CiTR -- Exploding Head Movies

Since it's Easter, we'll explore the idea of rebirth via the story of Lazarus, mostly from the eyes of Shinichirō Watanabe and his latest anime series of the same name with a soundtrack by Bonobo, Floating Points & Kamasi Washington. Y'all get a Sunday school lesson on a Monday evening so break out your crayons. 01. U: Cold Lazarus (Archenfield, 2025) Lex 02. Bruce Haack: Stand Up Lazarus (Far...

There have been hopes to share the soundtrack to 1971's cult classic Harold & Maude for a long time but with the passing of Bud Cort (1948-2026), we've got some Cat Stevens amidst other tributes & concert previews in Vancouver. Let's count all the crickets. 01. Neil Sedaka: Bad Blood (The Hungry Years, 1975) Rocket Record 02. Parris: Why Can't Rabbits Wear Cowboy Boots (Passionfruit EP, 20...

Pivoting back to hard reality, with much of the world's focus on Iran, we finally dig into music from that country. We'll explore some recent reissued pop music from the diaspora and explore films such as A Girls Walk Home Alone at Night and Universal Language. 01. Kassa Overall: Ready to Ball (Animals, 2023) Warp 02. Jon Porras: Fields (Achlys, 2025) Shelter Press 03. Country Joe & the Fish:...

The 98th Academy Awards were handed out on Sunday so as we wrap up award season, we'll recap who won and we'll profile the score from the Best International Feature Film: Hania Rani's soundtrack from Sentimental Value. Everybody's famous, except me. 01. Rubel: Reckoner (Beleza, Mas Agora a Gente Faz o Que Com Isso?, 2025) Mr Bongo 02. Jonny Greenwood: I Need the Greeting Code/Operation Boot Heel/T...

With the 98th Academy Awards to be handed out on Sunday and we've already covered all the nominated songs & scores, we'll go with one that was on the shortlist but tied to a film with 9 other nominations: Daniel Lopatin [aka Oneohtrix Point Never] and his music from Marty Supreme. gak also deals with getting old and then going long. 01. Charanga 76: Music Trance (12", 1979) TR 02. Plastikman:...

Not only is it Week 6 of our annual Oscars profile but it's also CITR's annual FUNDRIVE! As I profiled the 5 nominees for Best Original Song, which ties into a discussion of KPop Demon Hunters and a few other South Korean jams, if you're in a position to contribute, please visit http://donatetocitr.ca to help us raise CAD$20 000 to keep the station more than just humming. All the desks check in. T...

For our final Oscar-nominated score profile, leading up to next month's Academy Awards, we listen again to cues from Jonny Greenwood's work from Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, up for 13 Oscars in total. We'll dabble in Radiohead-adjacent works & covers whilst also looking at what else is going on in our conflicted world. Your host is running every minute these two hours...run...

It's Week 4 of our annual Oscars profile and first time nominee Max Richter has had a strong presence in modern classical music. His score to Hamnet ties into a lot of themes surround Family Day, Mardi Gras, Carnaval & the incoming Year of the Fire Horse. 01. Crosstown Traffic: Love Your Family (Party People 12", 1979) DC 02. Horse Lords & Arnold Dreyblatt: Impulse Array (FRKWYS Volume 18:...

Week 3 of our annual Academy Awards profile looks at Alexandre Desplat's Oscar nominated score to Guillermo del Toro's 2025 adaptation of Frankenstein. gak also offers a pronounciation guide to all the Finnish athletes participating at the Milano Cortina Winter Sports Thing. We've got a single channel and we're thriving on it. It's alive! 01. Frankenstein: This is the Fiend (Trick or Treat: Volume...

Week 2 of our annual Academy Awards profiles looks again at the music from 2025's Sinners, which has two musical nominations amongst its records 16 total: one song & Ludwig Göransson's score. Prepare for plenty of blues as we also pay tribute to one of the hosts of CITR's Code Blue program: Paul Hunter (1951-2026). 01. Mitch & Mickey: Kiss at the End of the Rainbow (A Mighty Wind OST, 2003...

The nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were announced last Thursday. Thus begins our annual Oscar season profiles! We begin with Jerskin Fendrix's nominated score from Bugonia as we also explore some of the new additions into the public domain for 2026. >>>>> 01. The Besnard Lakes: In Hollywood (The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation, 2025) Full Time Hobby 02. Stellarium: Sidereal...

Since 2026 still has some spillover from the previous year, we'll hear selections from Tom Rowland's score to the 2025 limited TV series Mussolini: Son of the Century as we try to find cheer in a world refusing to ditch past bad habits. 01. Dry Cleaning: Evil Evil Idiot (Secret Love, 2026) 4AD 02. Bellbird: Blowing on Embers (The Call, 2025) Constellation 03. Olivia Boring: Too Much Tom Petty (The...

