This post, as will be obvious to you if you read the rest, is dedicated to my all-time favorite band, (seriously, I've loved them since 1st grade, no joke, that's what happens when you have older siblings,) Good Charlotte. I love you, Joel and Benji Madden, Billy Martin, Paul Thomas, and Dean Butterworth!!! May 11th, their new album, Cardiology, which has been completely redone, finally comes out! YAY!
Venice
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that little brothers are the most irritating type of human on the planet Earth. (That first part courtesy of Jane Austen.) "There's a boy on the phone for you," Jeffrey says as he walks into my room, one headphone hanging from his neck, blasting Good Charlotte, our favorite band. I reach to take the phone from him and reply, "Ok, I love your taste in music and all, but you're gonna blow out your freaking eardrums if you don't turn that flipping thing down. Jeez, are you just hoping to be deaf before your twentieth birthday?"
"I hope to keep my eardrums, actually, so I can hear more of your annoying boyfriends calling while I'm trying to do homework."
"Oh, yea, because the ringing of the phone is so much more distracting than Good Charlotte blasting directly into your puny little brain."
"Actually, music helps me focus."
"Yea, right. Just give me the freaking phone." He pulls the phone away from me, putting one hand on his hip, "How much you willing to sacrifice?"
"What?"
"Let me upload the Young and Hopeless album onto my iPod from yours."
"Jeez, Jeff, I don't care if you upload some freaking music off my iPod, just give me the freaking phone so the poor guy doesn't have to wait anymore."
"I think he's wasting his time calling you, anyway."
"Frick, Jeff, just give me the phone! I'll be surprised if he hasn't hung up already!"
"If he went to the trouble to call you, I doubt he'll hang up."
"Give me the phone."
"Man, you suck at playing hard to get."
"I'm not trying to play hard to get! For all I know, it could be Grandpa! Just give me the phone!"
"Fine. Where's your iPod?"
"ON MY DESK! GIVE ME THE PHONE!" Jeff smiles, gives me the phone, and walks over to my desk, picking up my iPod and walking out of the room, slamming my door. I wince at the little brat and place the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Venice?"
"Yea."
"Oh, hi. It's Russel." I'm silent for a second, surprised, before I reply, "Um. Oh. Hey."
"Yea, sorry for calling, I was just wondering if you have the math homework? I forgot to copy it down and my cousin isn't in the same math course we're in, so..."
"Yea, no problem. Um..." I pull out my math notebook, pressing play on my CD that constantly has a Good Charlotte CD in it, inspired by my brother, and flip to the page I did tonight's homework on. "Um...page 267 numbers 11-47, odds only."
"Ok. Thanks." He pauses, and I almost hang up, when he suddenly says, "Hey, is that Good Charlotte?" I raise and eyebrow, closing my notebook, surprised that he recognizes the newer Good Charlotte song. A lot of people know Good Charlotte, but not many people actually listen to them anymore, or at least not their new music. Well, as far as I know, I guess. "Yea. It's All Black."
"Oh, man, I love that song! Turn it up!" I smile slightly and oblige, falling back onto my bed and letting the music flow around me, holding the phone up to my ear. I hear some kitchenware banging around on Russel's end of the phone, seeming to complete the scene...I feel so content, my favorite band playing, on the phone with a funny new British kid, with my brother locked up in his room where he can't irritate me anymore. "Man, it seems like no one listens to them anymore," Russel says as something beeps. Clearly, he's cooking. "I don't get it, though, they're still just as great as ever."
"Well, they haven't had a new album in, like, over two years."
"That long, huh? Wow. Guess I just never get over the oldies." I laugh, "Wouldn't call them oldies. Good Charlotte itself isn't even that old." He laughs, "Yea, not in reality, but to me, it seems like they've been around forever." I smile and nod, then say, "Yea, I guess I feel the same way." We just sit there in silence for a while, him moving around in his kitchen, probably holding the phone with his shoulder, getting a neck-ache, while I lay on my bed, holding the phone up to my ear and actually getting a soar arm. All Black ends and The River starts playing, and Russel bangs pans along with the drums before starting to sing along with Joel. I'm laughing, and join in the singing, and we both belt out, "I'm walking towards the light!" I stop singing and just laugh as Russel sings along with the rest of the chorus and then changes his voice, making it deeper, in order to sing the second verse along with M. Shadows. "Oh man," I say with a laugh, "stick with singing with Joel. You can't pull off the whole scratchy thing."
"Scratchy?"
"Yea."
"Right."
"You take the bus?"
"55!" I laugh, surprised that he actually got my reference to Little Things. "So you're as much of a GC fan as me, I guess?"
"Oh man, you don't even know. Best. Band. Ever."
"Huh. Somehow, I just didn't envision you as the type of person who would listen to them."
"Eh, their fan base is wider than you would expect."
"They deserve it."
"I'll second that." I smile and turn up my CD player, opening my eyes and looking up at the giant poster of Joel Madden on my ceiling.
© 2010
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