First cowslip spotted near Butser Hill a couple of weeks ago, plus a reminder of what to expect in a few more weeks #WildFlowerHour #CowslipChallenge @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

I’m not quite sure why the YouTube algorithm put this in front of me, given my hitherto limited viewing of either microtonal psychedelic math rock or polka dot papier-mache costumery videos, but I’m mighty glad it did. Also a potential candidate for #5albums26 youtu.be/0Ssi-9wS1so?...

A perfect start to the bank holiday weekend…

Aside from a tendency to deploy a car alarm guitar squeal at every opportunity, this is an enjoyably brutal blast of classic death metal grindcore #5DebutAlbums1519

Currently one of a group jostling for the remaining slots on my #5DebutAlbums1519 list - lyrically and musically a strong contender

Huge thanks to @tansleyjames.bsky.social for this and all the #musicchallenges - enjoy getting back to exploring new music yourself #ExitMusic

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 30 Karma Police Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)   Probably my favourite outro of all, this seems a fitting way to end this challenge. For a minute there I lost myself… youtu.be/1uYWYWPc9HU?...

Hornbeam, mountain ash, ash and field maple #treeflowers, all spotted round about yesterday for #WildFlowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

It will take something remarkable to keep this off my #5DebutAlbums1519 top spot - irresistible, infectiously hooky power pop with four-part vocal harmonies and earworms galore - I defy anyone to listen to a track like ‘Uptown Girl’ or ‘Little Death’ just the once

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 29 No. 13 Baby Pixies – Doolittle (1989) Someone clearly loves this outro as much as me- with Joey’s delicate guitar fills overlaying Charles’ strum, and a hypnotic rhythm - so much so that they’ve made a 28m loop of it… youtu.be/sAIQw9N2oVI?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 28 Days Of Oblivion Metric - Formantera II (2023) The coda revisits the lyrics of the first verse, but to an entirely different melody, before an increasingly euphoric guitar line leads us out youtu.be/2I1piA_AQZM?...

Turnstile’s debut already shows early signs of the willingness to experiment with their groove-filled hardcore sound which would much more fully manifest on later albums #5DebutAlbums1519

Experimental ambient drone folk conjured from viola, harmonium and largely wordless, sometimes Gregorian chant-like vocals - languorous, immersive and unsettling #5DebutAlbums1519

This somewhat underrated indie pop rock gem is definitely a contender for my #5DebutAlbums1519 list

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 27 Pretty (Ugly Before) Elliott Smith – From A Basement On The Hill (2004) A fabulous repeated piano motif over Smith’s glorious overdubbed harmonies youtu.be/yAf01cef70U?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 26 Enjoy The Bevis Frond – We’re Your Friends, Man (2018)   Any #ExitMusic list has to include at least one extended guitar wig-out outro - who better to provide one than The Bevis Frond? youtu.be/nkH0xGKstoc?...

Impossibly complex and highly enjoyable psych-prog-death metal debut - bonus points for the especially splendid song title ‘Meticulous Soul Devourment’ #5DebutAlbums1519

Best experienced live, a hypnotically compelling blend of chanting, throat singing and eerie female vocals, backed by what is best described as a ‘bespoke’ rhythm section #5DebutAlbums1519

First up for consideration for my #5DebutAlbums1519 list is this Kelley Deal side-project, full of invention and spanning both rockier and more sparsely experimental territory - great stuff

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 25 Another Day Steve Mason – Meet The Humans (2016) There’s a strangely familiar, almost northern soul feel to the way the horns, piano and guitar rework the riff at the very end youtu.be/iYvQrgaLUAQ?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 24 Chartsengrafs Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump (2000) I’m clearly a sucker for outros involving repeated synth riffs over guitars - this is a particularly fine example youtu.be/49T4Z-uu29I?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 23 Paradise Circus Massive Attack – Heligoland (2010)   Swelling strings amplify that magnificently hypnotic keyboard riff on the outro youtu.be/6hUkyKBsGtQ?...

