alright, i'm going to talk about a couple of trades i've done recently on lala.com. this is really unfair because it takes me many, many listens to like music. in fact, i hated the first cd i bought of one of my currently favorite bands. i couldn't get into it and was going to sell it. then i saw them live and that changed everything. so these quick opinions i'm going to write down may change.

"madra" by miranda sex garden. wow, i had no idea it was just singing. i think i wanted to hear this 'cos one of the songs is in a gregg araki. this is really not my usual thing. chicks singing and nothing else? this really isn't me. i'll definitely have to clear my mind and try to listen to this fresh.

"nexus polaris" by covenant. hey, this is pretty good. i thought this was one of those poser bands, at least i thought they got shit on all the time, back when i used to pay more attention to black metal. i can hear elements of my favorite hard metal bands in these songs. i'll definintely have to give this one a few more spins to see if i want to hear their other releases.

"real ramona" & "university" by the throwing muses. i'm just not sure if i like these. the only song i know is "bright yellow gun" and i love that to the point where i wanted to learn more of their songs. i kinda know the history and stuff and wanted to hear the music but i just don't know. i will have to listen to this a few more times to see if there are any other standout tracks.