The Brew House

Because sometimes you just want friends to tell you about cool things… the Brew House team offers up its (new) weekly mix of author-supported goodness.

Song: “My Best Friend”, by Annie

I’m clearly not breaking ground with this endorsement, maybe stirring up something from the dirt that we might have forgotten about. A couple years before Pitchfork, rightfully so, hailed Robyn as the queen of pop, a fellow European made her mark when Annie released 2004’s Anniemal, an album recorded shortly after the death of her producer and boyfriend, Tore Korknes. 

The album has the light moments one expects from a pop record, but a pall hangs over most of the songs. For me, this feeling culminates in “My Best Friend.” I had forgotten about it until it came on my iPod Shuffle while biking the other day. “Best Friend” lets the listener discover a palpable sense for Annie’s loss. Yet it also uplifts at the end, when she sings, barely above a whisper, “want you to know/ you’re not alone/ there’s always someone out there/ there’s always someone out there.” — Mark Dent

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Writer: Dave Zirin

Every so often, somebody asks me to name my favorite writers. Happened the other day in fact. It’s always a brutal question. I certainly have the old standbys, but to me, the question sounds more like this: What characteristics do you want in a writer.

And as I was thinking about this question the other day, thinking about the writers I enjoy; the ones that make me wonder how anyone could have thought to put that word there, and that comma there, and so on, I sort of had an epiphany.

I guess I like people that write with power. Now, the power doesn’t come from the subject matter — although that can help. No, the power comes from some place else.

And you know what? Dave Zirin writes with power.

Zirin, of course, is currently the sports editor at The Nation. He’s written a couple great books, including “Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports”, and “A People’s History of Sports in the United States.” And he blogs regularly at Edge of Sports.

He writes about things that matter, things that other sports writers wouldn’t touch. He recently wrote a book with Olympic track legend John Carlos, and here’s his latest on the Penn State mess and protests.

And here’s the thing: Zirin takes honorable stances, but he doesn’t posture. Posturing, at least in my mind, is being contrarian for contrarian’s sake; taking a controversial stand to be edgy. It’s a sagging Hollywood actress latching onto a young, hip actor for image reasons; not for love.

That’s not Zirin.

Instead, you feel the power, but it’s not anger. You feel the fury, but it’s not rage.  It’s something difference. And it works. — Rustin Dodd

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Movie: “Bridesmaids”

Yep, it’s a Judd Apatow production. Yep, it’s about women. No, it’s not a Judd Apatow production created for women alone. I was pleasantly surprised by Bridesmaids, a consistently funny and refreshingly female-centric comedy that had me laughing out loud at several points.

When you think about it, comedic film has been largely reserved for males and male-focused plot lines, which is patently ridiculous given the fact women make up about half the world’s population and a corresponding amount of the world’s humor. It’s definitely Netflix-worthy. — Asher Fusco