The Weekend Stream: February 14, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. New remixes from James Brown and Tears for Fears, uncovered rarities from Peggy Lee, new songs from MUNA and Bleachers and a whole lotta Ween will keep you busy for the rest of the day!
MUNA, “Dancing on the Wall” (Saddest Factory) (Apple / Amazon)
One of pop’s best current bands is back for more! Queer-friendly trio MUNA have built a considerable fan base through catchy, electronics-and-guitar-driven albums – two for major label RCA and a self-titled 2022 release for Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory indie, featuring the blissful, anthemic “Silk Chiffon” – and a deft mix of energetic club performances, festival sets and opening acts for some of the biggest arena acts today, including Harry Styles, Kacey Musgraves and a promising singer/songwriter named Taylor Swift (on a little venture called the Eras Tour). Their fourth album, Dancing on the Wall (due May 6), combines slick dance-pop grooves with introspective lyrics about desire and community in the troubled times we’re living in; if the title track is any indication, it’s going to be immensely catchy, to boot.
Peggy Lee, “La vie en rose” (self-released) (Apple / Amazon)
A perfect Valentine’s Day treat: here’s a cover of the Edith Piaf classic from the late jazz-pop icon Peggy Lee, newly digitized from a reel-to-reel tape recording. Backed by an as-yet unidentified piano/bass/drum trio and believed to be recorded sometime in 1952, it’s slated to be one in a series of archival releases sourced from Lee’s extensive personal collection of reel-to-reels.
James Brown, I’m Black and I’m Proud – Say It Loud EP / Sex Machine Remixes (Republic/UMe)
“Say It Loud”: Apple / Amazon
“Sex Machine”: Apple / Amazon
It looks like we’ve got a suite of EPs coming for Black History Month devoted to the Godfather of Soul (“Say It Loud” was released last week, while “Sex Machine” arrived this week). Each combines new and updated dance versions of the tracks by remixers like Carl Cox and Laidback Luke, plus the original full-length versions and rare live takes, too.
Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair (Stereo Remix) (Mercury/UMC) (Qobuz / HDTracks)
It’s only been made available on high-definition audio stores, but it’s definitely worth noting that Tears for Fears’ 1985 breakthrough masterpiece – which was celebrated last year with a cut-down re-release of the 2014 box set edition – now has a version available that pairs the 2014 remaster with the stereo remix of the album by Steven Wilson; its only physical release outside of the Blu-ray in the box was this vinyl pressing.
Ween, The Pod / Pure Guava / Live in Toronto Canada (feat. Shit Creek Boys) / Live At Stubbs 7/2000 / Quebec / All Request Live / Live in Chicago / Shinola, Vol. 1 / The Friends EP / La Cucaracha / At The Cat’s Cradle, 1992 / GodWeenSatan: Live (Rhino)
Pod: Apple / Amazon
Guava: Apple / Amazon
Toronto: Apple / Amazon
Stubbs: Apple / Amazon
Quebec: Apple / Amazon
Request: Apple / Amazon
Chicago: Apple / Amazon
Shinola: Apple / Amazon
Friends: Apple / Amazon
Cucaracha: Apple / Amazon
Cat’s Crade: Apple / Amazon
GodWeenSatan: Live: Apple / Amazon
Rhino is delivering a ton of product for Ween fans in the coming months, including the studio albums CD set Brown Box and the unreleased 1996 live set Bring Out the Foos. If that’s not enough Deaner and Gener for you (and we’ll be breaking it all down next week), Rhino has also sorted out much of the rest of the band’s digital discography, with new uploads (awaiting confirmation if they’re remastered) of four studio albums, six live sets, an EP and the recently-pressed-on-vinyl-for-Record Store Day compilation Shinola, Vol. 1.
Bleachers, “you and forever” (Dirty Hit) (Apple / Amazon)
Singer/songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff, currently off-cycle from collaborating with longtime pop foil Taylor Swift, has a fifth album out with longtime band Bleachers, everyone for ten minutes, on May 22. The accompanying video, as anyone who knows how this sort of earnest rock project goes, stars Antonoff’s wife, actress Margaret Qualley.
Velocity Girl, ¡Simpatico! (Remastered and Expanded) (Sub Pop) (Apple / Amazon)
Originally released in 1995, the second album from the D.C.-area ’90s indie favorites features a fresh remaster from late last year plus eight bonus tracks from singles, EPs and compilations.
Sananda Maitreya’s Neither Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope & Destruction (Remastered) (Sony Music U.K.) (Apple / Amazon)
Hot off the release of Juvenilia, the vinyl box set collecting the four studio albums he released for Columbia under the name Terence Trent D’Arby, Sananda Maitreya’s ambitious 1989 sophomore album has been digitally redelivered, as remastered for that package. (Thanks again to reader Johnny Kalifornia for pointing this one out!)
