Latin singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel and pop duo Calle 13 were the primary focus of the 2009 Latin Grammy Awards last night. Gabriel, who performed live for over 40 minutes, received the award for Person of the year, while Calle 13 took home 5 awards including Album of the Year. [Billboard.com]

On the heels of releasing his debut solo album, Strokes-frontman Julian Casablancas is purportedly preparing a laser light show for his upcoming live UK tour. Casablancas told NME that he is planning on delivering a “Pink Floyd” inspired show to his UK fans. Casablancas released the album Phrazes For the Young last month. [NME.com]

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Despite having one of the more unfortunate band names in recent memory, the Boston trio called Pants Yell! have been responsible in the past few years for some very fine indie pop that conjures up early Go-Betweens and mid-period Lucksmiths. The group’s 2007 record Allison Statton was a slept-on gem, their new album Received Pronunciation may get some more notice since it’s being released (next Tuesday) on hot label Slumberland. The video for “Somebody Loves You” is pleasantly DIY dorky and sweet, showing the band to be just regular joes with a knack for making near-perfect guitar pop.

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Jason DeRulo’s first charting single “Whatcha Say” is also his first chart-topping single. DeRulo is the fourth artist to accomplish this feat in 2009, along with Owl City (whose “Fireflies” topped the Billboard Hot 100 last week), Jay Sean and Lady Gaga. In other singles chart news, Taylor Swift is the first artist in Hot 100 history to debut five songs within the top 30 within a single week, thanks to each of the new tracks from the deluxe edition of Fearless hitting the chart. Along with the four other singles she had on the chart already, her nine total singles make her the female artist with the most charted titles in a single week. The Beatles still hold the record for most total entries; the Fab Four had 14 singles on the chart on April 11, 1964. [Billboard.com]

Not surprisingly, the soundtrack to Michael Jackson’s documentary This Is It topped the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, selling 373,000 copies. Jackson’s last chart-topping album was 2001’s HIStory. Sting, Jack Johnson, Tech N9ne and the Swell Season made strong debuts this week. [RollingStone.com]

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The surviving members of Sublime — Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh — have been ordered by a California court to stop using the band’s name. Wilson and Gaugh recently performed at the SmokeOut Festival with 21 year-old Rome Ramirez, who replaced the departed frontman Brad Nowell. According to festival footage (link: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/10/26/sublime-debut-new-singer-despite-nowell-family-protests-at-smokeout-festival/), the group sounded a lot like Sublime. According to the judge’s ruling, however, Sublime ended with Nowell’s death 13 years ago. [RollingStone.com]

Taylor Swift will double-up as host and musical guest during this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live. Only a small clump of stars have handled that load in the past, including Britney Spears (who, at 18 years old, became the youngest host to do so) and Justin Timberlake (who won an Emmy for his work on the show). In a promo for the episode, Swift happily spoofed the now-infamous Kanye West incident, later stating that she “wants to go completely, 100 percent in” with her role. [MTV.com]

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Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois is the best album of the 2000s, according to a recent list issued by Paste Magazine. Bright Eyes, Radiohead, Kid A, Arcade Fire, and Wilco also occupy the top five. [PasteMagazine.com]

Chris Brown has unveiled the futuristic cover art for Graffiti, the singer’s first release since his highly publicized attack on Rihanna earlier this year. The image features a suit-clad, guitar-wielding Brown aiming a can of spray paint at a clump of cartoon cartoons. [MTV.com]

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This weekend’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concerts weren’t just a veritable who’s who of rock, they were also a who’s playing with who collaboration-fest. Friday night kicked off the festivities with performances by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Browne; Paul Simon played with Dion DiMucci and Little Anthony & the Imperials. Stevie Wonder and John Legend turned in emotional tributes to Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson before Bruce Springsteen closed the evening with a nearly two-hour set. Saturday night was just as impressive, with performances by Aretha Franklin, Jeff Beck, Lou Reed, Metallica, and Ray Davies. U2 played last, bringing Mick Jagger on stage to sing “Gimme Shelter” and “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.” [RollingStone.com]

This Is It was a box office thriller over Halloween weekend, earning $101 million dollars worldwide in its first weekend of release. This secures the film a longer theatrical run than its planned two-week engagement. The movie made $32.5 million in the United States and $68.5 million internationally. [Billboard.com]

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This week we felt like strapping on guitars, plugging into Voxx AC 30’s and making some good ole fashioned rock& roll ruckus. We went looking for bands who give it up with lots of noise, fire and enthusiasm. We found some. We also found some bands who take this ferocious energy and inject it into some honest to goodness songs the likes of which should be beaming out of radio transmitters worldwide and straight into pocket radios, ladybug transistors and anyplace else rock & roll sounds good. Let’s rock it one time for the kids…..

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