Things That Make Me A Bad Boyfriend: Car Stereo Control Issues

As we head into the cool fall months, I usually think of mix CDs and long drives through the country. Here in Virginia, it's awesome to get out of the city for the weekend and go see the leaves change color and maybe go find a hike somewhere.

Nothing "bad boyfriend" about any of that, right? Well, kinda. You might not even notice it at first. It's kind of a subtle thing, but eventually you'll catch on--and hate me for it. On the way out the door for a drive, whether it's a six-hour roadtrip to NYC or a 5-minute drive to Taco Bell, I will always have an overabundance of music with me. Usually it's a stack of CDs or my iPod, but it's always something. What's the reason, you ask? I must have control over the car stereo. I didn't even notice it myself, until an ex-girlfriend called me out on it and called me "secret controlling." That's when I realized she was totally right.

Whenever there's a group outing, I'm always the one who volunteers to drive, no matter what. As soon as we hop in the car, I have music at the ready. It's like I'm DJing my own life and I don't want anyone else to have a turn. It's totally ridiculous and I can't stop myself from doing it.

My worst nightmare is a passenger pulling out a CD from their bag and saying "Have you heard _________ yet? It's totally amazing. We should listen to this." That person instantly becomes my mortal enemy and I'll probably hate the band strictly on principle.

I noticed it's getting worse on a recent multi-day roadtrip I took with my brother. He doesn't put up with my controlling shit, so we had agreed to take turns with the car stereo. I'd get to listen to two records, then he'd get two. It worked for a while, but then I found myself totally copping out. He'd be napping in the passenger seat and I'd lie to him when he woke up about how many records I'd played. When he was listening to something I particularly disliked, I'd use the excuse that I was "getting tired behind the wheel" and needed to listen to something I knew and could sing along to.

This is a totally ridiculous problem, right? I've never met anyone else who does this. This is probably because I always volunteer to drive, so I never even have the chance to ride in anyone else's car long enough to find out if they have the same issue

So, fair warning, if we date, we'd better have the exact same taste in music because I'm going to secretly control the car stereo and it might just annoy the hell out of you. And, in turn, that will make me a bad boyfriend.