January 30, 2012 – Everyone has something to say about the year's most divisive new artist. But separating myth from fact means untangling a knot that also happens to encapsulate the weird state of pop stardom in 2012. Plus: Read SPIN's review of Born to Die. I. The Origin Story: A Star Is Born/MadeThe myth, as it is presently understood: Lana Del Rey is an extended vanity project bankrolled by her dad's money and honed, over the years, by a series of lawyers and managers who have shaped her image and plotted her career path. She is merely a canvas of a girl, and a willing one at that. Bloggers and journalists take pains to note that her real name is Lizzy Grant, that Lana Del Rey is "fake," as are her lips. ("Lizzy Grant" sounds like a Disney tween star; it's easy to see why she changed it.

February 11, 2011 – Home sweet home: ChicagoExpect: Baby-faced lo-fi assassins, all grown up, sortaMust hear: Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum), out now Reviled as much as they're revered within the Chicago rock scene for their precociousness and fast start, Smith Westerns may have cleaned up their sound, but their impish attitude remains intact. "I'm so tired of being described as 'bratty' or, like, 'scrappy,'?" says Cullen Omori, 20, frontman for the band he began with his little brother, bassist Cameron, 19, and guitarist Max Kakacek, 20, three years ago as high schoolers in Chicago. "If we were a bunch of fucking 'tards, we wouldn't be doing what we are doing at the level we're on." Tug-ging on a lock of his long black hair, Omori makes plain that being in this band is their life: "We don't really do anything -- listen to music, write music, practice music, and talk shit. About everyone.

February 23, 2008 – There's a new hip-hop/dance hybrid blowing up in the windy city. With a sense of unbridled fun not seen since rap's golden age, this new crew cherry-picks from two decades of club music, creating a gangsta-free, party-igniting sound that's made for inciting dance-floor riots.Here, the most promising new jacks -- Flosstradamus, the Cool Kids, Dude 'N Nem, and Kid Sister -- throw a kickass house party, while spotlighting spring fashion that's as vibrant as their music.