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Video website xonger.com and The Love Agency publicity firm announced today that they will present a Black & Brown Unity Festival in the Los Angeles area later this year to “serve as a stepping stone towards the cure of racial tension.” They claim to have commitments-to-perform from Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Daddy Yankee, Akon, Don Omar, Baby Bash, The Game, Cypress Hill (above), Keisha Cole, Kat Deluna and Lil Rob.

Forgive us if we have our doubts about such a lineup, given that no date or location has been chosen (elements crucial to getting so many stellar acts with divergent schedules). Still, if they can pull it off, now’s a good time, and music is an ideal medium. As you know, many Latinos and African-Americans haven’t exactly been singing “Kumbaya” in Los Angeles. A lot of media observers will blame reporters for perpetuating an image of discord on the streets, but as one of the journalists who has covered the issue, I have to say there really is trouble out there, from Highland Park to Harbor Gateway to Watts (where, at Locke High School, schoolyard fights between blacks and Latinos broke out just last week). School officials, police and gang experts blame organized crime, saying much brown-on-black violence is the result of gang beefs, drug wars and turf battles.

Some of that is true, but it doesn’t explain why, for example, African-Americans who don’t belong to gangs are being asked where they’re from then summarily blown away in places such as Arlington Heights. It doesn’t explain why some Mexican immigrants use Spanish racial epithets to describe blacks. It doesn’t explain why some African-Americans in South L.A. are so unaware of Latino customs that they sometimes refer to brown newcomers as “Spanish.” One core issue is cultural ignorance. Immigrants moving into South Los Angeles often seem totally unaware of African-Americans’ vaunted, vital and sometimes bittersweet place in American history. Many blacks feel that immigrant laborers are out to get their jobs. And so, it’s hard to connect on an interpersonal level when so much of our intel on each other is so shallow or downright wrong. And if we can’t connect on an interpersonal level, then we are strangers in our own neighborhoods, destined to embrace old stereotypes and stick to our own sides of the street.

Do the Latino children at Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles know that they’re just blocks away from one of the jazz hotbeds of the 20^th century? Do the African-American students know where bouncing lowriders and buttoned-up Pendleton shirts started? When I reported on the ethnic chasm for a piece in Tu Ciudad (“Latinos & Blacks: Te Rainbow Collision,” October, 2005), one of the things that dumbfounded me was how so many young black and Latino kids could pretend to hate each other yet blindly partake of each other’s cultures. If only they could take a step back and realize what a beautiful, hybrid society we have in Los Angeles, and how music has brought us together and set us apart from the rest of the world. In the 1970s, a mostly-black group from L.A. created the Chicano anthem, “Low Rider” (and “Why Can’t We Be Friends”). In the 1980s, the likes of N.W.A. and, later, Snoop Dogg, paired funk-infused rap with lowrider imagery. Today, it’s hard to be in one of these affected, Latino neighborhoods and not hear hip-hop – even if it’s Spanish-language reggaeton – booming from cars, apartments and houses. Let those young Latinos put some black faces with the music they so love. Let African-American children know about the deep cultural roots Latinos have when it comes to L.A. street culture.

And so, the idea of having the likes of Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill perform for young African-Americans and Latinos in the name of unity – genius. Organizers even plan to have name-brand comedians joke and dialogue about race relations. And community nonprofit organizations are being enlisted so they can have a presence and disseminate information. But music is key. Music is healing. Music is the answer.

It’s a little ironic that the guy with the natty dreadlocks got kicked off American Idol this week essentially for singing a torturously soul-less version of a reggae song (Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff”). I mean, really: Mr. I’m-so-unique. Mr. I’m-so-rasta. Mr. Kingston soul-man. Really?

Yes, it was quintessentially Idol, showing once again that the music here is a put on (see our last post, below), with contestants taking on personas like Madonna takes on new music producers. Castro’s ouster inspires questions: Was Amanda Overmyer really was such a bell-bottom diva? Was Brook White is truly a rock ‘n roll chanteuse with a little bit of country thrown in? One wonders if the contestants are styled into predetermined pop archetypes, complete with hair and makeup, only to be kicked to the curb when they can’t live up to the prescribed images.

