The Rec Room #6
Editor's Edition
Welcome to the sixth edition of The Rec Room, a weekly lounge-meets-newsletter from your friend John A. Paradiso. A big thank you to everyone who’s subscribed so far. And, if you haven’t, hit that big ol’ subscribe button now!
If you have no idea what’s going on, it’s all good.
Every Friday, I’ll be sending out an email with five recommendations from a friend with fantastic taste. Then, each guest will end the email with a game to add to our Rec Room Game Collection. It’s like your neighbor dropping off a freshly baked cake and a cooler of beer.
This week we’re trying something a little different. Yours truly is going to host The Rec Room.
I’ve been considering adding an ‘Editor’s Edition’ of The Rec Room — either as an optional paid tier or as a semi-recurring additional email — for a little while. Both so I can stoke my own ego and share a few of the things I’ve been genuinely excited about.
Please feel free to reach out if you enjoy shaking things up with the Editor’s Edition or if you prefer the standard guest format. Have no fear, we’ll be returning to the status quo next week!
And in case you’re unfamiliar with me, hello! I’m John. I currently serve as the Managing Editor at a daily men’s lifestyle site called Cool Material and I’m an occasional contributor to a few other publications. I’ve been told I have somewhat decent taste but that remains to be seen.
Without further ado let’s dive into it. Enjoy your Friday and relax in The Rec Room!
The Recs
Denmark v Russia Highlights
This summer’s European Championships (the European version of the World Cup for those not too familiar with soccer) have been thrilling. Even the most uninteresting of matchups on paper have proved entertaining. But, no country has experienced more of a rollercoaster than Denmark. You might have heard but Denmark’s most talented player Christian Eriksen had a near-fatal cardiac arrest in their opening match. It was one of the most chilling moments in soccer I can remember. Thankfully, Eriksen appears to be recovering reasonably well. Denmark went on to lose their first two games despite playing admirably and went into their final game against Russia in ‘must win’ mode. And they were incredible. Do yourself a favor and watch the highlights and try to hold back the overflowing emotion. That absolute rocket of a shot from my guy Andreas Christensen (a center back who has no right scoring that type of goal) gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. This was pure magic and you can feel exactly how important this was to the Danish players.
Pale Horse Rider, Cory Hanson
So far, the second solo album from Drag City musician Cory Hanson is my favorite of 2021. It’s a full Americana album with moments of haunting beauty. Part cowboy rock part chamber pop, it’s a beautiful piece of art that recalls Neil Young, Bill Callahan, and maybe a little Nick Drake. Ignore the odd marketing around this album (Hanson in pink face paint is a little…much), and enjoy the tunes. The first three tracks are all stone cold classics but “Vegas Knights” is maybe my favorite.
Easy Wine
Y’all, I have a problem. I can’t stop telling people how good Easy Wine is. I even wrote an article for The Quality Man about it. But seriously, this light sparking rose from the team behind Shacksbury (if you know, you know) is freakin’ ridiculous. Extremely crushable, the perfect carbonation, a good balance of flavor — this is exactly what the doctor ordered on a hot summer afternoon. Order yourself a 12-pack and then get another 12-pack because it’s gonna be gone real fast.
Blackbird Spyplane
Is it blasphemous to recommend another newsletter in my own newsletter? Oh well. Blackbird Spyplane is, in their own words, “yr no. 1 source for “unbeatable recon” into style & culture.” And, they’re not wrong. The editors of Blackbird Spyplane, Jonah and Erin, are crafting the best fashion writing on the web. Between in-depth interviews with some seriously great guests and musings on fast fashion, sustainability, collector culture, and more, I’m always looking forward to the next issue to land in my inbox. This piece on “collector brain worm mindset” is a great launchpad but I highly recommend digging into their back-catalog and getting some serious style intel.
The Best Letterboxd Review
Look, this isn’t really a recommendation. I just can’t stop laughing at this. Letterboxd is a social media/film review site where film nerds give their hot takes on cinema. There are some pretty hilarious reviews but none take the cake like this gem. In this five-star review of Todd Phillips’ 2019 Joker, the reviewer offers this sage piece of wisdom: “This happened to my buddy Eric.” *chef’s kiss* The plot of the movie Joker happened to his pal. Roger Ebert eat your heart out.
Rec Room Game Collection
Oath
If you’re looking for a unique, complex board game to try out, this is the one. Leder Games is an independent board game company making some of the best, most fascinating board games available. You may have heard of Root (Risk meets Disney’s Robin Hood - aka cute animal woodland creatures battling it out for control of the woods) and Oath is just the latest game from this company. I backed it on Kickstarter about a year ago and the game finally arrived. I’ve played it once so far and it is…complicated. But super intriguing. Oath is an asymmetric strategy game where players vie for control in this fantastical land. And, the hook of the game is that, like a tabletop RPG, the game plays out through several sessions. So, if player 1 takes control after the end of the first game, the next time you play, the map will look different based on the moves taken in the first game. This sort of campaign approach is pretty novel for a board game and makes for unique playthroughs each time. It’s currently available for pre-order and I highly recommend checking it out. Oh and the artwork is truly amazing.