The Library of Congress has announced the next 25 films to be inaugurated into the National Film Registry for permanent preservation. The list includes the 1981 punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization as well as 1955's Blackboard Jungle, which turned Bill Haley’s "Rock Around the Clock" into a hit and, many historians say, marked the beginning of the rock and roll era in popular culture. Also on this year's list is a movie with an iconic '80s soundtrack: The Breakfast Club. (Rolling Stone)

Patti Smith remembers Nobel performance

Writing for the New Yorker, Patti Smith reflects on her performance of Bob Dylan’s "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" at this year's Nobel Prize Ceremony.

She reveals that she was approached to perform, and agreed, before the name of the winner was announced; she was planning to perform one of her own songs until she learned the prize had gone to Dylan. She also writes about her performance, in which she stumbled on the lyrics before prevailing with a heart-wrenching performance.

"As I took my seat," Smith writes, "I felt the humiliating sting of failure, but also the strange realization that I had somehow entered and truly lived the world of the lyrics."

Today's inauguration news

A singer has been picked to sing the National Anthem at the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump. It's 16-year-old Jackie Evancho, an opera singer who rose to fame on America's Got Talent. (Pitchfork)

The day after the inauguration, Chance the Rapper will speak at an NAACP rally being organized as part of an effort to "stay woke and fight" during the Trump Administration. (Pitchfork)

Here come the AirPods

Apple has released its "AirPods": Bluetooth earbuds meant to pair with devices such as the iPhone 7, which infamously lacks a headphone jack. Their release has been delayed for a couple of months so Apple could wire out some kinks, but Rolling Stone says the delay was worth it: they're "pretty f---ing cool."

Are you smarter than an Alt-J keyboardist?

Alt-J keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton will have his smarts put to the test on Dec. 22 when he represents his alma mater Leeds University on Christmas University Challenge, a British quiz show. Though the members of Alt-J met as students at Leeds, Unger-Hamilton will be the only band member joining the Leeds quiz team, which will be captained by BBC News economics editor Kamal Ahmed. (NME)

Superior record store to close

The Vinyl Cave, a record store in Superior, Wisc., is closing at the end of the year after a few years in operation. Some of the store's stock will move to a neighboring store run by Vinyl Cave co-owner Tom Unterberger. The Vinyl Cave's owners say the decision to close comes from the fact that vinyl collectors tend to cluster in big cities, and to be looking for rare titles that it's hard for a small retailer to come by. (MPR News)

Bruno Mars hops in the Carpool

James Corden’s latest guest on Carpool Karaoke: "Uptown Funk" hitmaker Bruno Mars. (Pitchfork)

Despicable Me 3 gets a dancing villain

A new trailer for Despicable Me 3 reveals that the film will have an '80s-obsessed villain. Voiced by South Park co-creator Trey Stone, "Balthazar Bratt" wears a purple suit with big shoulder pads. He doesn't seem like a Prince stand-in, but he does like to get down to "Bad," a song Michael Jackson hoped would be a Prince duet. (Prince declined.)