Durf's Töp 15 Albums of 2021

Yeesh, what a year.  Yeah, I know, I say that pretty much every year, but this year I mean it.  In the span of really ten short months, the Durfette and I welcomed the Durfling 2, I got a promotion at work, the Durfette got a new job, we both decided we wanted to get the fuck out of Idaho, I got a new job, we sold our house, bought a new house, moved to Tennessee, and that's just off the top of my head.  It's been a year.  Not to mention that until shit got real bonkers around August/September, I managed to actually write something nearly every week for this her blog, which was a lot of fun.  I'd love to be able to tell you that Durf's Weekly Workout will make a triumphant return sometime soon, but I can't commit to that, and I just can't lie to you terrific folks.  The new job takes a lot of my time and energy, and I'm still trying to figure out how to make sure my family doesn't get shortchanged, and until I do, I need to do other things than tell you how wicked lifting to Suffering Hour is (it's pretty fuckin' wicked though).  But hopefully it will be back at some point.  But for now, let's talk about sixteen albums from this year that were phenomenal.  I listened to more music this year than potentially any year previous, so you know these sixteen are the choicest of choice cuts.  As always, the amount written about any album does not speak to my thoughts or feelings about it; that's what the numbers are for.

Durf's Weekly Workout # 12: April 9th, 2021

It's April, which means baseball is back!  This is two-thirds a big deal for us at Brutalitopia, where a full 66.6% of us are huge baseball fans; Tom loves his Mets, I'm a diehard Tigers fan, and Mick is fully content to spend summer waiting for Bears season to start.  I'm always excited to watch as much baseball as possible, something that I'm sure I will not have to change or adjust at all this year despite my overwhelming sense of having absolutely no time for anything whatsoever.  Maybe I can convince work to pay me to stay home and watch baseball instead of, like, building things onsite.  A boy can dream.

Durf's Weekly Workout # 7: February 26, 2021

Well, you bastards, you got to me.  I know I said I was ok with it, but after thinking about it for a bit, I started feeling more and more guilty about not writing anything of note for last week's post.  I half-assed it, and I thought owning up to it would make me feel ok with it, but people, I am not ok with it.  And as I dwelled on it, I realized I had to somehow make it up to you.  I had to reward your tolerance with my mediocrity with something special, something above and beyond, a Durf's Weekly Workout for the ages.  And as I continued to dwell on my guilt, an idea took hold, and I realized what I had to do.  I went on a run.

You know what?  I didn't hate it.  I told the Durfette as I headed out that I was going running just to quiet the nagging voice in my head suggesting I go for a run, and I wasn't joking.  I honestly thought I would get into it, ask myself what I was thinking, grumble about how stupid running is and how dumb I am for doing it, and then head home, satisfied that I wouldn't have to hear my inner voice suggest running for another year.  Instead, I found myself actively enjoying myself, getting into a groove of pace and taking joy in just zoning out.  I would do it again, even.  Really, my only complaint is that we live in a very hilly neighborhood, and some of those hills are steep.  Those I didn't enjoy so much.  Did I walk up a few of them?  Of course I did.  But I jogged on the flat ground, and it was great.  I ran two miles, and was sweaty and breathing heavy in the cold air, and all I could think about was doing it again.  Which was completely unexpected, and not as unwelcome as I thought it would be.

This week brought four new albums, and one returning favorite.  Onward!

 

Durf's Weekly Workout # 2 : January 22, 2021

 Well holy cow, Durf's Weekly Workout is back for Week 2!  I'm just as surprised as you, honestly; I sort of figured I'd be excited about this for like two days and then go back to pretending I never thought it up as a way to feel less guilty about abandoning it.  But for now I'm still here, lifting and listening and passing insights on to you.  This week was a little rough; the Durfette has a head cold, so sleep was compromised and motivation waned.  I certainly don't want to complain, because I can't imagine being pregnant and dealing with all that goes on with that and then being sick on top of that, but maaaaybe the gap between being pregnant and dealing with a pregnant woman is sma... (Ed. Note: Durf is trending toward dangerous territory, so to protect him from himself I've put this Editor's Note over his probably-correct-but-incredibly-stupid-to-vocalize thoughts on being the partner of a pregnant women.  Brutalitopia values its writers' safety, because there are only three of them and they don't write that much anyway, so we have to keep them safe. *listens* Ok, I think he's finished.)..ou know?  But sleep or no sleep, I'm committed dammit; I made the lifts and listened to the tunes, so now all that's left is to recap!  Onward!