New Los Lobos Disney Album Out This September. We Think.

Remember when I I told you about the new album of Disney cover songs set to be released by Los Lobos later this year? Of course you don't, because I did that almost a year ago. Well, it appears that the past year has been a difficult one for Los Lobos and the Mouse, whose Hollywood Records imprint dropped the band:
"Finally, after two years, we twisted their arms enough to where they are gonna release it, whatever that even means anymore, on September 1," says [Los Lobos guitarist Louie] Perez, who adds that even at this late date, the album has no title. "I think we are a little bit detached from it now. We're not exactly rolling up our sleeves to work on this record, because we don't really have anything to do with the label, and I think they are doing the same."
Ouch. Perhaps it's not so surprising that Hollywood dropped the band -- take one look at Hollywood's roster, with the likes of Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and seemingly every other Disney Channel graduate, and Los Lobos was the odd band out. (We'll ignore Queen for the sake of this discussion.) Having said that, if Hollywood just lets this album wither quietly, I will be peeved. Because the album has the potential to be great. In this interview, Perez says it includes “Lady and the Tramp,” and "a surf version of 'When You Wish Upon a Star.'" And here he says it'll also include "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Bella Notte," "You've Got a Friend in Me," and a Spanish-language take on "Heigh-Ho." (OK, can we at least put a ten-year moratorium on "You've Got a Friend in Me" covers?) Seriously, Disney, don't mess this up. Get this out there. Or I'll be forced to do something bad. Like, annoy a cat or something.

Disney = "Funky Old Songs": Los Lobos To Release New Kids Album

Well, it's not quite an album of songs from Mexico and Latin America along with some originals, but it'll be cool nonetheless, I should think -- Los Lobos is releasing a family-friendly album of Disney classics for a November release. Let's let Steve Berlin describe it (to Billboard):
"The conceptual framework is, we interpreted classic Disney songs like 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,' 'When You Wish Upon A Star' and 'I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song). There are no Elton John-era Disney tracks. But it came out really good, and we're all happy with it."
Frankly, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" gets covered enough, we probably don't need yet another version. That song is many things, but it is not a "funky old song," which is how Berlin describes the record. The mention of Los Lobos' contribution to Stay Awake, the collection of reinterpretations of Disney classics from artists such as Tom Waits, Sinead O'Connor, and Sun Ra, makes me think that, 20 years after the release of that album, it's time for a sequel. Sure, Disney's got their DisneyMania line, but most of those artists weren't, er, born when Stay Awake was released.

Review: OMG or LOL? Three Disney Disks

Let me start this review by suggesting that, for all its sins real or imagined, Disney Music purveys more original music for kids and families than any other label. It is possible to avoid a fair amount of that if you don't actually watch cable TV on a regular basis, but they put out a lot of music on a regular basis, and for all age ranges. Not to mention a back catalog the envy of just about anybody. How much you actually enjoy it all depends in part on your age, but I've got three recent Disney releases here, and at least one of them is worth your time. CampRock.jpgI admit it. I'm old. Not, like, Social Security old, but old enough that if I use the phrase "OMG" I mean it ironically. I am old enough, however, to have a kid who, though she isn't quite out of the "kids music" phase yet, will start listening to music I haven't introduced her to. So I understand quite clearly that the soundtrack to Camp Rock, the latest Disney Channel original movie, premiering on a gazillion different channels this week, is Not For Me. It is for kids just a little older than my daughter. They'll spend their own allowances on it, or maybe their parents will get it for them. And what they'll get is an attempt to duplicate the High School Musical magic, except this time in a slightly more rock-oriented retelling of Cinderella. The album features some tracks with Joe Jonas solo (he's got a leading role in the movie) as well as a Jonas Brothers track. There are some songs by 16-year-old Demi Lovato, who has the lead female role and seems to be Disney's leading contender for a Miley Cyrus with a less pop and more rock edge. The songs are fine enough, and most of the songs won't drive you to change the station if you hear them on Radio Disney (OK, maybe "Hasta La Vista," ugh), but you're not going to remember them 15 minutes after they're over. There's nothing as memorable as "Breaking Free" or "Fabulous" or "You Are the Music In Me," all of which are decent pop songs. In the end, it's not really for me, but it never really was.

Disney, the Carnegie Steel of the Kids' Music World

Amy beat me to this, but there was a great discussion last week on Idolator about Disney's control of the music industry, at least as it pertains to tweens. The thing I took from the article and subsequent was just one more confirmation that Disney's success lies in its vertically-integrated structure, of which Carnegie Steel was one of the first examples more than a century ago. From the grooming of artists on their television shows to the molding of albums by the music side, and back to the TV and Radio Disney side for constant promotion, it's no wonder they dominate this industry. (The only wonder is why nobody else has been able to copy their success.) In fact, if you read this interview with Radio Disney's Senior Vice President Jill Casagrande, you'll see lots of mentions of artists like the Jonas Brothers, Hillary Duff, or Miley Cyrus. What you won't see is lots of mentions of artists who aren't in the Disney stable. Disney does a good job of picking talented artists, especially in the sub-tween demographic -- they're distributing They Might Be Giants and Ralph's World, after all. But it is striking exactly how much big business has capitulated to Disney. They've left the field wide open to Disney -- how many more High School Musicals will it take before somebody else steps up?