This week's top stories had everyone talking: Kanye West mouthed off about Thom Yorke, the White Stripes disappointed on Conan's last night at Late Night, Chris Brown and Rihanna continued to cause controversy, and SPIN's Ellen Carpenter had some eyebrow-raising ideas about how to spend the $787 billion economic stimulus -- and blink-182's Mark Hoppus had something to say about it on his

On a wintry evening in late November, Karen O celebrated her 30th birthday by throwing herself a party in the city she had fled. Raised in the New Jersey suburbs, Karen spent her formative years in New York City, crafting her identity through cherished postadolescent rituals: going to college, dancing at clubs, drinking in bars, and starting bands with people she'd meet at clubs and bars.

To photograph the cover for SPIN's March issue, we rendezvoused with New York-bred rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs in the band's old stomping grounds: downtown Manhattan. SPIN.com captured it all in an exclusive behind-the-scenes video below.

Look out Coachella and Bonnaroo! The lineup for the eighth annual Sasquatch!

Leading up to Valentine's Day, love was certainly on tap this past week: Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore got engaged, the Mobius Band gave away a sonic love letter to their fans, and Trail of Dead showed some love to SPIN's new offices with a private performance. Meanwhile, the domestic abuse allegations against Chris Brown have us asking, "Where's the love?"