CiTR -- Exploding Head Movies

Though a new year is upon us, we need to take one last look at 2017 before kicking its sorry keister to the curb. Along with selections from some of the best music from the past 12 months, we also profile the wide array of sounds from Twin Peaks: The Return, the limited series by David Lynch. 1. Timber Timbre: Bleu Nuit (Sincerely Future Pollution, 2017) Arts & Crafts 2. Colin Stetson: Spindrift (...

Our annual tradition continues as we dig up all manners of rogue carols that aren't typically heard anywhere else. Along with some new gems and tributes to the recently deceased, we go with a holiday classic for our soundtrack profile: Michael Kamen's music from 1988's Die Hard. Welcome to the party, pal! 1. Adam West: Batman - The Lost Christmas Episode (Kevin & Bean: The Real Slim Santa, 2000) K...

20 years ago, the first game in the Grand Theft Auto video game series came out. From a simple sandbox permise, the series has ballooned into one of the largest franchises, so we'll dive into its various radio stations across the earlier games. 1. Slumpussy: Gangster Friday (Grand Theft Auto: Original Video Game Soundtrack, 1997) BMG Interactive 2. Badbadnotgood: Cashmere (IV, 2016) Innovative Lei...

To honour Finland on its 100th Centennial this week, this show is primarily Finnish. We'll span multiple genres and include songs from recent films like The Other Side of Hope and Tom of Finland. Oi maamme Suomi! YKSI Mieskuoro Huutajat: Her Suomi (10th Anniversary Concert, 1998) Bad Vugum KAKSI E.R. Roberts: Large Volume of Water Added to Rocks (Moods for Sauna: Volumes 1 & 2, 2017) self-released...

There have been several deaths in the music world recently, so we'll primarily focus on the Italian-Argentine composer Luis Bacalov (1933-2017) and his Oscar-winning score to the 1994 film il Postino. There will be other tributes, along with the usual mix of who's playing in town and new music. 1. The Beatles: Helter Skelter (The Beatles "White Album", 1968) Apple 2. Colin Stetson: Like Wolves in...

With Mogwai playing in Vancouver this week, we listen to some of the Scottish post-rock act's music, including selections from their score to the 2016 documentary Atomic. The guitars return after a few weeks of synths. 1. storc: One Woman, Two Eyes (storc, 2017) self-released 2. Trentemoller: November (Fixion, 2016) In My Room 3. Flying Lotus: Siren Song [w. Angel Deradoorian] (You're Dead! 2014)...

Part 2 of our Blade Runner profile, jumping ahead to 2049 with this year's sequel to the 1982 original. Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch provide the Vangelis-influenced score to Denis Villeneuve's film, replacing previously hired composer Johann Johannsson. 1. Yaeji: Drink I'm Sippin' On (EP2, 2017) Godmode 2. Audioglider: Moulin Bessou'ed (Subaquamarine, 2016) Section 3. Essaie Pas: Futur Parle (...

A new life awaits you with part 1 of a Blade Runner profile series: going back to 1982 with Vangelis' outstanding score to the Ridley Scott adaptation. We'll touch upon the weird history of the soundtrack release and the bootlegs that arose. 1. John Williams: Ladd Company Fanfare (Blade Runner: EMS Recombination [definitive edition], 1982) Tyrell 2. Fever Ray: Falling (Plunge, 2017) Rabid 3. Herma...

It's Devil's Night, so as you prepare your candy dishes and repair your costumes from Hallowe'en proper, we have all forms of eerie music, including Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score to the 1976 horror film The Omen. Be very afraid... 1. Fantômas: The Omen/Ave Satani (The Director's Cut, 2001) Ipecac 2. Audacity 2.0 & Photoshop 6.0: Erin Gee's MG_0036&0037-64bitfloat (Musicworks 126, 2011) Mus...

Hallowe'en's horror month continues but in an arch way as we look at Kurt Weill's music and Bertolt Brecht's & Elisabeth Hauptmann's text for The Threepenny Opera. German cabaret and other sinister vibes right this way... 1. The Tragically Hip: Locked in the Trunk of a Car (Fully Completely, 1992) MCA 2. Do Make Say Think: War on Torpor (Stubborn Persistent Illusions, 2017) Constellation 3. The Tr...

As Hallowe'en Horror Month continues, with the 40th anniversary of Dario Argento's Italian giallo film Suspiria, we'll listen to some cuts of Goblin's score that I haven't played before. Spooky synths mix in with all that prog action. 1. Easy Going: Fear (Fear, 1979) Banana/Unidisc 2. Mike Oldfield: Foreign Affair [Mater Suspiria Vision Mindfuck remix] (2010) self-released 3. Kelela: LMK (Take Me...

Happy Thanksgiving! As we wrap up our VIFF profiles, we dive into our regular October series on horror films. However, we'll start on the Broadway side with Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. 1. John Roberts, H Jon Benjamin & Bob's Burgers: Kill the Turkey (The Bob's Burgers Music Album, 2017) Sub Pop 2. A Tribe Called Red: Burn Your Village to the...

