elaborate prog rock epics, you need quick fire hits to help the day pass more easily and we've assembled the best of the bunch here just for you.
When time is of the essence and you need a quick fix you require some succinct songs to get you through the day. On the shortest day of the year your time is precious but you don't have to forego anything, you just need to scale it down. When daylight is scarce and the temperature is dropping a short sharp super-charged dose of high octane music is just the ticket. To help you through the day we've put together a playlist of some of the best short songs we could think of. Our top ten has all you need and it comes in at less than 19 minutes in it's entirety.
Produced by Bob Johnston and Tom Wilson, who had both previously worked with the duo's folk contemporary Bob Dylan, the album featured the semi-titular single The Sound of Silence which topped the US charts upon its release. An acoustic version had initially been released on debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., before being included in Sounds of Silence with electronic overdubs.
Continue reading: Album Of The Week: Appreciating Sounds Of Silence With Simon And Garfunkel
Disco Anthem 'Saturday Night Fever' One Of 25 Songs Added To Library Of Congress National Recording Register
By Hayley Avron in Music / Festivals on 21 March 2013
25 new audio recordings added to national library to preserve for future generations
As part of a diligent plan to preserve and document American musical culture, Saturday Night Fever - the song that not only soundtracked one of the most popular films of the 1970s starring John Travolta but also came to define the disco era – has been added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Washington Post reports that 25 songs have now been added to the ever-growing library of audio recordings, recognized for their “cultural, artistic and historic importance” with a view to preserving them for future generations.
In addition to Saturday Night Fever, the Simon & Garfunkel classic ‘Sounds of Silence’ has also been committed to the library, as have Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘South Pacific.’ It’s not all musical content though; a D-Day recording made by radio journalist George Hicks has also been added, in order to preserve that historic moment. The Librarian of Congress, James H Billington has selected 25 recordings, on an annual basis, since 2002, advised by the National Preservation Board.
In a statement, Billington said “Congress created the National Recording Registry to celebrate the richness and variety of our audio heritage and to underscore our responsibility for long-term preservation, to assure that legacy can be appreciated and studied for generations.” This year’s additions span in age from 1918 to 1980 and include The Ramones’ debut album and the landmark collaboration between the composer Philip Glass and the theater director Robert Wilson, for ‘Einstein on the Beach.’
Continue reading: Disco Anthem 'Saturday Night Fever' One Of 25 Songs Added To Library Of Congress National Recording Register