Brandon's Buzz

“I’m a country fan now. My friends from New York are like, ‘What the fuck are you listening to?’ And I’m like, ‘It’s Miranda Lambert! You need to get into it, people!'”

— Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, explaining to Entertainment Weekly how she prepared for her role in the upcoming film Country Strong (due December 22), in which — shades of Crazy Heart? — Paltrow portrays a down-on-her-luck Nashville songbird looking for lightning to strike twice.

Hanson — “Been There Before” (from The Walk) —

With sweet, knowing nods to Otis Redding and Johnny Cash, the riveting and utterly remarkable Taylor Hanson — once again, the finest pop singer under thirty on the planet right this second, and don’t even try to sway me in a different direction — delivers a graceful, gorgeous ode to the undeniable power of song.