In 2005, Panic at the Disco's debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, arrived overflowing with logorrheic song titles, histrionic hooks, and teenage angst. It earned them a platinum record, but also scores of skeptics -- among them the band's own guitarist/lyricist Ryan Ross (okay, almost). "I can't knock that album too much," says Ross.

Not since the early '90s has anyone been as enthusiastic about New York City nightlife as Moby seems to be. Perched on the edge of the couch in his surprisingly small SoHo apartment, the 42-year-old techno-vegan eagerly admits what few other rave veterans would: Last Night, his new album, could very well have been recorded during the Clinton presidency.

Even though singer Santi White mocks New York City scenesters on her single "L.E.S. Artistes," she's the first to admit that she could easily be mistaken for one. Today, for instance, the stylish 32-year-old Brooklynite, who performs as Santogold, is sporting a jaunty fedora and recovering from an all-night party with her producers, indie dance titans Diplo and Spank Rock.

One of Feist's backup singers, Mary, is crying. Another, Diane, holds an ice pack to her own bruised and swollen hand. At first glance, it would seem as though things backstage at Saturday Night Live's NBC studio have gone horribly wrong for tonight's musical guest, when in fact the opposite is true.