Why?: I can't overstate how influential Powderfinger's "Internationalist" and previous album "Double Allergic" were to my band. I loved them. This single is from "Internationalist".
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I also can't overstate how much I hated the band after Odyssey Number Five came out. All of the experimentation, lyrics and fun production tricks of those two albums dribbled away and they became this awfully boring band that everyone seemed to love.
"Already Gone" was one of those songs we didn't try to cover, mostly because of those bizarre left/right panning drums in the verses. It just didn't sound right singing it without them. We also couldn't begin to pull off the chorus, having not quite figured out the power of slightly distorted guitar vs over distorted metal guitar. Also keyboards. I think I remember being a bit surprised it was a single actually. But I bought it for the b-sides...
"Control Freak" is a little ditty about what seems to be office politics, dreaming of different jobs and a less complex life. "I've got a good idea" is a great chorus, but the verses are a little too literal for my taste. "I wish I was a computer" from someone who seconds later says they're a "technophobe"? I like my lyrics vague.
"Today You Came" is a trip-hop (I think?) mix of "The Day You Come", while the "Ascension Remix" is drum-n-bass. I'm not a big fan of remixes, but both of these really work. "Today You Came" sounds like it could be the original, as if the song always sounded that way. The main riff of "Ascension remix" still gets stuck in my head to this day. I'd love to hear a full band cover each of these mixes, the way Regurgitator used to play their own remix of Polyester Girl. Great stuff.
"Tom (demo)" sounds more like it would have fit on Double Allergic, and maybe it is from that era. It's a nice enough little song, although the chorus sounds tired, and it doesn't know how to end.
A less than favourite song from Internationalist, some interesting b-sides, but nothing amazing.
5/10
