Christian Thibaudeau takes a very interesting look at the traditional notion of bulking; asking the simple question :
Is bulking up to gain muscle a good idea?
If you've ever wondered whether to bulk-then-cut or simply follow a clean diet with the right amount of each nutrient (all year, that is) then this article is meant for you.
A couple of samples :
You can eat any amount of food you want; you simply can't change your protein synthesis limit naturally. Eating more food than your body can use to build muscle will simply lead to more body fat being gained.
and
you can't bully your body into building muscle by force-feeding it. Adding nutrients and calories will have a positive effect on muscle growth until you reach your saturation point. After that, any additional calories will be stored as body fat.
I think the answer is quite clear - a careful, planned, clean diet.