Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! (Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be read here, here and here.) The seventh and eighth seasons of MTV Unplugged aired in 1996 and 1997, which were sort of its last years as a regular program. By then, the show locked into a comfortable…
The Weekend Stream: June 14, 2025
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 we’ve got it all, from Bakersfield country to Billy Joel on Broadway; actors who sing and singer-songwriters who act in short films; Tony Joe White going disco and Josh Groban’s hits going super-size. You’ll find something to love – we guarantee it! Wynn Stewart, Songs of Wynn Stewart (Capitol Nashville) (Apple / Amazon) After starting his major label career in the mid-’50s on Capitol, country singer/songwriter Wynn Stewart…
The Weekend Stream: June 7, 2025
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 brings posthumous recordings by Prince and Donna Summer, a new spin on Star Wars disco, and plenty of cast recordings leading into the Tony Awards this Sunday! And just a quick programming note: our Unplugged series is taking the week off, but will be back with some new and exciting Weekend Stream extra content very soon! Prince, “Free” (Acoustic) (NPG/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) “The Vault is now…
The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to ‘MTV Unplugged’ on Paramount+ (Part 3)
Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! (Part 1 and 2 can be read here and here.) With rock music undergoing a transformation after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, MTV Unplugged continued to settle into institutional status. The show held court primarily in New York…
The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to ‘MTV Unplugged’ on Paramount+ (Part 2)
Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! (Part 1 can be read here.) The evolution of MTV Unplugged was not unlike that of the network itself. If those first years on the air from 1989 to 1991 were proof of the format’s artistic viability, the episodes recorded…
The Weekend Stream: May 24, 2025
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 offers a trio of classic rockers advancing a cause through new tracks, rare covers and live material, plus a new take on Peggy Lee’s “Fever” and a pair of dance albums getting greatly, unexpectedly expanded. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Land of Hope & Dreams EP (Columbia) (Apple / Amazon) The Boss has been touring Europe this week. Perhaps you’ve heard about it: he had a…
The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to ‘MTV Unplugged’ on Paramount+ (Part 1)
Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re kicking off a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! If the music video was the most significant concept MTV introduced back in 1981, the word “unplugged” might come in a close second. In 1989, as the cable station began slowly diversifying their blocks of video programming –…
The Weekend Stream: May 10, 2025
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, classic rock icons celebrate their live history, a modern music icon gets serious, a master of horror films (and soundtracks) revisits his first non-movie music and a former folk duo open their vault. The Doors, Live in Pittsburgh 1970 / Live in Philadelphia ’70 / Live in Detroit (Bright Midnight/Rhino) Pittsburgh: Apple / Amazon Philadelphia: Apple / Amazon Detroit: Apple / Amazon The Doors have been issuing live sets from their 25-year-old…
The Weekend Stream: April 25, 2025
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. Strap in for a killer line-up of titles this week: two more Record Store Day debuts, an incredible posthumous collaboration between two ’80s icons, the return of one of glam’s most beloved bands, new music by some of our favorite pop girls, a hotly anticipated new take on a Broadway favorite, exciting moments in gospel/soul, an exciting new song from a forthcoming West End musical by one of…
The Weekend Stream: April 19, 2025
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. We’re pleased to kick things off with another four Record Store Day titles making their way to stream and download, followed by a classic, underrated R&B work and some new music we’re digging today, as well. Neil Finn, Sessions At West 54th (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) Well, that’s Mike’s Record Store Day sorted! This indelible live set from the Crowded House frontman – taped as part of PBS’ Sessions At…
The Weekend Stream: April 12, 2025
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. By now, you might have hit your participating local shop for Record Store Day – and happily, we’re kicking off this Saturday’s column to share material from five exclusive vinyl titles that are getting a second life in the streaming and download world too. It’s a great way to check out some titles if you missed them, or weren’t sure if you wanted to add them to your…
The Weekend Stream: April 5, 2025
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. A quiet, mostly contemplative week means a small batch of understated titles and a big public ask for clarity from one of our missing comrades in catalogue… Dan Fogelberg, Souvenirs (50th Anniversary Edition) (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) The late, great Fogelberg’s double-platinum sophomore album, produced by Joe Walsh (a year before he joined the Eagles), gets the red carpet treatment with three outtakes and one never-before-heard song. Impex will release…
