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.

New Dan Zanes and Friends DVD On Its Way...

I talked to Dan Zanes very briefly at KindieFest 2009, and he was pleasant as he's been every time I've met him, but did he mention anything about The Fine Friends Are Here, his upcoming DVD? Nosiree. Even though the live DVD (featuring Dan and his current band playing 14 songs) was filmed where we were talking, Brooklyn's Jalopy Theatre. Also including three new videos and a lot of other goodies, I think this is going to be a fun collection for the tens of thousands of folks who've seen him live over the past year or two. (Though how they managed to fit cameras in amongst the bands on Jalopy's tiny stage is a mystery to me...)

We Are The Not-Its, and We'd Like To Show You Album Art

Skating in with their new album later this summer (you'll understand what I mean in a moment) are Seattle's The Not-Its. We've been talking about them for almost a year now, but now their debut album We Are The Not-Its is just about ready to go. Besides the music, what I like about the band is that while I know they've been pushing to get the album out to the world, it hasn't been at the expense of other things, like album art. For their debut they partnered with Seattle design firm Invisible Creature for the album art, and it looks reeeeeallly cool. Track listing and album art (the skating reference will become self-evident) after the jump.

Listen To This: "Alive!" - Duplex

When I was picking out a track for your listening pleasure from the upcoming Duplex album Worser, I was tempted to pick one of the more rockin' tracks. Heck, I even uploaded one of 'em. (And if you need to listen to one of the more rockin' tracks, I have it on good authority that Bill may have one on this weekend's show.) But it was this track, "Alive!," that I kept thinking about. It's a lot more swirling than most kids tracks. It's also beautiful. Streaming with permission from Veda Hille, it's... Duplex - "Alive!"

Mayor Monkey Gets a DVD to Call His Own

I already mentioned the new video for "Marshmallow Farm" from Seattle's Recess Monkey, but what I didn't mention was that the video's actually from an upcoming DVD release from the band. Subsequent to posting the video, the band sent me the cover to the DVD, Field Trips with Recess Monkey. (See the band rockin' the... Futura font?) According to RM's Jack Forman, the DVD includes four episodes "each hosted by Mayor Monkey, sort of like American Bandstand meets This American Life." That's either the worst American Bandstand ever or the best This American Life ever. Part 1: MayMo visits Gasworks Park -- I give it an 85. (Details of the first episode after the jump.)

B Is For Bob, G Is For Grammy, so Z...

... must be for Ziggy. It's a lousy Scrabble hand, but a busy spring for Ziggy Marley. His Family Time album comes out May 5th, then a month later, Marley's playing Club Nokia on Saturday, June 6th as part of the GRAMMY Museum's monthly "Musical Explorations" program for families. It's Marley's first family-specific concert along with Rhythm Child and unsurprisingly, it's for the "What Is Reggae?" show. And if that wasn't enough, on June 23rd Marley will release B Is For Bob. As previously reported, the album features Ziggy tackling his father's catalog, remixing, adding some tracks, reimagining, as it were, some classic Bob Marley tracks. The album cover art and track listing after the jump...