I have turned to my 1753 New Dispensatory for some interesting ‘facts’ about some of the wild flowers spotted on today’s walk. First up comfrey - “many ridiculous histories of the consolidating virtues of this plant are related by authors” #WildFlowerHour #storyplants @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Buster’s top social media influencers drawing a crowd today

First trip up Butser of the year rewarded by first skylarks (sound up)

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 22 Mind Is An Island Sugar – Besides (1995) I love the cut and paste effect in the final chorus youtu.be/W9qnGiDYWb4?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 21 Blackout Turnstile – Glow On (2021) A live favourite, the coda marks the point where this flips to straight hardcore youtu.be/l3x4725Pxgw?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 20 Epic Problem Fugazi – The Argument (2001) The coda, one of Fugazi’s most straightforwardly melodic moments, contrasts beautifully with the spiky, staccato, dissonant verse/chorus build up youtu.be/Pi8VfxoIMyE?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 19 Glorious Levy (2007)   A glorious outro indeed, with wordless backing harmonies and the main riff picked out by the lead guitar youtu.be/SifamBPp5-k?...

These albums made a big impression on me at the time, initially thanks to their Peel sessions. Both still highly enjoyable, although I lean more towards ENT’s punkier, hardcore-rooted sound #5DebutAlbums8589

I’m not sure I can omit this from #5DebutAlbums8589 - probably the most gloriously, gleefully, obnoxiously dumb sludge punk noise ever created, exemplified by this track - stupidly brutal drums, a two chord riff and vocals which, by the end, literally sound vomited up youtu.be/sd6IBjZ6aQw?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 18 Planet Telex Radiohead – The Bends (1995) It’s O’Brien’s fabulous repeated guitar motif which makes the outro here so special youtu.be/Ad69PtWqrOM?...

In fIREHOSE-adjacent territory, but with heavier, more hardcore-oriented edge, this is definitely jostling for a place in my #5DebutAlbums8589 list

The Minutemen DNA is unsurprisingly evident, but this remarkable punk/jazz/funk fusion tends towards longer form, more melodic territory #5DebutAlbums8589

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 17 Los Angeles Frank Black – S/T (1993)   This ticks all the boxes of a great coda - repeated dreamy harmonies , swelling strings, and a haunting guitar motif youtu.be/fuLllNyfiHs?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 16 First It Giveth QOTSA – Songs For The Deaf (2002) Dave Grohl’s epic drumming is a highlight throughout, but really shines in the extended final chorus and close youtu.be/R5BQLo4FXrc?...

Your bonus Sunday evening hedgehog

Blackthorn blossoming in our hedge, white fritillaries in the garden, and a local wild cherry for #WildFlowerHour #WhiteFlowers @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 15 Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime The Korgis (1980)   The perfect fade-out in a wash of keyboards, with that distinctive riff played, as I now discover, on a guzheng youtu.be/ns_wvl6JB6E?...

For some reason I never got into MBV at the time, but I might be a late convert #5DebutAlbums8589

The least Lemonheads-sounding Lemonheads album, but hugely enjoyable (if you overlook the appalling Amazing Grace cover) - with Ben Deily sharing vocal and writing duties this has a much punkier feel (at moments sounding almost like SLF), sometimes veering into straight hardcore #5DebutAlbums8589

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 14 Killing In The Name Of Rage Against The Machine – S/T (1992) Back to one of my angrier outro choices youtu.be/bWXazVhlyxQ?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 13 Doomscroller Metric - Formentera (2022) This gradually morphs into an EDM climax before a lovely coda, which begins with a solo piano accompaniment until the whole band come back in for the rapturous ending youtu.be/YjNytMN4QL0?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 12 Let Me In REM – Monster (1994) After Stipe’s vocal ends, we’re just left with that haunting Buck keyboard riff set against Mill’s loose guitar thrash youtu.be/LYpShsDXmTY?...

BBC News - Secret of hedgehog hearing discovered at far beyond human range www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 11 The Concept Teenage Fanclub – Bandwagonesque (1991)   The wordless harmonies and guitar that carry this to its conclusion are pretty irresistible youtu.be/rqYibZeafg8?...

#ExitMusic #MusicChallenge Vaguely ranked Day 10 Run Awolnation – Run (2015) You can take your pick whether you count everything after ‘Run’ as the outro, or just when the heavy riff kicks back in for the last time, with that perfectly timed drop out at the very end youtu.be/FKYOWRJcJ2w?...

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The first, furtive appearance of mouse tails (arisarum proboscideum) in the garden is one my favourite #SignsOfSpring

Hwaet! The Beowulf manuscript (Cotton MS Vitellius A XV) is now back online. You can consult the entire manuscript through the online catalogue: searcharchives.bl.uk/catalog/040-...