Control (Traci Lords song)

"Control" is a song recorded by American actress and singer Traci Lords, from her debut studio album, 1000 Fires (1995). It was released as the lead single from the album by Radioactive Records on December 20, 1994. The song was written by Lords, Wonder Schneider and Ben Watkins. Produced by Juno Reactor, "Control" is a techno song with ambiguous lyrics about a dominant female who nurses a broken heart of her lover. Lords later stated she initially wrote the song about a drug addiction.

"Control"
Single by Traci Lords
from the album 1000 Fires
ReleasedDecember 20, 1994 (1994-12-20)
Recorded1994
GenreIndustrial techno
Length6:44
LabelRadioactive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Juno Reactor
Traci Lords singles chronology
"Control"
(1994)		 "Fallen Angel"
(1995)

The song received positive reviews from music critics. In the United States, it failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100. However, it managed to be successful on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, peaking at number two. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number eighty-one on the UK Singles Chart. An instrumental version of "Control" was released on the soundtrack to the film Mortal Kombat (1995), which was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[1] and earned Lords her first music award.[2]

The accompanying music video for "Control" was directed by Graeme Joyce. Inspired by James Bond, Lords portrays the female version of the character driving and walking in the streets of Los Angeles. She also portrays the character of Jill Masterson from the film Goldfinger (1964), when various images are projected on Lords' body as well as being depicted as the "golden girl" from that film. Her long-time collaborator John Waters also appears in the video.

Background and recording

Lords began working on her debut album 1000 Fires (1995) in the spring of 1994 with producer Tom Bailey and his newly formed group Babble. After finishing her recording with Bailey, she wanted to record something with a harder edge to add another dimension to her album, in contrast to the trip hop songs recorded with Babble. She was introduced to producer Ben Watkins of Juno Reactor who helped her incorporate techno rave sound to her record. Together, they recorded four songs: "Control", "Fallen Angel", "Good-N-Evil", and "Outlaw Lover".[3]

Composition

"Control" was written by Lords, Wonder Schneider and Ben Watkins.[4] Musically, it is an uptempo techno song with elements of rock and industrial music. It features a prominent electric guitar riff and is set in common time with a tempo of 141 beats per minute. Lords' vocals are spoken rather than sung.[5]

Lyrically, the song appears to be about a dominant female who nurses a broken heart of her lover as she sings "Let me kiss it and make it better/After tonight you will forget her".[6] However, Lords later stated she initially wrote it about a drug addiction.

"You will forget her" was always about "Forget your heroin." It was never about a person. When I wrote it, it didn't even cross my mind. But then, yeah, sure, later, I thought, "Let me kiss it - and I went, "Oh, ****!" But that's not where I was coming from. It really wasn't. Now I see it, it has all these double images. Which I think is brilliant. Maybe, subconsciously, I knew. But when I wrote it, I was coming from such a different place. The line "I will control your soul." To me, the only thing that ever controlled my soul were drugs.[7]

Critical reception

"Control" met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that Lords is "poised to make a formidable splash in club waters" calling the song "wickedly contagious trance/rave stomper".[4] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel said "Control" "is a great late-night dance song with appropriately self-assured lyrics".[8]

Music video
Lords in the music video portraying the character of Jill Masterson from the film Goldfinger (1964)

The accompanying music video for "Control" was filmed in Los Angeles, California and was directed by Graeme Joyce. Lords' long-time collaborator and director John Waters, with whom she had previously worked on films Cry-Baby (1990) and Serial Mom (1994), also appears in the video. The main inspiration for the video was James Bond.[9]

The video opens with the "gun barrel sequence", characteristic for the James Bond films. In the next scene, Lords is sitting in front of a black background with various images being projected on her naked body. It is a reference to the 1964 film Goldfinger in which opening credit sequence clips of James Bond films are projected on Margaret Nolan's body. Another reference to the film is when Lords is laying naked on the bed with her body painted in gold. Other scenes feature Lords wearing various black latex ensembles driving and walking in the streets of Los Angeles. Several other characters are in the video such as a tarot card reader, man with three nipples, golf player, and magician.

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel
  • Traci Lords – vocals, songwriting
  • Wonder – songwriting
  • Ben Watkins – songwriting, producer
  • Juno Reactor – producer
  • Gary Kurfirst – executive producer
  • Otto the Barbarian – engineer
  • Nahoko Maehara – assistant engineer
  • Eddy Schreyer – mastering

Credits and personnel adapted from 1000 Fires album liner notes.[12]

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 81
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[14] 31
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] 2
US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[16] 46

References
  1. "Search Results for Mortal Kombat". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  2. Borzillo, Carrie (September 30, 1995). "Surprise Sales of 'Mortal Kombat'". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 39. p. 98. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  3. Lords, Traci Elizabeth (2003). Traci Lords: Underneath It All. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062217233. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  4. Flick, Larry (January 7, 1995). "Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 1. p. 85. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  5. Flick, Larry (October 29, 1994). "N.Y.'s Freeze Thaws Out With Its Dream Team Jam". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 44. p. 36. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  6. McAuley, J.V. (March 21, 1995). "Working Girl". The Advocate. No. 677. pp. 68–69. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  7. Lim, Gerrie (February 1, 1995). "Traci Lords: The Other Side of an X-Rated Star". BigO. No. 110. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  8. Campbell, Chuck (March 31, 1995). "Traci Lords' Passion Turns To Techno Music". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  9. Russell, Deborah (March 18, 1995). "The Eye: Bond Girl". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 11. p. 43. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  10. Control (US 12-inch Single Promo liner notes). Traci Lords. Radioactive Records. 1994. RAR12-54953.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Control (US CD Maxi-single liner notes). Traci Lords. Radioactive Records. 1994. RARDM 54953.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. 1000 Fires (liner notes). Traci Lords. Radioactive Records. 1995. RARD-11211.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 - 02 April 1995 - 08 April 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  14. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). March 4, 1995. p. 6. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  15. "Traci Lords - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  16. "Hot Dance Music: Maxi-Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 9. March 4, 1995. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
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