Presenting the clean-cut Castro as a Rastafarian is about as believable as imagining Paula Abdul as a sober-living spokesmodel. In any case, Castro’s pipes failed to live up to the hype of his good looks, which shows, at the least, that there’s still a sliver of substance to this show.

With three of the four remaining American Idol contestants rooted in Latino heritage, it gives us some license to comment on Idol’s profound influence when it comes to pop music. Not that this year’s Latino show of force makes a difference in Idol’s extraordinary takeover of the musical terrain – it’s happening with or with out us. But in terms of the evolution of pop, Idol has been an aesthetic and evolutionary disaster. 

What’s not to like, you ask? Where do we start? Idol is a wasteland of squeaky-clean ballads, a place where the lack of imagination required to choose a tried-and-true torch song is rewarded rather than dismissed. It rewards contestants for returning to the least-offensive moments of America’s pop past without ever acknowledging that the underlying ethos of American pop is rebellion. This season we’ve seen tributes to Neil Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Mariah Carey, Dolly Parton. Is the average 17-year-old really into this stuff? 

Actually, Idol has deftly tapped into the reactionary culture of America’s parental class. These are artists American parents are into, for sure. While baby boomers certainly had their fun in the 1960s and ’70s, they’ve been the most-coddling, doting, meddling parents in modern American history. They want their children – the millennial generation that comprises much of Idol’s audience and most of its contestants – to be shiny, happy people to a fault. And so, Idol provides a parallel universe of wholesomeness, where teens and twentysomethings actually pretend to like the G-rated music of the past as if it matters today. Case in point: You won’t see rap, punk rock or electronic music on American Idol. Too radical. Too insurgent. 

Because of their doting parents, millennials have been showered with praise and atta boys: Idol, too, fits this dogma by rewarding people who are often little more than solid karaoke singers. Idol has (re-) built an industry by turning its contestants into real stars, plying winners and finalists with record contracts that pair young crooners with songwriters, musicians and producers – the real workhorses and talent behind the contemporary music industry. 

And still, you have to give it to Idol and its co-producer, Simon Cowell. He’s created an antidote to the “long tail” of genre choice that’s flattening out the pop pyramid. (Once upon a time, there was the Eagles. Today, in “long tail” land, there’s indie hip-hop and Latin alternative and so many variations of pop that the days of towering,10-million-selling albums are few and far between; the era of much-smaller sales for a wide spread of genre-specific artists is now). Idol has shored up the idea of a clean center in pop, where basic, unchallenging ballads can be pushed and marketed by a blast of broadcasting – television. It’s worked, and the multi-million-selling pop phenom (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken) is back. It’s been a rare bright spot in music sales. But it’s been a sore spot for the evolution of music. 

American pop was meant to cry out youthful angst, cultural rebellion and racial transposition. Each generation since the last century, it seems, used popular music to express itself in new and unique ways, from blues to jazz to rock to punk to disco to hip-hop to electronic dance music. Generational expression helped pop form new branches of evolution. But with Idol, it feels like the tree is dying in the name of safety and profit.

(Above: Jason Castro, right, gives the peace sign like it's 1979).

Ah, Cinco de Mayo. A beer holiday if there ever was one. A battle victory over the French is like a dinner victory over quiche, but, hey, we’ll still toast to it. And so will the good folks over at Monday Social, the 10-years-plus electronic music night that has brought some legendary DJs to the turntables of some of L.A.’s more intimate locales. Tonight the Social hosts San Francisco dub-house dons Garth and Jeno (above, left to right) with DJ Joaqin Garcia warming up the decks at Nacional. Cazadores margaritas will be half price until 10:30 p.m., and coupons for a discount on Corona beers will be handed out all night. At 9 p.m. Tickets $20. Nacional, 1645 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, 323- 962-7712; www.nacional.cc.

