JULIANA HATFIELD Alt-rocker strips down old school—and finds peace Juliana Hatfield’s 2008 album How to Walk Away was a polished effort, recorded in a New York City studio over a long time with a large cast of musicians. For her latest, Peace and Love, she elected to take precisely the opposite tack. “This time I wanted to be alone,” she says. “I wanted to see what would come out of me with no one else involved.” Writing and recording... 

OMARION Think you know this smooth R&B star? Think again Forget what you might have heard about R&B artist Omarion. “I think people misconstrue who I am a lot of the time,” he says. “I blame it on the illusion of the game. You might think Omarion is going out to the club, partying and having an orgy with 10 women. If a rumor came out like that, people might believe it. I felt like I really wanted to share more of who I am through my... 

Vampire Weekend VAMPIRE WEEKEND Discovering inspiration in contradictions and cleverness Sure, Vampire Weekend singer  and guitarist Ezra Koenig was an English major at noted Columbia University and taught junior high English. And yeah, on the band’s new Contra album he rhymes “horchata” with “balaclava,” among other clever linguistic feats. What of it? “It’s a criticism people try to lodge at  us,” Koenig says with a resigned chuckle....