The Weekend Stream: March 29, 2025
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. Classic Motown in concert, long-lost favorites from a country icon, a live country take on a Fab Four favorite, Gary Numan’s mid-’80s works, new music from Bachman-Turner Overdrive and a documentary on a late, great Australian musician…there really is a lot of ground to cover, and that’s not even all of it! Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye Live! (Deluxe Edition) (Motown/UMe) Original LP: Apple / Amazon Deluxe: Apple / Amazon To…
The Weekend Stream: March 22, 2025
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. A short week offers a classic from Paul McCartney in Atmos, a comedian going (maybe) straight, a cabaret performer going proudly queer and some words on a master of music videos. Wings, Venus and Mars (Atmos Mix) (MPL) (Apple / Amazon) Yesterday saw the release of a half-speed mastered vinyl LP of Wings’ fourth studio album, 1975’s Venus and Mars, along with a brand-new Atmos mix from Giles Martin…
The Weekend Stream: March 15, 2025
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. We’ve got some early classics in Atmos from England’s not-so-newest hitmakers, a soundtrack to a classic Tom Petty streaming feature, and new tracks from some of our favorite women in pop and rock! The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones EP / The Rolling Stones (U.K.) / England’s Newest Hit Makers / Five by Five EP / 12 X 5 / The Rolling Stones No. 2 / The Rolling Stones, Now! / Let…
The Weekend Stream: March 8, 2025
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’s offerings are particularly reflective, packed with tributes and goodbyes (both editorial and musical) and a little dust of new Disney magic. Dolly Parton, “If You Hadn’t Been There” (Butterfly) (iTunes / Amazon) On her first day in Nashville at the age of 18, a rising country musician named Dolly Parton had a chance encounter with Carl Dean, owner of a local asphalt business, at a laundromat. In 1966,…
The Weekend Stream: March 1, 2025
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 brings new music from Billy Idol and The Chills, cast albums aplenty and some soulful tributes to artists we lost this week. Billy Idol, “Still Dancing” (Dark Horse) (iTunes / Amazon) The recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee is going on tour this year with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and will release Dream Into It, his first full-length album in more than a decade (and…
The Weekend Stream: February 22, 2025
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! A great Carly Simon deep cut gets a fresh mix, plus Phil Collins in concert and new music from The Stylistics. Carly Simon, “Share the End” (2025 Remaster) (Elektra/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Though merely billed as a remaster in the metadata, this upbeat, heartbreaking side-two opener to Simon’s sophomore album Anticipation has been newly remixed. It’s a dramatic revisit of a song that resonates still, and hopefully a portent of…
The Weekend Stream: February 15, 2025
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! We’re taking it way back today with reissues and rarities by Peggy Lee, Brenda Lee, The Fleetwoods, and The Five Satins – plus more Luther Vandross rarities! Luther Vandross, Never Too Much: Greatest HIts (Epic/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Released late last year ahead of the new documentary on the late R&B legend, Luther Vandross’ Never Too Much: Greatest Hits has already been expanded, and for good reason! The album’s biggest discovery was…
The Weekend Stream: February 8, 2025
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! We’ve got new music from Elton John and Bob Mould, a cult classic rock band between New Jersey and Boston, and so much more – including a new music video for one of our ’70s songwriter favorites. Elton John & Brandi Carlile, “Who Believes in Angels?” (Rocket/Mercury/EMI) (iTunes / Amazon) In 2023, the British pop icon (fresh off the end of his final world tour) and the American alt-country…
The Weekend Stream: February 1, 2025
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! A new charity cover from Def Leppard, reissues of classic albums by Simple Minds and Sheena Easton, and a mess of vintage jazz is on the menu today – plus a heads-up for a forthcoming way to help the ongoing California wildfire relief effort. Def Leppard, Stand by Me (Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) While also a single from the new Netflix film Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger…
The Weekend Stream: January 25, 2025
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! A quiet week previews a new album by The Doobie Brothers, revisits the latest from one of TSD’s favorite indie singer-songwriters, and so much more – plus a reminder of how you can help one of our favorite reissue labels, one that’s been affected by the ongoing fires in California. Doobie Brothers, Walk This Road (Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) The Doobie Brothers are giving a preview of their…







