Everyone knows the story: at the stroke of midnight on August 1, 1981, the new cable station Music Television (MTV) first aired, playing a steady stream of heretofore little-seen “music videos” that redefined pop music for the rest of the decade. Their first, of course, was The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star”: a prescient choice, though not even a single from the ’80s (it topped the U.K. charts and dented the U.S. Top 40 in 1979!) – and, as a new collection from Cherry Red underlines, The Buggles didn’t record it…
The Weekend Stream: June 22, 2024
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. More EPs from Duran Duran, rarities from Alanis Morissette and a tribute to an ’80s jukebox musical are part of the fun this Saturday morning! Duran Duran, My Own Way / Hungry Like the Wolf / Save a Prayer / Rio EPs (Parlophone/Rhino) My Own Way: iTunes / Amazon Hungry: iTunes / Amazon Save a Prayer: iTunes / Amazon Rio: iTunes / Amazon Ahead of Duran Duran’s classic ’80s albums getting reissued on CD, another…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Weekend Stream: September 17, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! This time out we’ve got Motown rarities, a couple of albums with comic book roots, early music from future legends, and more! Roger Miller, Roger Miller (RCA/Camden/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Legacy has resuscitated this 1964 compilation of early sides from singer-songwriter Roger Miller (produced in Nashville by Chet Atkins). The self-titled album was originally released on RCA’s budget Camden imprint in the…
Categories:
Formats:
Release Round-Up: Week of November 29
Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Black Friday! Here are some non-Record Store Day items arriving in stores today! Prince, 1999: Remastered & Expanded Edition [Various Formats] (NPG/Warner) 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 10LP/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Prince’s fifth studio album gets a major makeover with a variety of deluxe editions. The Super Deluxe Edition of 1999 will premiere 35 previously unreleased tracks. Its 65 tracks total across…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Record Store Day Black Friday 2019’s Best Of The Rest
The major labels aren’t the only ones who’ll be part of Record Store Day Black Friday this year. A number of impressive indies (and other major labels with notable catalog friendly material) have announced exciting additions to the RSDBF slate. What’s more, we’ve got coverage of some exciting new music from artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, Tank and the Bangas, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Norah Jones! First up… Chuck Berry, Chuck Berry In London (Elemental) By 1965, the British Invasion had brought Chuck Berry’s name back into the rock and roll…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Soundtrack Watch: Intrada Delivers Two John Barry Classics, La-La Land Lights Fuse on “Mission: Impossible”
Fans of John Barry have double the delight coming their way this week, with two hugely expanded scores from the late British composer. First up is one of the weirdest films Barry’s got his name on: the critically-maligned, George Lucas-produced adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Howard The Duck. The film, co-starring Lea Thompson as Howard’s…uh…human love interest, was scored by Barry and re-scored in part by composer Sylvester LeVay. Part of Barry’s score ended up on the second side of a soundtrack album featuring rock songs written for Thompson’s in-film band, Cherry Bomb,…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, ‘Love Has Many Faces’ [8-LP Box Set]
It’s coming on Christmas… and just in time for the holidays, Rhino has treated Joni Mitchell fans with a new, 8-LP box set, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced. Previously released in a 4-CD configuration in 2014, this Joni Mitchell-curated collection finds the celebrated songwriter, singer, and visual artist exploring the many contexts and definitions of love. The result is a 53-song, four-act suite that craftily presents some of Joni’s best work in a compelling sequence, including 20 songs that are brand-new to vinyl. Love Has…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of July 27
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Bob Dylan, Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances from the Copyright Collections (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The new 2-CD set Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances from the Copyright Collections draws on Dylan’s previously issued limited edition “copyright extension” collections to offer a sampler of Dylan onstage, from a pair of songs recorded on April 16, 1962 at Gerdes Folk City in New York (“Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Corrina, Corrina”) to “Ballad of a Thin Man” from May 20, 1966 at Edinburgh’s ABC Theatre. Many of his most famous songs are…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Thomas Dolby Goes ‘Hyperactive’ On New Compilation, Upcoming Tour
Thomas Dolby chronicled his singular life in the 2016 memoir The Speed of Sound. He detailed his career trajectory from “one hit wonder” new wave singer-songwriter (who, in fact, charted sixteen songs in the U.K. and three in the U.S.) to Silicon Valley entrepreneur. He’s lately been spending his days as a university professor (decades after turning his back on the “family business” of academia), but this summer he’s taking a break from the classroom to headline a short U.S. tour. To coincide with the concert engagements, BMG Rights Management has scheduled…
Special Book Review: Thomas Dolby’s Memoir “The Speed of Sound”
When a music fan thinks of Thomas Dolby, the first thing that springs to mind is probably “She Blinded Me With Science,” his classic 1982 new wave hit. He has been labeled as a “one-hit wonder” by several music trade publications and programs. (He actually charted three Hot 100 hits in the United States and sixteen Pop hits in the United Kingdom.) However, as is usually the case in real life, there is much more to his story…and that story is told in Dolby’s just-released autobiography, The Speed of Sound. As the sub-title…
