Whenever I whip out my whisk and get ready to turn a liquid globule of albumen into a frothy, peaked sea of foamy egg whites in order to turn my average cake du jour into an evenly rising, well-crumbed treasure, I turn to iTunes for inspiration.

That’s right: I bake to the beat. The cheesier the beat, the better.

Apparently, I’m not alone. (And here I was, all embarrassed about my secret Pet Shop Boys/meringue-baking pairing obsession). Eater.com recently introduced me to Glamour Puds, Britain’s answer to Ace of Cakes (except Eric Lanlard is not nearly as cloying, perkily precious or vaguely irritating as the folks at Ace of Cakes).

Lanlard marries sexy, Eurotrashtastic style, snooty foodie lingo, bad raver-esque beats, ridiculous statements and overly fussy ingredients in a gorgeous package of foodie/music guilty pleasure. (And watching the show, I finally learned how to make a serious tarte bourguignonne. Next up: chocolate tart, West Indian Style. Yay!)

Baking to the beat is de rigeur for this master patissier–Madonna, Sir Elton John and George Michael are huge fans of his work, completing the baking/eating/wonderfully cheesy music circle beautifully.

Check it yourself and see if you don’t get a contact sugar high:

There are the Elton Johns and George Michaels of the world, and then there are the fiercely debated, still-unknown gay rappers most have long given up on uncovering. If Ricky Martin’s announcement that he’s gay was any sort of surprise to you, well, we think your naïveté is sort of novel in this day and age. So cute.

Yep, musicians are just like anyone else–they love who they love despite media scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal speculates the economic impact of musicians who come out of the closet, and the Telegraph suggests it’ll actually boost Martin’s career.

As we all know musicians have a larger platform from which to speak, and even if they don’t always use it, they certainly have more influence than the average soapbox screamers. Here are a few speaking their minds on hot button gay and lesbian issues.

When I’m headed home from a show and the buzz and reverberation of the final searing chords are still rattling around my beer-soaked noggin, I would probably eat a dirty sponge wedged under a mud-crusted rubber tire if someone were thoughtful enough to offer it to me.

Generally, no one is.

However, my show-going companions’ failure to present me with a mini-meal of bacteria-laden material does not necessarily (OK, it never has) lead to a granola-strewn, organic arugula-lined, pomegranate seed-studded path to a bowl of hearty, filling, nutritious food, swiftly followed by two aspirins, 16 ounces of water and a refreshing eight-hour nap.

No. Generally kick-ass, raucous rock shows make me want to shove hot, cheesed-up, be-gravied disco fries down my gaping maw, followed by as many pints of Guinness as my swollen gut will contain.

Apparently, the Gagster feels my pain. During her tour through Europe, she decided to give her chef the night off…and chaos ensued.

Lady Gaga reportedly ordered a whopping 35 plates of fish and chips after a recent show at the International Arena in the U.K. Now she’s hooked, allegedly bending chip shop owners’ ears in a bid to fish out their secret recipes for the British staple so that she can indulge in the deep-fried delights stateside.

Surfer Blood are one of the most buzzed about bands right now, at least in part because they’ve won so many people over with their sunny, catchy sound in the past year–the only year they’ve even existed.

Formed in the spring of 2009, the South Florida band recorded an album and hit the road soon after, criss-crossing the country on their own and eventually touring with Art Brut and Japandroids.

Pitchfork–ye old influential website–called the Florida band’s debut Astro Coast “a great guitar album in the way Weezer’s Blue Album, Built to Spill’s Keep It Like a Secret, or, more recently, Japandroids’ Post-Nothing are.” NY Mag deemed their sound “’90s throwback.” That is, Surfer Blood have chops, but aren’t trying too terribly hard and coming off like fun-hating hipsters.

We caught up with the band for an interview during SXSW, where they packed in a ton of shows, including the NPR and Village Voice parties and the Kanine Records showcase. They just released their debut full-length, and who knows if they’ll even be around by next year’s SXSW. But in the meantime, everyone just seems to be enjoying their ride.

Doc Martens. Swingin’ Utters t-shirts. Plaid pants. Hole and Stone Temple Pilots. The ’90s are back, dude, and the genre eclipsed new bands at SXSW.

Former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was all over SXSW promoting her new multi-disciplinary Out of Our Minds, a solo record, comic and concept film. We sat down with the talented Canadian long before SXSW, who told us all about the new album, along with some smart thoughts on artistic grants, sustainable farming and the American political system.