One small warning: We know you’re all good, responsible people out there and would never drink and drive. So do the fine men and women at the Los Angeles Police Department. But just to keep you honest, they’re hosting a sobriety checkpoint just down the block from the original El Cholo restaurant:7 p.m.-3 a.m., S. Western Ave. and W. 12th St., Koreatown.

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Do That Conga Room

Conga Room co-owner Jennifer Lopez

The fabled Conga Room is completing its move from Wilshire Boulevard on the Miracle Mile to its future home at L.A. Live in the South Park section of downtown. More details are being announced about the much-anticipated fall opening of the venue, which is owned by Brad Gluckstein and partners Jimmy Smits, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Rodriguez and Sheila E.

The new Conga Room at 800 W. Olympic Blvd. will have a capacity of 1,100, making it one of the largest dance clubs in the city, although the venue will be triple duty, with a restaurant and catering facilities for special events. Music will include an in-house, “all-star” salsa band on Thursdays and Saturdays, along with rock en Espanol and electronic music Tuesdays, with national acts booked on a case-by-case basis, according to a statement. Guest artists will like come from the salsa, world, rock en Espanol, urban, pop and rock worlds.

The menu will incorporate the Wilshire Boulevard locale’s “pan-Latin” flavors, and Wolfgang Puck Catering will handle the edibles for special events. Hours will usually be 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., although the venue is planning on having “late-night Mexican hangover breakfast” Thursdays through Saturdays from 1 to 4 a.m. So eat, dance and be merry.

The previous incarnation of the Conga Room was well-received for its not-so-usual focus on core Latin music, particularly big-band salsa. It will be interesting to see if the Room can maintain its critical allure and musicianship even as it’s surrounded by such a mainstream array of sports events (Staples Center is next door) and concerts and red-carpet affairs (L.A. Live will play host a bevy of pop stars, with the Nokia Theater serving as the venue for the Emmy Awards and other star-studded happenings). If the Latin ballroom dance trend continues to grow, everyone will be dancing with the stars at the Conga Room. For now we say good luck, and, “Salud.”

Thievery Corporation (comprised of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton) is bringing a full band, along with Bebel Gilberto, Federico Aubele and Turntables on the Hudson, to the Hollywood Bowl June 22. The show is part of the duo's OuternationalMusic Tour (dates above).

The music industry, as you know, is in crisis mode: When’s the last time you went to a record store, if you could even find one? Many labels and artists are still trying to figure out new business models in a world in which much of their product is available – albeit illicitly – for free. One increasingly important money maker for the musicians is live performance. You might not be able to go to Tower Records anymore, but you can certainly find many concerts to attend on any given weekend. For some artists, in fact, recorded music has become little more than a promotional vehicle for their live shows. The cash for them comes when fans pay for tickets, not when they buy records. So it’s no small feat when you see many of the world’s top Latin artists gather to put on two free concerts. This particular group isn’t exactly hurting when it comes to album sales, but still, live events represent bread-and-butter money for even the biggest stars. (Prince, for example, is coming to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival this week, and it ain’t for charity).

Shakira (above), Juanes, Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin, Calle 13, Chayanne, Juan Luis Guerra, Los Tigres del Norte and Maná are among the huge names who have committed to two, simultaneous live shows in Mexico City and Buenos Aires May 17. The free shows are designed to raise awareness about children living in poverty in Latin America. Organizer ALAS (América Latina en Acción Solidaria) is encouraging Latin American governments and private groups to launch early childhood development programs – focusing on education, nutrition and health – so that their children have a fighting chance at being more prosperous, healthy and happy than previous generations. How is ALAS, started by leading artists, going to make a dent on 32 million children when it’s giving away such an event for free? We guess the organization is hoping that there will be such a huge turnout that the world will be forced to pay attention to its cause.

And that’s where you come in. A flight to Mexico City could cost lest than tickets to such a huge, star-studded event. At this point, the problem is that ALAS hasn’t firmed up its lineups, including venues and which artists will be appearing in which city. Still, like Shakira's imagery above, it's tempting. Stay tuned to its website for details.