CiTR -- Exploding Head Movies

Canadian Thanksgiving is upon us all, so we go with a Canadian option here for this pre-recorded episode: Tim Hecker and his score to the 2023 Brandon Cronenberg scifi horror film Infinity Pool. Hallowe'en Horror Month continues. 1. Laurel Halo: Late Night Drive (Atlas, 2023) Awe 2. Waclaw Zimpel: Infinite Grey (Train Spotter, 2023) The State51 Conspiracy 3. Loscil & Lawrence English: Black (C...

October is nigh so our annual horror month beings in honour of Hallowe'en. Amidst more Vancouver International Film Festival previews, we'll profile Tangerine Dream's score to the 1987 vampire western Near Dark. 1. The Cramps: Fever (Near Dark OST, 1987) Varèse Sarabande 2. Redshift: Nails (Down Time, 1999) Champagne Lake 3. Aysanabee: We Were Here (Watin, 2022) Ishkodé 4. Cub: Someday [live] (Liv...

For our 666th episode under this show name -- we're actually 764 now in our total CITR history so we're safe for a wee while -- we'll dip a bit early into our usual October horror themes with selections from Marc Wilkinson's score to the 1971 British folk horror film Blood on Satan's Claw. Doom and/or gloom will ensue. 1. Delia Derbyshire & Brian Hodgson: A5 (The Legend of the Hell House OST 7...

Our 13th all-ambient episode primarily profiles Brian McBride (1970-2023) and some of the music he made either solo or in Stars of the Lid. We also preview parts of the Vancouver New Music Vox Organi Festival next month. Pre-recorded for your end of summer salve. ONE. Ra/Sol: Artist's Meditation [w. EZ Naive] (2023) self-released TWO. Brian Eno: Floating on Sleep's Shore (Top Boy OST, 2023) Netfli...

It's Labour Day so as school comes to mind, as does fall so we'll hear selections from The Blasting Company's soundtrack to the sublimely autumnal animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall. We'll also touch upon the start to a lot of concerts in town and wrap up our 2023 Polaris Prize nominees profile a bit early. Come on down! 01. Lime: I Don't Wanna Lose You [remix] (12" Classics, 1993) Unidisc 0...

gak's back from multiple locations so this week's profile previews the 2023 edition of the Victory Square Block Party in Vancouver before nestling into some of the soundtrack from the TV series Justified. 1. Public Service Broadcasting: People Will Always Need Coal (Every Valley, 2017) PIAS Recordings 2. Sarah Davachi: 1 for Harpsichord (For Harpsichord/For Pipe Organ & String Trio, 2020) Late...

This pre-recorded episode pays tribute to two recently deceased artists: Paul Reuben (1952-2023) and the music associated with the films & TV shows associated with his character Pee-wee Herman, then Robbie Robertson (1943-2023), guitarist/songwriter for The Band -- subject of the Martin Scorsese 1976 documentary The Last Waltz -- and occasional film scorer. 1. Les Baxter: Quiet Village (Ritual...

It was a Monday like any other. The clock on the wall read 7:00 as PI GAK surveyed the crime blotter for his next case... Nicely timed whilst the Vancouver Cinematheque is doing its annual film noir programming, this hard-boiled episode looks back at the dark jazzy vibes of those post-WWII movies. 1. Anita Kert Ellis: Put the Blame on Mame (Gilda OST, 1999) The Soundtrack Factory 2. Alex Lefaivre...

It's a Canadian holiday today. In honour of the Czech author Milan Kundera (1929-2023), we'll profile music from the 1988 film adaptation of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1. Grand Analog: Unbearable Lightness (Modern Thunder, 2014) Feel Up 2. The Allegorist: Whispers of the Wind [Die Wilde Jagd rework] (TEKHENU Retold, 2023) Awaken Chronicles 3. Sinéad O'Connor: I Want Your [Hands on Me] (The...

Vancouver's Pride week is upon us, so in honour of the Lower Mainland LGBTQ+ community, this pre-recorded episode dances around and profiles Don Davis' score from the 1996 Wachowskis' film Bound. 1. Janelle Monáe: Lipstick Lover (The Age of Pleasure, 2023) Atlantic 2. Patrick Cowley: Timelink (Muscle Up, 2015) Dark Entries 3. Peter Batah: Nobody's Stopping You [vocal version] (Nobody's Stopping Yo...

Unlike last episode, we won't fully throwback to the early eighties but we have two teen comedies on the docket this week: 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High and 1983's Valley Girl. 1. Russell Louder: Head Over Heels (Ever New, 2020) Ever New 2. Floating Points: Vocoder (Someone Close, 2022) Ninja Tune 3. Tears for Fears: Pale Shelter (The Hurting, 1983) Mercury/Phonogram 4. Tears for Fears: The...

In a belated station anniversary angle, this episode plays with a concept I've thought of before and that's looking back at a year in time. I opted for 2007 as a sorta proto-radio free gak episode where I try to tackle the year in song and recap the Oscar nominees and winner for film score. 00. Kay Starr: Station Anniversary (Programming Aids 7", 1964) Capitol 01. Jane Birkin: Jane B (Jane Birkin/...