Melissa opened for Motörhead, hosted a pre-release album/absinthe party, signed autographs and more at SXSW. Read more about her experience in Time Out New York.

Hole–arguably (and we know you want to argue) one of SXSW’s biggest attractions–played a most publicized SPIN day party at Stubb’s. The band, sporting Courtney Love with an all-new lineup, played songs as early as “Pretty on the Inside” from their 1991 debut. “Miss World” and “Malibu” also made the cut.

Of course everyone was really there to see whether the singer would melt or explode into a pool of self-destruction right in front of everyone’s eyes, but she stuck to the script while delivering her famous onstage banter (Bret Michaels and Trent Reznor were reportedly sore subjects). Hole will be playing in New York and Los Angeles next month in support of the upcoming album, Nobody’s Daughter.

And let’s not forget shows from Stone Temple Pilots and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. Beyond SXSW, the 90s still have a strong foothold in today’s music, though the landscape is drastically different from what it was a decade ago. Peep inspiration from some of our current favorites.

Project Jenny Project Jan declare the return of the 90s, as evidenced by the almighty crowd surf.

Frightened Rabbit are really feeling Destiny’s Child. Can you pay their bills?

Miniature Tigers give and receive a pretty cool gift–the Kurt Cobain-designed Jag-Stang.

Want free music? We’ve rounded up the best songs from artists who played SXSW, so you can download all in one place, guilt free. Hear jams from Nneka, High on Fire, Delorean and more.

1. Free Energy “Hope Child”
Everyone wants to party, and that’s what Free Energy is about. The Philly band isn’t breaking any new rock ground, but their retro vibe never sounds bad. “Hope Child” is from their new album, Stuck on Nothing, via DFA.
Download track via Pitchfork

2. Avi Buffalo “What’s in it For?”
This is one of the catchiest songs we’ve heard in recent months, so much so that the melody got stuck in our head the first time we heard it. C’mon, how often does that happen nowadays? Plus they sing about bacon.
Download track via Buzz Bands

3. Nneka featuring Jay Electronica “Walking” (J.Period remix)
This is a playful remix featuring some promising talent–Nneka is a standout Nigerian-German singer who released her U.S. debut earlier this year, and Jay Electronica is hip-hop’s current darling.
Download track via J.Period

4. Lissie “Everywhere I Go”
Compared to Neko Case and Feist, Lissie and her piercing voice played nearly 10 shows at SXSW this year. “Everywhere I Go” pleads for an answer when the options have seemingly been exhausted.
Download track via RCRD LBL

5. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club “Conscious Killer”
In a sea of lo-fi, washed out, silly genre names and throwaway bands, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s straightforward rock just sounds good. From their sixth–sixth!–album, Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, out earlier this month.
Download track via He’s a Whore

6. Delorean “Stay Close”
This is one of those groups everyone was buzzing about pre-SXSW who actually delivered the goods live. “Stay Close” is the first single from their upcoming album, Subiza, out this summer.
Download track via MBV

7. The Morning Benders “Excuses”
Another band who made must-see SXSW lists. They’re simple and sweet, even when the subject matter isn’t the easiest to digest: “We’ll still be best friends when all turns to dust.” From Big Echo, released earlier this month.
Download track via The Morning Benders

8. High on Fire “Frost Hammer”
What’s a music festival without a little metal? Someone’s gotta do the dirty work, and reportedly High on Fire delivered at SXSW. From their new album, Snakes of the Divine.
Download track via Brooklyn Vegan

9. Psalm One “Better than My Last”
Chicago rapper Psalm One is pushing to top herself on her forthcoming album, Women at Work. “I’m better than anything you have a taste for,” brags the first lady of Rhymesayers.
Download track via Psalm One

10. Tape Deck Mountain “Ghost Colony”
Busy, brooding cut from their debut full-length, Ghost, released last fall. No one’s exactly sure what it’s about, but there are a few nice peak moments toward the end.
Download track via Lefse Records

San Francisco’s favorite Dodos have paired up with The New Pornographers and Dutchess & The Duke for a U.S. tour starting in June. They’re also playing Bonnaroo, which is shaping up to be a very diverse fest this year (Bomba Estereo, Jimmy Cliff, Conan O’Brien, Jay-Z, The Dead Weather, Regina Spektor…whew!). Imaad Wasif also joins the traveling crew later in July.

Until then, check out some transcendent tambourine from The New Pornographers and some grooming tips from The Dodos. Looks like it’s going to be a fun summer.