Brandon's Buzz

The bikinis are already out in full effect (lord love those becleavaged CenTex beauties), the mercury is already scorching (Austin promises to be in triple-digit territory by next weekend), and the pop has already taken a turn toward the mindless (thank you, Lady GaGa, for reigniting a trend, milady). Means only one thing: the long, hot summer is upon us once again, and spring, with its life-affirming promises of the spirit of renewal, has been sent packing for another year.

Sometime around early April, with the dazzling second act laid down by a white-hot cadre of Colorado boys who call themselves The Fray and the stunning returns to form turned in by Pet Shop Boys, Wynonna, Annie Lennox, and Kelly Clarkson, it became very clear that music as a whole had regained its mojo following a bumpy time last fall, and that, at least creatively, the industry was firing on all eight cylinders. Some damn fine tuneage made its way to the forefront of our collective consciousness in the season just passed; what follows directly is a convincing cross-section of same:

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He is the kindest, most intelligent, most thoughtful and amazing man — and, considering some of the fun that gets poked toward him on this very website, he’s one hell of a great sport — and today, exactly three decades after his arrival on this planet, we celebrate.

Happy thirtieth birthday, A. I love you.

“It was the four monstrous actors at the core of it.”

— former “Dawson’s Creek” showrunner Tom Kapinos, bluntly (and rather harshly!) answering a question about what made his time on the iconic WB show so difficult, during an Emmy screening panel for his current series, “Californication.”