July 3, 2012 – Name a song you've listened to in the past 24 hours. I just did a full road trip around Hawaii — man, I listened to everything. "The High Road" by Broken Bells. I'm not sure how I got put on to those guys. Living in Austin, which is the self-proclaimed "live music capital of the world," you hear about some new indie band every time you're out and about, although I know they're a lot bigger than the standard indie band. What was the last concert you attended? . Bruce Springsteen. That was legit. I saw him at South by Southwest in March. You go in with such high expectations, and he just killed it. He was up there for three hours, crowd-surfing and drinking beers. I didn't know the new album [Wrecking Ball], but I liked "Jack of All Trades." And "I'm on Fire" is pretty deadly to me. Who on the set of Friday Night Lights had the best taste in music? Me.

June 15, 2012 – Your Sister's Sister, which opens today, was one of the stronger films SPIN saw at Sundance this year, though you might not trust this based on the description alone: After the loss of his brother, Jack (mumblecore mainstay Mark Duplass) retreats to a secluded cabin belonging to his friend Iris (Emily Blunt) where, unbeknownst to him, Iris's half-sister (Mad Men's Rosemarie DeWitt) is already staying. That's all that can really be said without spoiling what little there is to spoil, but writer-director Lynn Shelton (Humpday) has a knack for eliciting the most disarming performances from her three leads that these characters are immediately familiar.

June 5, 2012 – Breaking Bad's mouthy, Ed Hardy-wearing meth dealer Jesse Pinkman becomes a different sort of character in real life: Do you remember the first concert you attended? I went with my older sister and her friends to see New Kids on the Block, MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice. It was pretty epic. I had a crush on my sister's friend, so I was like, "Oh, yeah, I love this New Kids song! We have so much in common. Let's hang out." But she was in high school and I was 12. Who would you want to portray in a biopic? Maybe Eminem. Or Jimi Hendrix. If you were to curate a festival, who would headline? I would have said the Beatles, Radiohead, and maybe Sigur Rós, who could float around in the audience, playing harps or something. But if I had to replace the Beatles, I'd go with Björk. Two bands from Iceland makes sense.

May 1, 2012 – It's a promising year for the MTV Movie Awards for a couple of reasons. While the last few ceremonies have been seemingly rigged by Twihards, the recent change to the voting system could finally mean some new blood (resisting a Twilight joke) at the podium on June 3. Of course, it would still be nearly impossible to unseat Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, or Taylor Lautner with this crowd if that franchise didn't have a formidable successor. Though The Hunger Games has very little in common with the weak-kneed vampire franchise in terms of substance, it stands to inherit its fan base. It will be worth tuning in just to see which one wins Best Movie since this category remains in control of the voting public, and it's safe to assume that Harry Potter, The Help and Bridesmaids don't have a shot.

April 26, 2012 – Metta World Peace may have been suspended for the next seven Lakers game for giving James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder a concussion, but he's regained the favor of Wavves' Nathan Williams in the process. SPIN joined diehard Lakers fan Williams and his girlfriend, Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, for last Sunday's Lakers game against the Thunder, which went into double overtime. Some time in the first quarter, Williams turned to me to say, "Metta World Peace tried to get me kicked out of the VMAs for smoking a blunt. He was like, 'Put it out, now.' " Wavves bassist Stephen Pope, who was also at the game and rooting for the Thunder, had been tossed out of last August's ceremony for marijuana possession. Minutes later, the Thunders' Harden hit the floor after being elbowed in the head by World Peace. (He was later diagnosed with a concussion.) "See?

April 20, 2012 – If you missed Cabin in the Woods last weekend, well, that's unfortunate. Everything might have already been spoiled for you, and if it wasn't, it's about to be. Seriously. From this point on. Stop reading if you still plan on seeing it. SPIN spoke to former Dollhouse costar Fran Kranz, who reunited with Buffy creator/Cabin producer Joss Whedon to play Marty, the stoner-hero, although knowing he's the hero means knowing that he does not in fact die halfway through the movie, as it would appear. (Don't say we didn't warn you.) Is it frustrating to be the hero when nobody can know? When I read the script and saw what happens to me halfway through, I was totally satisfied with the part, like, "Oh man, I'm the stoner, this is great, he's hilarious. I'm sure he's gonna die first or second." And so to get the borrowed time was a bonus.

April 12, 2012 – By now, you've probably heard of Krysten Ritter — then again, maybe you haven't. She's the kind of actress who tends to slowly seep into the consciousness, making an impression without becoming a sensation, a sometimes preferable option at a time when ingénues disappear pretty fast (remember when Abbie Cornish was a big deal?). A refresher for those who kind of think they maybe recognize her: She played Jane on the second season of AMC's Breaking Bad, where her character's fate remains a huge plot point in the series. She was the quirky best friend — an underrated role (just ask Judy Greer) — in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) and She's Out of My League (2010). And this Friday, L!fe Happens opens, a film which she cowrote and stars in (alongside Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson) as Kim, an aggressively single woman whose style is significantly crimped by a baby.

April 4, 2012 – If you are not watching ABC's Happy Endings, then you are not alone. But if you are, then you understand its many charms — or it's one particular charm, which is a genuinely energetic ensemble. During the first two seasons, which felt more like one since it debuted in early 2011, the series generated the kind of buzz that will accompany a good show for as long as it's overlooked (like everything, once acknowledged, it's in danger of being called overrated). But for the moment, Happy Endings has official underdog status, or as star Adam Pally put it during SPIN's set visit a couple of weeks ago: "We're just the half-hour after Modern Family." Pally, who plays the brutally sarcastic Max, shares his character's tendency for bluntness: "We haven't been publicized by our network.

April 4, 2012 – What was the last concert you attended? The Black Keys. They played a show in Vegas, and I was there because my wife and I love Las Vegas. I love it: One, because I have a gambling problem, and two, because I like to eat. And I like to get day-drunk. I think that was the weekend of my son's conception, come to think of it. Anyway, the show was awesome. Do you recall the first album you bought with your own money? Pearl Jam's Ten. Growing up, was there anything your parents objected to you listening to? My parents' convictions, when it came to discipline, were not very strong. For my bar mitzvah, I gave out a mixtape of '90s grunge — if you got it now, you would think it was the Singles soundtrack.

April 2, 2012 – So, as SPIN mentioned last week, the '60s have made it to Mad Men, meaning the suits at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are finally starting to pay attention to the counterculture. Last night, Heinz asked Don to get the Rolling Stones, fresh from the release of Aftermath, to sing, "Heinz, Heinz, Heinz is on my side" to the tune of "Time Is on My Side." What a bunch of squares, right? Turns out: not really. Yes, Don and Harry loitered backstage, oblivious to the moment they were a part of, unlike the viewing audience — hindsight is one of the most voyeuristic pleasures of the series — but when a young fan echoed the teasing of Don’s young wife and told him that he was a fool to think that the Stones would ever shill for beans, Don shrugged and said that they did it for Rice Krispies three years ago. Huh? This was a bigger surprise than a bigger Betty.