"The eighth sea is the one we sail above us all" gak's back, live, for 24 Hours of Radio Art, emphasizing the radio part of the art. In honour of the 75th anniversary of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the 100th anniversary of the BBC broadcast of The Shipping Forecast, he weaves old transmissions tied to freely available information with attempts at local nautical news as various bursts of Mo...

gak marks 18 years on air at CITR -- 16 with this show name -- though we'll mute any celebration for now in light of a crazy year thus far, paying tribute to Rob Reiner (1947-2025) with music associated with his films, including 1984's mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. 01. Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner: America's Economic Plight (2000 & Thirteen, 1973) Warner Bros 02. Ween: Crappy Anniversary Ji...

We begin a new year with an overdue profile on music from Norman McLaren and the National Film Board of Canada. We all made it this far. 01. Ctznshp: The New Year (Lost Loves: A Collection of Rarities, 2025) self-released 02. Kara-Lis Coverdale: Curve Traces of Held Space (Changes in Air, 2025) Smalltown Supersound 03. Housecat: Falling (The Porch Orange EP, 2024) Carpet Shart 04. Girl Nobody: Pap...

For the 5th day of Christmas, your troop dove into the Exploding Head Vaults for a supersized episode featuring holiday episodes from 2010 & 2012. Since those were the 90 minutes days, you're getting 3 hours of merriment repackaged as an experiment in case you're still feeling festive. Proper playsheets for what you've heard from the Yuletide Vaults: XHM #47 - "MMXmas: Turkey and pistols carve...

It's our 18th annual counter-Christmas carol episode where we find holiday hymns & seasonal songs outside of what you're hear endlessly elsewhere. We'll dig into Oscar Peterson's jazzy score to the 1978 thriller The Silent Partner, resume where we left off with Danny Elfman's songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas and generate good cheer for us all. Never mind the reindeer, get back here ho...

As folks start going into holiday mode, let's review some of the music that helped define 2025 along with one film score: Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson's film One Battle After Another. 01. Brandon Roberts & Nicholas Britell: Main Title Theme [from Episode 9] (Andor: Season 2 OST - Volume 3, 2025) Walt Disney 02. Theodore Shapiro: The Ballad of Ambrose & Gunnel (Sever...

As 2025 winds down, we'll explore some of the year already but we'll profile some of Gazelle Twin's recent music, particularly with the 2024 TV series Mudtown. 01. Rec Centre: Lion Eats a Gazelle (Maxed Out! 2023) self-released 02. Todd Terje: Ragysh (Ragysh 12", 2025) Running Back 03. Pop Staples, Albert King & Steve Cropper: Tupelo Pt. I (Jammed Together, 1969) Stax 04. Jimmy Cliff: Many Riv...

Actor Tatsuya Nakadai (1932-2025) recently passed away so as he reflect on his life, we dive into perhaps his most iconic role in Akira Kurosawa's 1985 epic Ran with a score by another icon: Toru Takemitsu. 01. Masaru Satoh: Unosuke [The Gunman] (Yojimbo OST [extended], 1961) MGM 02. DJ Koze: Brushcutter (Music Can Hear Us, 2025) Pampa 03. Toru Takemitsu: Music from "Woman in the Dunes" (Film Musi...

With the recent passing of actress Claudia Cardinale (1938-2025), we dig into her career, focusing on one film in particular: Federico Fellini's 1963 meta-film 8½ with a score by Nino Rota. Asa nisi masa, no half measures. 01½ Ornella Vanoni: L'appuntamento (Appuntamento con Ornella Vanoni, 1970) Ariston 02½ Luis Fernando Amaya: Beastiario Cinco [for Viola & Electronics] (Nacen en Silencio, 20...

The latest part of the Tron series is 2025's Tron: Ares with a film score by Nine Inch Nails so we'll dive into the grid via the sea of simulation. 01. Robyn: Dopamine (2025) Young/Konichiwa 02. Formula Vee: One (Two Boxes, 2025) self-released 03. Steve "Silk" Hurley & Keith Nunnally: Jack Your Body [Hardfloor radio edit] (Jack Your Body EP, 1986) Underground 04. Dillinja & Clarky: Sinewav...

We tried this last year but station upgrades around that time meant things went sideways so it's take two of our Remembrance Day profile tied to Max Steiner's score from the legendary 1942 film Casablanca. Less political, limited repetition and new memories will be made. You must remember this, properly now. This could be XHM #717.1 but it's mostly redone. 01. Bambii: Remember [w. Ravyn Lenae &amp...

Playwright & director Robert Wilson (1941-2025) had an enormous impact on avant-garde theatre so we'll explore music associated with his works, particularly a few with Tom Waits. We also play catchup post-Hallowe'en horror on various fronts. 01. The Specials: Everybody Knows (Protest Songs 1924-2012, 2021) Island/Universal 02. John Oliver: Promise (Cool Take, 2017) self-released 03. Roberta Fl...

Our annual Hallowe'en Horror Month concludes this week with a film that confuses holidays but has become a seasonal fave: 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Themes collide as we figure out what night to dress for. 01. Neko Case: Baby, I'm Not [A Werewolf] (Neon Grey Midnight Green, 2025) Anti- 02. Clarice Jensen: In Holiday Clothing, Out of the Great Darkness Pt. I (In Holiday Clothing, Out of...