Well, well, well. The National Recording Registry has gone and done something that’ll make us old-school techies wipe a nostalgic tear from our eyes. The Windows 95 startup chime, that sweet, sweet sound of a simpler digital age, has been inducted into the Library of Congress. And let’s not forget, the Minecraft soundtrack is tagging along too. 🙂
Composed by none other than ambient music legend Brian Eno, the Windows 95 chime was originally supposed to be half as long. But, as the story goes, Microsoft’s engineers decided the longer version just felt right—”conveying a sense of welcome, hopefulness, and progress.” Ah, the optimism of the ’90s. Meanwhile, Minecraft‘s Volume Alpha, crafted by Daniel Rosenfeld (aka C418), marks only the second video game soundtrack to make the cut, following the Super Mario Bros theme.
This year’s registry is a real mixed tape of American culture, from the Broadway beats of Hamilton to the jazz fusion of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, and even Celine Dion’s timeless “My Heart Will Go On.” But for us tech veterans, it’s the Windows 95 chime that really hits home. It’s not just a sound; it’s a memory, a moment in time when the digital world was just opening up. And now, it’s preserved for posterity. How’s that for legacy?
