Pitchfork has reported that Ride are set to reissue Going Blank Again, Smile, Carnival of Light, Tarantula, and OX4_The Best Of. The band has also established a new website for their new label, Ride Music. Be forewarned: that website is just about as chaotically constructed as “Perfect Time,” so best of luck getting it to load—and navigating it.

From what my investigatory journalism skills can discern, the details of this whole campaign are a tad unclear. Pitchfork‘s write-up is pretty thorough, and it indicates that the reissue of Going Blank Again will be packed with a DVD that contains the long lost footage of the band performing at London’s Brixton Academy. Yay! However, the band’s official YouTube channel, which is responsible for uploading that “Perfect Time” clip, suggests that the reissues will come together in one lavish (likely expensive) box set. Boo! Long story short, I can’t say for sure what all of this will look like, so I invite informative comments below.

American Idol’s eighth season was full of big changes, some of which the audience liked, and some of which it hated. The show disappointingly discontinued Idol Gives Back. The new “judges save” rule gave eliminated contestants a second chance at the title. And a new judge was added to the panel, songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who mostly struck out with fans hoping for longer performances from the contestants and less pointless talk.

Despite all this, one thing didn’t change: American Idol was the highest rated TV series of 2008. Due to the talent of its contestants, fans of the show often list season 8 as their favorite. But do you remember who made it to the top five that year? And what have they been up to lately? Let’s find out as we continue on with 2008’s American Idols.

Portland multi-instrumentalist Dorian Duvall likes to call his personal musical genre “disco-hop”, after dabbling in electro pop. He appears in the new video created by Andrew Sloan of monstrousmedia.com, with some crafty use of Reynolds Wrap to begin a journey beyond space and time. The song is off the debut release due in September, Mirror Gazer. Fans can also catch Onuinu on tour with Tycho and Starfucker through the fall.

Brooklyn’s Afropopper Antibalas have their new self-titled album set to release 7 August via Daptone and it’s a work inspired by the ongoing financial crisis and the uprisings of protest that have accompanied these difficult times. Now they are previewing the new album with a video for “Dirty Money” and it’s the first scripted video they have ever produced. Meanwhile the band will head out on the road as of 10 August, visiting most major US markets as well as a number of college towns.

Vaccines
The Vaccines Come of Age
(Sony)
Release date: 2 October (US)

TRACK LIST
1. No Hope
2. I Always Knew
3. Teenage Icon
4. All In Vain
5. Ghost Town
6. Aftershave Ocean
7. Weirdo
8. Bad Mood
9. Change Of Heart pt.2.
10. I Wish I Was A Girl
11. Lonely World