In Which My Friend Betrays Me

It's no secret I'm a huge, huge, dorky fan of the game Rock Band. My obsession started in somewhere in 2007, when my friends Amy and Mikey acquired the game. I'd played Guitar Hero many times, and enjoyed feeling like a rock star and having fun with my friends- minimal effort required.

When Amy and Mikey became my roommates in 2008, playing Rock Band was one of our favorite pastimes. Mikey and I formed Disgruntled Mailbox, the greatest band to ever grace the Playstation 3 leaderboards. Sometimes Amy would play; our friend Moto was a regular contributor on vocals. Now and then, we'd let a friend play guitar while Mikey held down drums and I played bass. Most often, though, it was just Mikey and me, earning gold stars, high scores, and when we were lucky, a place on the PS3 leaderboards.

I'm loathe to admit it, but there were times we skipped class to play. (Granted, it was more because we disliked class than any insane obsession with the game.) We played during the day, at night, through parties. Rock Band and its ilk Rock Band 2 were the soundtracks to our collegiate careers.

Amy on drums, Mikey and I back-to-back on bass & guitar, respectively.

After I moved in 2009, I didn't play. I missed the interaction with friends. I felt isolated, lonely. Those feelings weren't due solely to lack to game play with friends, but that certainly didn't help.

When Johnny bought a Playstation 3 in 2010, I was elated. Here was my chance to reconnect with my long-lost gaming friend, Mikey! Although I saw him when I visited Tennessee, kept up with his life via Amy and Facebook, I knew the PS3 would be a way to interact with Mikey directly.

At first, we played Rock Band and Rock Band 2 as often as we could. However, I found it wasn't the same. Without Mikey's steady (and excellent) drumming in the same room, I couldn't keep rhythm on bass as well. Selecting songs wasn't the same without him gently ribbing me about my choices. In short, it was different and not in a good way. We eventually stopped playing together.

Over Christmas, I was texting Amy about something, and she happened to mention that Mikey had sold his Rock Band games. My reaction was one of disbelief. Surely Mikey hadn't sold the games that had brought us so much joy! But it was true; one of my dearest friends had sold the games that we had shared so many happy hours playing. I was devastated. How could he do this?! 

Three months later, I am still disappointed that I won't have the opportunity to play with my bandmate any time soon. When I really think about it, I think it's all a part of growing up. Rock Band is something that I need to leave behind. Although Johnny and I enjoy playing it every now and then, it will never hold the same specialness for me. I'll always think of it as something Mikey (and Moto, to some extent) and I shared. 

Perhaps, one day, there will be a Disgruntled Mailbox reunion. If I'm really, really lucky.

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When was the last time you read your favorite book?

To recite some cliches: buying a house is a big step. A sign of settling down. A commitment to an endless stream of chores and responsibilities.

Apparently, it also sends a signal to your parents that you are ready to make decisions about all of the things they have been holding for you since you left home to attend college! Some, in totally obvious ways (such as the guitar amp you built that is too big to fit in your car), to others that just boggle the mind (miscellaneous junior high school supplies that have not been used since the late 90's???).

I mean, yeah, it is on me to clean this stuff out over time... But at some point someone had to make the decision to put my Star Wars Episode 1 pencil case into storage. Just sayin.

Somewhere in the middle, lies the considerably (tongue in cheek) existential mind block of OLD CD'S

How do you break it off with your one time (eg 8 years ago) tried and true?

Perhaps I should preface this by letting on that I have collected ~700+ cd's in the past 12 years? (the explanation of this can be found in the section on "MISSING THE POINT") So parting ways with a few would be beneficial, not psychologically, but spatially.

So come with me, as I bid permanent adieu to some old cds!!!

(Broken down into three categories)


The CD's That I Honestly Can't Remember Purchasing:



Nothing against these cd's, but if you put me up to it, I honestly could not name a single track off of any of them, much less a lyric. At one time I deemed them worthy of purchase, and now, 8-12 years later, I have no idea why.

I mean some were clearly grandfathered in via interest in previous work of an artist (eg Eve 6, who recently played a free show at the Hard Rock Cherokee Casino in Catoosa, OK!!!), but frikken Ours... I can't believe the COVER of that wasn't enough to keep me away!



CD's that I cannot recall ever being that srsly into:


I can name some songs, remember at least doing something basic such as putting disc into a player of one variety or another. I just can't recall, or am in serious denial that I ever saw eye to eye with these.

Most crucial point to note here is evidence of adolescent identity crisis; that is owning a cd on account of it being deemed culturally significant (Disraeli Gears and Physical Graffiti would go here if I could find them!). I did this to gain exposure to the past... Or at least that is what I tell myself now.

It says a lot about 16 year olds in the aughts that their idea of "exposure to the past" is Razorblade Suitcase


CD's that it would really hurt to let go... If I were still 16


This is the only part of this list that makes me feel weird. I would never say that any of these cd's are "good", but Hybrid Theory occupied my single disc car player for the majority of my sophomore year of high school! I had my first real deal girlfriend that year! These two things are OBVIOUSLY RELATED!!!!

Also weird to realize that the first thing that came to mind upon looking at The Guest while doing this sort was "Hey! There's Jason Schwartzman!", and back in the day of listening to that cd I had no idea who he was.

Feel like that last paragraph can be summed up as "the passage of time is WEIRD"

Which screams the point that the clever reader will not need to be pointed toward: losing the cd's doesn't hurt, coming to terms with the memories they are associated with does! The "what will I think of current fave xyz in 10 years" game is hella trite, but Blink-182 used to be my jam, and now... Mark Hoppus has a show that is advertised non-stop on Pandora, which didn't exist 10 years ago????? No one wins going down this rabbit hole!!!

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