I feel strongly that Rock Band is best played in multiplayer modes. There's nothing like the feeling of getting four people together and locking into the same groove. It's really a beautiful, communal thing.

Maybe that's why it drives me crazy when it doesn't work out that way.

In addition to trying out the online Tug of War and Score Duel modes (rare for me — I don't really like the competitive side of music games), I've played through the Endless Setlist three times now (well, two times completely and one almost...the first one didn't turn out quite the way I'd planned) and done many hours of just friendly jams here at the office. As a result, I can now easily spot the five multiplayer things that completely drive me nuts.

WHAMMY-BAR ABUSE
This took me a little time to figure out, but if you wiggle the whammy bar on held notes in white Energy Phrase notes, you can milk them for extra Overdrive. If you wiggle the whammy bar on any other held notes, you're only destroying the melody. Now, I'm not talking about a little skillful use of the vibrato — if you keep the beat with the whammy, and do little dips in time with the beat as you hold long notes, that kinda sounds cool and melodic, even if there's no points or anything for it. But the other night I played "Won't Get Fooled Again" against some chucklehead who clearly felt that ANY and EVERY held note had to be whammied into oblivion. And all he was doing was ruining the groove and vibe of one of the greatest rock anthems ever made. What's cool about making a great song sound like crap?

White lines? Do it. Otherwise, you're just screwing up the song.

SOLO EGOTISTS
When you're playing through the solo career, you can trigger that Overdrive whenever you want. When you're playing with a full band, it's your responsibility to watch the other members and coordinate your efforts. Nothing's worse than a drummer, singer, and bassist watching each other's Overdrive meters for maximum power, only to have the guitarist trigger wheedle-deedlie wankery whenever the gold bar is half-full. You're not a solo artist, you're a band member — act like one, dammit.

A good band coordinates its Overdrive. A bad one is the one you play with.

CLOTHING CLONES
To me, one of the most enjoyable things about Rock Band is the deep character creator. So when I go online and see someone as the default guy — blond mop of hair, torn black T-shirt, ripped blue jeans, and boring black Stratocaster — I instantly want to pwn them in the name of fashion. I know, it's not fair to judge someone for playing the game in a way I wouldn't personally play it — but man, the Rock Shop is too much fun and too much thought and effort went into it to ignore it. If you can't even be bothered to change the color of the default outfit or hairstyle, go play Assassin's Creed or some game where you are liberated of the burden of character choice.

It doesn't take a lot of time or money to customize your look. So do it.

DRUM ANIMALS
For crying out loud, you don't have to bash the drums like they were the skulls of the men who murdered your family. Loosen your grip, lighten your touch, and don't make me have to repair the drum controller. Be a man, not a Muppet.

Easy does it, even on Expert.

VOCAL MIMICS
"Oh, let's do a Police track — I can sound just like Sting!" Good for you, but that's not the point — the point is to sing accurately. And in trying to impress everybody else in the room with your uncanny impersonations, more often than not these jokers wind up skittering off pitch while the rest of the band wonders if they'll ever get a shot at an 8x bonus.

An all-too familiar sight -- the show-off vocalist needs saving!

Or is it just me? Do me a favor — if you disagree with anything listed above, let's not play.