Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week sees digital reissues from some familiar names (Madonna, Daryl Hall and U2) as well as some new/old music from names you might not have expected, from '90s pop-whiz New Radicals(?!) to '50s piano player Cy Walter. Plus, a heartfelt recommendation for one of the week's best new albums! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

New Radicals, "Murder on the Dancefloor" / "Lost Stars" (Flatiron)

Murder: iTunes / Amazon
Lost Stars: iTunes / Amazon

Whatever your feelings are on the 2024 presidential election, it already achieved a most unusual feat: brilliant singer/songwriter Gregg Alexander, whose brief tenure as New Radicals yielded the 1998 hit "You Get What You Give," has re-emerged from semi-retirement with a pair of singles intended to drum up support for Democratic hopeful Kamala Harris. (Alexander recognized Harris' husband Doug Emhoff as a "super fan" in a newly-penned letter; he previously revived the group for a one-off performance at Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration after learning that the president was also a fan, finding inspiration in the song after his son Beau died of cancer.)

For his latest act, Alexander released New Radicals versions of two songs from his work as a songwriter. First, there's "Murder on the Dancefloor," a song recorded by U.K. singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor in 2001 that matched its original chart peak earlier this year after being featured in the film Saltburn. (Alexander recently revealed that "Murder" was nearly slotted to be the first New Radicals single, and this recording certainly sounds like it may have partially dated from that era.) Then, there's a new version of "Lost Stars," a beautiful, Oscar-nominated ballad written for the 2014 dramedy Begin Again, from director John Carney (Once, Sing Street). (I recently wrote this retrospective on Alexander's career - one of the first things I put together after my children were born!)

Madonna, Causing a Commotion (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon)

"I've got the moves, baby / you got the motion..." Madonna's second single from 1987's Who's That Girl soundtrack, considerably remixed for its release, is now digitally available around the world. A No. 2 hit in America and a Top 5 in the U.K.,

U2, Electrical Storm (Island/UMO) (iTunes / Amazon)

U2's To Love and Be Loved digital backfill campaign comes to a close with its 12th EP, featuring remixes and B-sides to "Electrical Storm," a single from the Irish band's The Best of 1990-2000. Smart odds are we'll hear news soon about reissues around their chronological next release, 2004's How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which turns 20 this fall.

John Williams, The Classics (UMG) (iTunes / Amazon)

Yesterday, Disney announced the release later this year of Music by John Williams, a forthcoming documentary on the legendary composer, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment and directed by Spielberg's longtime documentarian Laurent Bouzereau. It'll premiere on Disney+ November 1, with a limited theatrical engagement also promised (including a premiere at the American Film Institute Festival in October.) It remains to be seen if there will be a new title to promote the documentary - imagine, a soundtrack for a film about a composer of soundtracks?  - but in the meantime, there's this odd bundle of recordings that just made its way to streaming services, cobbled together from Williams' albums with the Boston Pops on Philips, his more recent live concerts for Deutsche Grammophon and maybe a few Universal-controlled soundtrack albums that largely has no rhyme or reason. (If you're really looking for a good Williams fix this weekend, might we suggest John Williams Reimagined, a new album from Warner Classics that rearranges familiar themes and deep cuts for a piano/cello/flute trio.

Ariana Grande, My Everything (Tenth Anniversary Edition) (Republic/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

Debut album Yours Truly (itself digitally expanded last year) established Ariana Grande as a formidable teen actress turned R&B-pop singer with pipes. But follow-up My Everything took her into the stratosphere, notching four Top 10s in "Problem" (featuring a guest rap from Iggy Azalea), the dancefloor-ready Zedd collaboration "Break Free," the girl-gang killer "Bang Bang" (with singer Jessie J and rapper Nicki Minaj) and the soulful "Love Me Harder" (featuring The Weeknd as her duet partner). This 10th anniversary deluxe edition appends three tracks from the worldwide deluxe edition and two that were exclusive to physical copies sold at Target.

Daryl Hall, I Wasn't Born Yesterday (RCA) (iTunes / Amazon)

The fourth and rarest of the 12" releases from Hall's Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine (1986) converted to digital, "I Wasn't Born Yesterday" (penned by Hall, co-producer David A. Stewart of Eurythmics, and Hall's longtime partner and co-writer Sara Allen) was only issued in England. It's got a worldwide home now, as part of Legacy's ongoing Hall discographical refresh.

311, Grassroots (30th Anniversary Edition) (Volcano/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)

The sophomore album from the Omaha funk/rock/reggae outfit gets reissued with four "pre-production versions" as bonus tracks.

Third Day, Time (25th Anniversary Edition) (Essential/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)

Combining Southern-rock rhythms with deeply spiritual lyrics, Third Day's third studio album became their first to top Billboard's Christian charts. To mark a quarter century since its release, it's been digitally expanded with a few live rarities as well as session outtakes released on the limited EP Southern Tracks.

Cy Walter, At Peacock Alley (Live 1958) (RCA/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)

A fascinating figure of New York's midcentury music scene, Cy Walter was a prolific pianist with an almost alarming breadth of knowledge of jazz, Great American Songbook and showtune repertoire, whose high society small club engagements (particularly at his longtime musical home, the Drake Hotel) were regularly attended by a who's who in Manhattan. Walter made records for multiple labels, including Columbia, Epic, Liberty, MGM and some early releases from Atlantic, though this album - cut with a trio at the Waldorf Astoria's famed bar - was slated for release by RCA, but never released until now.

The Get Up Kids, Something to Write Home About (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Vagrant/BMG) (iTunes / Amazon)

A watershed release of second-wave emo, The Get Up Kids' sophomore album has been expanded with a bonus disc's worth of demos. (The band is also selling a physical version on vinyl.)

Little Hag, NOW That's What I Call Little Hag! (Bar/None) (iTunes / Amazon / Bandcamp)

Every now and then we like to share some new music that moves us in this space, and today's a special one. The sophomore album from New Jersey rockers Little Hag marks a bold leap forward for the group and its leader, singer/songwriter Avery Mandeville. Her signature quavering voice and acidic yet deeply heartfelt songcraft is here matched up with a fascinating variety of production styles - not just indie rock riffage, but neck-turning electronic influences as well. Preview it on your streamer of choice, then get your copy the next Bandcamp Friday at the top of September - you won't regret it.