Along with a preview of the return of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, we profile Mellow's soundtrack to the 2001 film CQ and get some lighter summer fare into your ears. This episode operated at half capacity in light of channel locks but hey, campus radio rolls on. gak sits down for the 1st time in almost a decade. Da da da. 1. PJ Harvey: A Child's Question, July (I Inside the Old Year Dying,...

Part 12 of our all-ambient series goes under the water and through the desert with a mix of ethereal sounds to evoke the ocean and Americana amidst some tributes to Roger Payne, Manuel Göttsching & Robert Black. 1. Kilometre Club: Quiet Summer (Lake Dream, 2023) Slow Echo 2. Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti: Whales of Sirius (Music for a Cosmic Garden, 2023) WRWTFWW 3. Frank Watlington, Rog...

One sign of summer in Vancouver is the International Jazz Festival, so this dense episode will profile some of the jazzy and non-jazzy acts playing in town this week. We also preview another local event, the Khatsahlano Street Party, and profile Barry White's soundtrack to the 1974 blaxploitation film Together Brothers. 1. Jonathan Richman: SA [w. Kelly Houston] (SA!, 2018) Blue Arrow 2. Bob James...

Kia ora! Though midsummer and National Indigenous Peoples Day loom in Canadians' minds, this episode extends towards the southern hemisphere as we also celebrate the Maori. Amongst music from Turtle Island to Aotearoa, we profile Lisa Gerrard's music from the 2002 film Whale Rider. 1. Yamantaka/Sonic Titan: Whalesong (Uzu, 2013) Suicide Squeeze/Paper Bag 2. Area 3: Whale (Amb, 2021) Khotin Industr...

With the recent deaths of singer Tina Turner (1957-2023) & composer Bill Lee (1928-2023), we'll profile both powerhouse artists, including a focus on Lee's scores for the early films of his son Spike Lee. 1. Wallgrin: Every Fall, I Fall in Love (Yet Again the Wheel Turns, 2022) self-released 2. Matthew Tavares & Leland Whitty: Living Water Assembly (Visions, 2020) Mr Bongo 3. Ike & Tin...

For CITR's 85th anniversary, as I have taken up 18% of your Monday early evenings over that lifespan, this episode is an awkward Venn diagram of two episodes (2008 & 2013) that attempted profiles on one of my favourite film scores -- 1973's Black Belt Jones -- as both times, you can witness that raw campus radio vibe as inexperience battles then subsequent technical flaws. One day, I will do J...

This encore presentation of what originally aired 2013 April 1st attempted a ruse whereby per a new mandate, no music after 1950 could be played. This fell apart quickly for most fools but the overall vibe felt apt, especially as this May marks CITR's 85th anniversary so I've become a historic moment, or belong in a museum. Maybe both or perhaps a sick ward since I have a non-Covid summer cold; 23...

It's Victoria Day up Canada Way so we'll kinda continue with an Ennio Morricone thread but veer away from westerns and into crime, mostly focusing his Oscar-nominated score to the 1991 film Bugsy. 1. Thundercat & Tame Impala: No More Lies (2023) Brainfeeder 2. Talk West: Willow and the Dogwood (Black Coral Sprig, 2023) Scissor Tail 3. Savages: Sad Person (Adore Life, 2016) Matador 4. Dilly Dal...

It's been a while since we've heard some Ennio Morricone, so we'll dig up selections from the score to the 1968 spaghetti western The Big Gundown. We present the settling of scores and the wisdom of faith amidst a big old heat wave, so ride on, little ponies. 1. Talking Heads: The Great Curve (Remain in Light, 1980) Sire 2. Tim Hecker: Lotus Light (No Highs, 2023) Kranky 3. Hot Chip: The Evil That...

Nostalgia sets in for a moody episode as we pay tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023) and Harry Belafonte (1927-2023). The focus will be more on the latter as we listen to some calypso, mento and other Caribbean genres and of course, some of his songs from the 1988 comedy Beetlejuice. We also touch upon Vancouver's Verboden Festival this week along with other concerts in town when not running of...

Part 11 of our all-ambient series focuses on two longform pieces by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023) from art installations. 1, Kilometre Club: Lake Dream (Lake Dream, 2023) Slow Echo 2, Marta Salogni & Tom Relleen: Internal Logic II (Music for Open Spaces, 2023) Hands in the Dark 3, Rose Bolton: Nine Kinds of Joy (Slow, Quiet Music in Search of Electric Happiness, 2022) Redshift 4, Patricia Wolf:...

We had been awaiting the sad inevitability of the death of Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023), so though the way was prepared, it took some time to prepare a profile the long career of the legendary Japanese composer. From Yellow Magic Orchestra to many a score to other side projects, we do our best in his honour. 1. All Hands_Make Light: Waiting for the Light to Quit (Darling the Dawn, 2023) Constellat...

Composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter (1933-2023) led a long life in jazz but he touched at least upon one film score: 1992's Glengarry Glen Ross. Amidst some sax, we run amok across various genres, like we normally do. 1. Funkadelic: I Wanna Know if It's Good to You? (Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow, 1970) Westbound 2. Booker T & the MGs: Melting Pot (Melting Pot, 1971) Stax 3. Th...