Aja, the 1977 album by Steely Dan, has been added to the National Recording Registry, a list of 325 recordings determined by the Library of Congress to be '...worthy of preservation for all time', in the words of the institution's PR specialist.  The honor also went to Trout Mask Replica, the 1969 album that introduced the world to Captain Beefheart and the songs Take Me Out to The Ballgame (way overdue, we'd say), Let's Stay Together by Al Green, Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man and Tumbling Tumbleweeds, a 1934 nugget by the Sons Of The Pioneers that got new life when it was used in the opening scene of The Big Lebowski.
Rock albums that have earned entry to the list include ones from Bob Dylan (Freewheelin'), the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds), the Who (My Generation), the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper) Lou Reed's Velvet Underground (The Velvet Underground and Nico), Jimi Hendrix (Are You Experienced?), Frank Zappa (We're Only In It For The Money), The Band's second album, the Allman Brothers Band (Fillmore East), Bruce Springsteen (Born To Run), Patti Smith (Horses), R.E.M (Radio Free Europe), Nirvana (Nevermind) and the Firesign Theatre's comedy classic Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers.
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