Record Shopping With CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER
Issue #23
Yet another reason to move to Canada: $50 goes a long way
By Helen Spitzer
Published: March 1st, 2005 | 3:56pm
The Toronto-based five-piece CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER took Venus record shopping at Wild East, an eclectic new-and-used music store where the band’s bassist, Ronnie Morris, works. During his regular Sunday shift, he and singer Nirmala Basnayake (guitarists Scott Kaija and Colwyn Llewellyn-Thomas and drummer Jeff Scheven were otherwise engaged) browsed the store’s selection, which caters to music geeks with a penchant for obscurities. Morris views his day job as a respite from the band’s erratic schedule. “Generally this is the only time I get to sit and listen to music and just hang out a while,” he says from behind the counter. “The rest of my life is too hectic.”
Indeed, the quintet keeps busy. They have toured Canada, the United States, and England, shared the stage with acts like Franz Ferdinand, the Rogers Sisters, and the Unicorns, and recorded a live session for CBC (Canadian public radio). The band is currently working on the full-length follow-up to their debut EP, History (Paper Bag), which is jam-packed with 24 minutes of disco-flavored art rock. Funky bass lines and four-on-the-floor beats contrast the angular guitar rhythms, while Basnayake's sultry vocals deliver social and political criticism that permeates every layer of their danceable sound. After seeing her prowl the stage under red lighting, it's hard to believe that CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER is her first band.
While methodically flipping through CDs, Basnayake, who previously worked at a record store herself, admits to feeling rusty when it comes to record shopping. “I used to [buy music] more when I had a disposable income,” she said. Surprisingly, she grew up on country music and oldies. “It was the only thing [my dad and I] could agree on,” she explained. “[He] was into WWII-era music and crooners, stuff like the Ink Spots. I still love [that music].” Basnayake discovered her own tastes at age 7; her first two records were ABBA and Olivia Newton-John. “I liked vinyl because I liked the covers and how big the pictures were and the look of the actual record,” she said.
Morris, on the other hand, was born into a glam-rock household. “My parents were sort of young, so my mom’s favorite was Bowie, and my dad was a huge Gary Glitter fan. I’m told that he used to dress like him, including giant 20-hole boots painted silver and shoulder pads.” Morris’s earliest musical memory is putting the needle down on a Boney M. single. “It was ‘Nightflight to Venus,’” he said. “But there [were] also Bob & Doug McKenzie’s Great White North album and Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, which were two of the first records I ever bought.”
A confessed vinyl junkie and recovering eBay addict, Morris has amassed an endless music collection. “When I got free CDs, then the problem was I got obsessed with stuff that’s not new — ‘Oh, I really need an original Damned seven-inch.’ And I’ll spend like $95 on [it],” he said. “I’ve got plenty of stuff that I own on CD, cassette, and vinyl.” But he advises against alphabetizing. “Look at this store — random!” he says. “Alphabetizing is what turns it into stuff.”
Nirmala Basnayake’s shopping-spree list
1. The Organ, Sinking Hearts: “They sold out of this EP while we were on tour with them and the song “It’s Time To Go” isn’t available anywhere else.”
2. Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Bonnie “Prince” Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music: “Now I can check this off my list.”
3. Sonic Youth & I.C.P. & the Ex, In the Fishtank: “For my husband because he loves Sonic Youth and the Ex.”
4. Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers, self-titled: “The music that my dad loves. It raised me, basically.”
Ronnie Morris’ shopping-spree list
1. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, The Dirty Story: the Best of Ol’ Dirty Bastard: “Tragedy.”
2. Royal Trux, Accelerator: “Tragedy.”
3. The Sick Lipstick, Sting Sting Sting: “Tragedy!”
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