Control (Puddle of Mudd song)

"Control" is a song by the American rock band Puddle of Mudd, released by Geffen Records on July 17, 2001, as their debut single. It was written by Wes Scantlin and Brad Stewart, as the lead single from the band's debut studio album, Come Clean. The song peaked at number three on both the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. Furthermore, it peaked at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was used for WWF Survivor Series in 2001.^{[citation needed]}

"Control"
Single by Puddle of Mudd
from the album Come Clean
Released	July 17, 2001 (2001-07-17)
Genre	Nu metal[1] hard rock[2]
Length	3:49
Label	Flawless Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Wes Scantlin Brad Stewart
Producer(s)	John Kurzweg
Puddle of Mudd singles chronology
"Control" (2001) "Blurry" (2001)

Meaning and background

"Control" is about a relationship that Puddle of Mudd member Wes Scantlin was in. Scantlin told MTV that he was "going out with an uncontrollable person" and said that he was uncontrollable, too. Scantlin then told MTV:

But the intimacy was really, really good ... [There were] some freaky-deaky things going on. The end of the song is the wake-up [where you realize], "Man, I can't deal with this anymore." The mental frustration isn't worth the bonus that you get intimacy-wise. When I wrote those lyrics, I was going, "Ah, man, I don't know if the record company's going to let this fly." I didn't know what anybody in the band was going to think.^[3]

Music video

The music video starts with a segment of Wes Scantlin being kicked out from a truck after he had been arguing with a girl who was driving. As a result, the band are late to a gig at a local bar. The majority of the video cuts between Scantlin walking to the venue, the driver driving away from him, and the band performing at the bar. Towards the bridge of the song, Scantlin finds the girl again, who has pulled over to the side of the road. The two pretend to make up, but as the two embrace, Scantlin pickpockets the woman of her keys. As the final chorus comes in, Scantlin throws her keys into a puddle of mud, a pun on the band's name.

Single

Track listings

Europe enhanced single (2001)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Control" (album version)	3:50
2.	"Control" (acoustic version) (Brad Stewart, Wesley Scantlin)	4:09
3.	"Control" (video) (directed by Fred Durst)	4:40
Total length:		12:03

Australian enhanced single (2001)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Control" (album version)	3:50
2.	"Control" (acoustic version)	4:09
3.	"Never Change" (album version) (Scantlin)	3:59
4.	"Control" (video)	4:40
Total length:		16:37

UK enhanced single (2002)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Control" (album version)	3:50
2.	"Abrasive" (non-LP track) (Scantlin, from Abrasive album)	3:14
3.	"Control" (acoustic version)	4:09
4.	"Control" (video)	4:40
Total length:		15:17

UK 7-inch brown vinyl

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Control" (album version)	3:50

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Abrasive" (non-LP track)	3:14

Europe enhanced maxi-single (2002)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Control" (album version)	3:50
2.	"Control" (acoustic version)	4:09
3.	"Abrasive" (non-LP track)	3:14
4.	"Control" (video)	4:40
Total length:		15:17

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001–2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[4] 54 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[5] 64 Germany (GfK)[6] 44 Ireland (IRMA)[7] 30 Scotland (OCC)[8] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 84 UK Singles (OCC)[10] 15 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[11] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[12] 68 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[13] 3 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[14] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[15] 14 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[16] 16 Chart (2002) Position US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[17] 82

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	July 17, 2001	Alternative radio	Flawless Geffen	[18]
Australia	October 29, 2001	CD		[19]
United Kingdom	February 11, 2002	7-inch vinyl CD cassette		[20]