The Weekend Stream: June 21, 2026

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. We’ve got a last little Toy Story update, plus an unreleased XTC concert, great late-period Ben Folds Five, some British acts that couldn’t be more different, and plenty of others! Randy Newman/Taylor Swift, Toy Story 5 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Walt Disney Records) (Apple / Amazon) “I Knew It, I Knew You,” Taylor Swift’s new song from the soundtrack to Disney and Pixar’s…

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Release Round-Up: Week of August 30

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Oasis, Definitely Maybe: 30th Anniversary Edition (Big Brother) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada “You’ll never see them on a stage any time soon, but Oasis are putting out some unheard material on a new reissue of their debut album…”  We’ve rarely been so happy to eat our words as we are now, considering Oasis has just announced a return to the stage!  In the meantime,…

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Release Round-Up: Week of May 12

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Daft Punk, Random Access Memories: 10th Anniversary Edition (Columbia) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Daft Punk’s final album, 2013’s disco-flavored, multiple Grammy-winning Random Access Memories, welcomed such all-time luminaries as Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jackson, Jr., Nathan East, John “J.R.” Robinson, and Omar Hakim as well as contemporary greats Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, and Animal Collective co-founder Panda Bear.  Now, it’s time to “Get Lucky” with a deluxe 10th anniversary edition on…

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Release Round-Up: Week of October 25

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Arthur, or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire [Various Formats] (BMG) 4CD/4-seven-inch single box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official The Kinks’ 1969 concept album continued in the quintessentially British vein of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society but carved out its own musical identity.  Building on the…

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We’ve Known Each Other For So Long: Rick Astley Preps Hits Collection

With all the surprise of a Rickroll, British singer Rick Astley went from pop star to Internet meme to solid entertainer over the past three decades. This fall, he’s got a new compilation celebrating that evolution. The Best Of Me, to be released October 25, collects his biggest international hit singles and beloved cuts throughout his career, including tracks from 50 (2016) and Beautiful Life (2018), which marked a return to original music after 15 years. 50 debuted atop the U.K. albums chart and Beautiful Life made the Top 10, and both…

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“NOW” and Then: U.K. Compilation Series Celebrates Three Decades in Three Discs

When I was heavily ensconced in a retail job, I had the task of stocking new music and movie releases and sharing the new releases with the rest of the store on Tuesday morning. Without fail, every time a NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilation came out, someone would marvel how many such compilations existed, prompting me to tell my co-workers that they should check out the NOW series as it originated in the U.K., back in 1983, where they were double albums and released with slightly more frequency to the point where…

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Never Gonna Give You Up: Iconic Pop Production Team Stock Aitken Waterman Celebrated with New Box Set

It may have been the “flavor of the month” as European ’80s pop went, but the distinctive sounds of Stock Aitken Waterman and the PWL label was one heck of a flavor, earning a rather generous compilation/box set treatment, Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory: Soundtrack to a Generation  in the U.K. this summer. Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman began working for Waterman’s PWL production company in 1984, specializing in Hi-NRG dance music by U.K. pop artists like Hazell Dean and Dead or Alive; the latter group’s “You Spin Me Round…

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Cherry Pop Laces Up Dancing Shoes with Compilation of Rare ’80s, Motown Mixes

Cherry Pop Records has a major treat next week for British club junkies of the ’80s: a double-disc set of rare and unreleased remixes by noted engineer Phil Harding. If you’re a British pop junkie who came of age in the ’80s, you’re doubtlessly familiar with three names: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio of producers hit it big with Hi-NRG pop, all clean beats and shimmering synths, from Bananarama’s “Venus” to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” All told, the trio racked up over 100 Top 40…

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News Roundup: Back from Hiatus Edition, Part 1

Well! After a fun weekend of sun and Easter candy, it’s back to tracking the catalogue world at The Second Disc. A hearty thank-you to Joe for his contributions over the weekend, and a welcome back to our loyal readers. A few release nuggets came through the pipeline over the weekend, so let’s clean house by getting some of them out of the way. More to come before the end of the day, so stick around! NME reported that a new Oasis compilation would see a U.K. release on June 14. Time Flies…

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Never Gonna Give You Up. No, Really.

In a move that proves that any reissue is possible, or at least probable, the Edsel label has set an April 13 release date for expanded reissues of Rick Astley’s Whenever You Need Somebody and Hold Me in Your Arms. Yes, you are reading this right. You are also reading correctly that each reissue will be two discs with expanded liner notes by Pete Waterman Entertainment, Ltd. expert Tom Parker. More info is here, here and here and a detailed tracklisting for each is after the jump.

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