Jim Reeves, The Intimate Jim Reeves (Expanded Edition) (RCA/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)
A Valentine from Gentleman Jim’s classic, formative country discography, this Chet Atkins-produced album from 1960 featured the Top 5 country single “I’m Gettin’ Better,” and now comes with five bonus tracks – all delivered in conjunction with the folks at SuperVisible Multi Media.
Miles Davis, The New Sounds (Remastered 2026) (Craft Recordings) (Apple / Amazon)
Finally, another gift in Miles Davis’ centennial year: this mono EP (issued 75 years ago, in 1951) has been remastered and released digitally, ahead of its impending vinyl reissue for Record Store Day this April!
PASSINGS
Rock music definitely changed in the face of the teen-pop explosion of the late ’90s and early ’00s, but some bands managed to thread the needle with a combination of slick post-grunge style and the emotive baritone of frontman Brad Arnold (1978-2026). With just a little twang from the group’s native Escatawpa, Mississippi, Arnold was a strong writer, reportedly penning the group’s signature “Kryptonite” when he was a teenager. The Top 5 hit propelled sales of 2001 debut The Better Life beyond seven million copies, and their next three albums managed platinum or multi-platinum certifications thanks to songs like the Top 10s “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You” (songs that resonated with men entering post-9/11 military conflicts in the Middle East; Arnold remained supportive of veterans and soldiers throughout his life), “Let Me Go” and “It’s Not My Time.” Arnold, who also parlayed the group’s early success into a long-running charity named after their debut, was diagnosed with stage IV renal-cell carcinoma less than a year ago, and sadly passed away not long after last weekend’s column was being put together.
Though it might seem like being a guitarist in a band like Cake – known for the droll vocals of frontman John McCrea and a unique musical arrangement that often included mariachi-style trumpet – would be a less thankful position than most, that wasn’t the case for founding member Greg Brown (1970-2026), who not only helped crystallize their sound on breakthrough album Fashion Nugget (1997) but co-wrote one of the group’s most recognizable singles from that LP, “The Distance.” Brown and Cake bassist Victor Damiani left that same year to form their own group, Deathray; Brown also recorded material both solo and with ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp.
Trumpeter Steve Washington (1958-2026) was born and raised in New Jersey, but it was in Dayton, Ohio, where he joined forces with trombonist Floyd Miller to form Slave in 1975. Coming from a rich scene that gave rise to The Ohio Players (whose trumpeter Ralph “Pee Wee” Middlebrooks was Washington’s uncle) and Zapp as well as brothers Keith and Johnnie Wilder of U.K.-based group Heatwave, Slave featured a killer funk/disco sound (fronted by vocalist Steve Arrington) that hardly let up from the release of debut single and biggest chart hit “Slide” in 1977. Washington departed with several Slave members to form Aurra in 1979; they amassed a few R&B and dance hits, most notably 1981’s “Make Up Your Mind.” Washington will be missed by those who loved Slave’s mystic, addictive “fungk,” as they themselves called it.
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Thanks to SuperVisible Multi Media for another great digital release from Jim Reeves.
The Intimate Jim Reeves released in mid-1960 was his eighth RCA Victor album. Recorded during sessions in late March and early April 1960, the LP mostly featured songs that had been hits for other artists. One of the exceptions was Reeves’ own composition “I’m Gettin’ Better. Issued as the sole single release from that LP it became a #3 country hit in late August 1960.
Two other songs from that LP went on to became top ten hits two decades later when the backing tracks were re-recorded and the voice of Deborah Allen was added to Jim’s original vocals. Oh, How I Miss You Tonight and Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me were both top ten hits in 1980.
The five bonus tracks were excellent choices and are from the same time frame as this album.
“Am I Losing You,” another Reeves’ composition was never included on a Jim Reeves album until the CD era. First released as the B side of Jim’s # 3 hit single “I Missed Me” the new rendition climbed to #8 on the country chart in late 1960. The only LP releases for that version were two RCA Victor various artist compilations issued in 1960 & 1963.
That was Jim’s third recording of Am I Losing You. The first version became a #3 hit in early 1957. The second rendition was issued as a track on his Songs To Warm The Heart album in 1959. That second version is often mistaken for the 1960 single hit as it was included on the best selling Best Of Jim Reeves album in 1964 rather than the hit version.
The four remaining bonus tracks Stand At Your Window, What Would You Do, You’ll Never Be Mine Again and Don’t You Want To Be My Girl are all from a January 1960 session. They were first released on the Jim Reeves Camden album According To My Heart. Camden was RCA’s budget label that issued compilation albums of mostly previously recorded but sometimes unreleased songs. Those four new tracks were coupled with six previously released songs for that 1960 LP.
Stand At Your Window and What Would You Do from this digital collection were Reeves’ first recordings of both songs. A year-and-a half later he re-recorded both and issued them back-to-back on a single release. Both charted inside the top 20 in Billboard and were top ten hits in Cashbox Magazine in 1961.
Thanks for including this well-curated reissue from the Jim Reeves discography in this week’s Stream.