Normally for October, we switch over exclusively to horror-related music in the lead up towards Hallowe'en. Based on this weekend's current events, we'll postpone our usual macabre material and opt for continued VIFF synopses and then tributes to the recently deceased. 1. Brasstronaut: Hawk (Brasstronaut, 2017) Unfamiliar 2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Undoing a Luciferian Towers (Luciferian Towe...

gak's back from a whirlwind week in Europe, so he's got music tied to most of his time in Finland, along with one memorable night in Dublin where he finally saw Ennio Morricone conduct live. There's also music tied to Vancouver's upcoming New Forms Festival and tributes to Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017) & Jake LaMotta (1922-2017). The podcast server ran out of space the week this episode aired, so...

Along with profiles on Steely Dan's Walter Becker (1950-2017) and CAN's Holger Czukay (1938-2017), we listen to selections from Oneohtrix Point Never's score to the recent film Good Time. Also bear in mind what day it is and what happened 16 years ago hence. 1. I am the World Trade Center: September (Out of the Loop, 2001) Kindercore 2. Offworld: Primitive Streak (1, 2016) Constellation 3. A Tribe...

Happy Labour Day! With a new school year set to start, we profile Hans Zimmer's score to Christopher Nolan's latest film Dunkirk and pay tribute to Glen Campbell (1936-2017). Onto the beaches: 1. LCD Soundsystem: Tonite (American Dream, 2017) DFA/Columbia 2. Sarah Neufeld: The Ridge (The Ridge, 2016) Constellation 3. Jay Arner: Back to School (Jay II, 2016) Mint 4. Adrian Teacher & The Subs: Victo...

gak's back from watching the solar eclipse in Tennessee, so he has a bit of country, leading towards the diverse soundtrack from Robert Altman's 1975 satire Nashville. Vancouver band Palm Oil take over for the first half hour with plenty of punk and hardcore to go along with stories of odd venues for shows and travel tips, leading up to their appearance at this year's Victory Square Block Party. 1...

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. has had a playful effect on pop culture, so this summery episode takes on the themes from the original 1960s series, the 2015 film adaptation and other quirky songs tied to that spy agency. 1. The Orb: Little Fluffy Clouds (The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, 1991) Big Life 2. Do Make Say Think: As Far as the Eye Can See (Stubborn Persistent Illusions, 2017) Constel...

Originally intended to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday but lined up nicely with both BC Day and the end to Pride Week in Vancouver, this episode goes into the weird fringes of a forgotten genre: Canadian disco! Montreal was a hotbed of disco in the late seventies and upon the global collapse, somehow the Canadian sound kept going. Amongst cheery & cheesy songs, we look at music from the 2011 fil...

Let's dip into the vinyl vault with the 2015 Record Store Day treat that is the synth soundtrack to 1980's Shogun Assassin, the weird mish-mash of the first two of the six Japanese films as part of the Lone Wolf and Cub story. 1. GZA: Liquid Swords (Liquid Swords, 1995) Geffen 2. Shogun: Gazing at Your Face Reflecting the Beauty of the Moon (The End, 2013) self-released 3. DJ Shadow: Systematic [w...

Atmospheres galore as we profile A Winged Victory for the Sullen, a project that features two talents big in the ambient world: Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lids). Primary focus will be on their score to the 2016 French thriller In the Shadow of Iris, amongst other pieces. 1. Bruno Nicolai: The Bloody Iris (Perche Quelle Strane Gocce di Sangue Sul Corpo di Jennifer? Colonna Son...

Admist some folky and hardcore vibes, this highly loopy episode looks at some of the scorework from American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. The main focus will be on his soundtrack to the animated TV specials from the 1990s tied to Gary Larson's comic The Far Side. 1. Julian Nott: Wallace & Gromit (The Curse of the Were-Rabbit OST, 2005) Varèse Sarabande 2. Badbadnotgood: Sustain (III, 2014) Innovat...

With new material being teased by Nine Inch Nails, it's time to catch up on recent scorework by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: Patriots Day and Before the Flood. gak then also accounts for what DIDN'T happen last week. 0. Wayne & Shuster: Frontier Psychiatrist (The Radio Years: The Best of the Best, 2003) Scenario 1. She-Devils: Hey Boy (She-Devils, 2017) Secretly Canadian 2. Loscil: Drained Lake (M...

In the wake of the recent National Indigenous Day and leading towards the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation, it's high time to tune our ears to the music from our First Nations since they've been around this land for myriads of years. The Indigenous music scene has become very front-of-mind as of late, so we'll have modern selections plus some vintage cuts, all with powerful voices that...

In honour of our chum Adam West (1928-2017), we enter the 1960s world of Batman with music from Neal Hefti & a disguised Sun Ra. We also talk about the ever-delayed Berlin, also previewing some acts in this year's Vancouver International Jazz Festival and announce the winner of our Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds giveaway! 1. Neal Hefti: Batman Theme & Intro (Television's Greatest Hits of the '50s & '60...