CiTR -- Exploding Head Movies

"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...

Hallowe'en Horror Month continues in earnest as we explore the human body & celebrity skin via EC Woodley's score to the 2012 film Antiviral. 01. Ace Frehley: Rip It Out (Ace Frehley, 1978) Casablanca 02. Lea Bertucci: Warp & Weft (Resonant Field, 2019) NNA Tapes 03. D'Angelo: Unshaken (Red Dead Redemption 2 OST, 2019) Lakeshore 04. Garbage: Afterglow (I Think I'm Paranoid single, 1998) Mu...

For your Thanksgiving enjoyment, in contrast to past holiday episodes that aided with digestion, this one is designed to help with any harvest meal prep. However, amidst all the food-related songs, it's heavily pizza related for those who eschew roast beasts or rote beets. Our soundtrack profile is horror-adjacent with Nima Fakhara's score to the 2020 action thriller Becky. Lots of questions, excl...

It's October so it's time for our annual Hallowe'en Horror Month! One of the big films in 2025 is Sinners, so we get bloody & bluesy with Ludwig Göransson's music from Ryan Coogler's latest. We also press on with our Vancouver International Film Festival previews, particularly on the live front. 01. Nourished by Time: Automatic Love (The Passionate Ones, 2025) XL 02. Loscil: Lake Fire (Lake Fi...

In honour of the actor Graham Greene (1952-2025) along with Canada's National Day of Truth & Reconciliation, we span indigenous themes with some soundtracks tied to Greene's films, particularly from the one he received an Oscar nomiation for: Dances with Wolves. We also preview the upcoming Vancouver International Film Festival in a bonkers episode that your host turned into a stampede. 01. Ma...

Robert Redford (1936-2025) had a profound influence on the world, be it through acting, directing, producing & activism. As we pivot to pay tribute to him, we'll focus on baseball and Randy Newman's iconic score from 1984's The Natural. Seasons change and so do we, though the Exploding Head Sports Desk got kinda itchy here. Your starting lineup with the best that ever was: .001 Tame Impala: En...

As we attempt to recap the recent Emmy awards, we profile the violinist/composer Alexander Balanescu and his score to the 1995 film Angels & Insects. We also wrap up all the Polaris lead-up by listening to 2 of the nominated songs for the inaugural Polaris Song Prize from albums that are in the short list for Polaris Album Prize. Fly away with me and these numbers. 01. Malibu: So Sweet & W...

As gak rushed back from the ocean, we explore life underwater as we freely associate the fact that the new Wes Anderson film The Phoenician Scheme has a short score so we can dig up some 2004 gems off The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou to dive into our main theme: music from various documentary series with Jacques Cousteau. Let me tell you about my playlist. 01. Thundercat: The Life Aquatic (Apoca...

As gak rushed back from the ocean, we explore life underwater as we freely associate the fact that the new Wes Anderson film The Phoenician Scheme has a short score so we can dig up some 2004 gems off The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou to dive into our main theme: music from various documentary series with Jacques Cousteau. Let me tell you about my playlist. 01. Thundercat: The Life Aquatic (Apoca...

For your Labour Day enjoyment, we go mostly electronic though naturally so as we profile Lawrence Lek's 2020 AI-musical Aidol. Kneel before gak! Where do we begin? 000001. Jenny Hval: I Want to Start at the Beginning (Iris Silver Mist, 2025) 4AD 000010. CHYPS: Soundtracks for Mutants During Labour Disruption (Soundtracks for Mutants During Labour Disruption EP, 2015) self-released 000011. Badbadno...

It's been a while since we've dug into the film score work of David Holmes so we'll skip across some recent soundtracks from the Northern Irish DJ. We also talk about Slarta John, JD Twitch and Jim Lovell. 01. Kaytranada: Space Invader (Ain't No Damn Way! 2025) RCA 02. David Holmes: Gone [Kruder & Dorfmeister session] (K&D Sessions, 1998) Studio !K7 03. Slarta John & Hatiras: Spaced In...

With some recent Ennio Morricone reissues, we go with a slightly older film score with a mix of the new: 1970's Compañeros. We also touch upon Tom Lehrer, Ozzy Osbourne, Eddie Palmieri & other news as we juggle Spanish themes, BIPOC country & acts playing in Vancouver before summer ends. 01. Tom Lehrer: New Math (That Was the Year That Was, 1965) Reprise/Warner Bros 02. Jazz Sabbath: Paran...

gak's back from being afar so he's jetlagged & overheated. That said, it was this month that 80 years ago, two atomic bombs were detonated over Japan during World War II so we pay tribute to the cities of Hiroshima & Nagasaki through song & film. We also talk Michael Madsen, Mark Snow and pick up where we left off with the 2025 Polaris Prize album nominees as the new song award popped...