I did learn how to sort of read music when I was a kid, but that's like learning another language.. if you don't practice it and use it frequently, you lose it.. and I did.. so, I've always played by ear.. Most rock songs are in the key of E or A, so like I said, I'll kind of figure out the song from memory, then tweak it by playing with the CD (iTunes really these days) or just by pulling it up on youtube because somebody somewhere has uploaded the song to youtube.. people uploading videos of the band who wrote the song performing live are sometimes good sources because you can see how the writer actually plays it..
Sometimes I wonder if there's a better way to play the song and I'll look up how other people are playing it on youtube.. Quite often those people haven't learned the song correctly, tho, so not always a good source for accuracy..
Friendship is like peeing your pants.. Everybody can see it, but only you can feel the warmth..