Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2007, Blaðsíða 2

0_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 10_YEAR 05_JULY 13_JULY 6
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Vesturgata 5, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
grapevine@grapevine.is
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Published by Fröken ehf.
Editorial: +354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is
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The Reykjavík Grapevine Staff
Publisher: Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / publisher@grapevine.is
Editor: Sveinn Birkir Björnsson / birkir@grapevine.is
Assistant Editor: Steinunn Jakobsdóttir / steinunn@grapevine.is
Editorial Interns: Zoë Robert / zoe@grapevine.is
Chandler Fredrick / chandler@grapevine.is
Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir / vala@grapevine.is
Marketing Director: Jón Trausti Sigurðarson / jontrausti@grapevine.is
Support Manager: Oddur Óskar Kjartansson / oddur@grapevine.is
Art Director: Gunnar Þorvaldsson / gunni@grapevine.is
Photographer: Gunnlaugur Arnar Sigurðsson / gulli@grapevine.is
Contributing writers: Haukur Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is
Ian Watson / www.ianwatson.org
Sales Director: Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Distribution: Sæmundur Þ. Helgason / saemi@grapevine.is
Proofreader: Jim Rice
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The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd. Monthly
from November through April, and fortnightly from May til October. Nothing
in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written
permission of the publishers. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure
that all information inside the magazine is correct, prices and details may be
subject to change. The Reykjavík Grapevine can be found in Reykjavík, Akureyri,
Egilsstaðir, Selfoss, Keflavík, Ísafjörður, Kárahnjúkar and at key locations around
road #1 and at all major tourist attractions and tourist information centres.
You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored. (No articles in the Reykjavík
Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not
the advertisers’).
Printed by Prentsmiðja Morgunblaðsins printing press in 30.000 copies.
Issue number 61 is done, and I am off for a
summer vacation. I will be back, hopefully, but
at this stage it is probably too early to make any
guarantees, since my assistant editor, Steinunn
Jakobsdóttir, will be running the ops while I
am away. She might never relinquish the chair
again. So, good times all around I guess. You
readers can enjoy Steinunn’s work while I can
enjoy summer. That is a pretty sweet deal. I am
also pleased that Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir has
returned to our writing staff. That is a great
mid-season pick-up. I will spare you the rest of
the Grapevine’s in-house staff issues. Employer
– employee confidentiality is at risk.
This issue, we dive into the tricky business
that is the export of Icelandic music. Icelandic
media regularly carries news of great conquests
of local acts on foreign grounds. But that is only
half the story. Although it is great for Icelandic
musicians to receive attention from outside
our tiny island, we should not be so blinded
by the light afar that we forget to foster the
grassroots. The fact is that valuable breeding
grounds, such as the music development centre
TÞM, which makes practice facilities available
for young musicians at a reasonable price, is still
struggling financially due to poor funding. The
Iceland Airwaves music festival is still the least
publicly funded showcase festival in Europe.
This needs to change if we intend to sustain
Icelandic music export.
We also look in-depth at Iceland’s poor
record in the matters of international asylum
seekers. In recent years, Iceland has granted
one single asylum seeker refugee status, while
turning down between 30 and 40 applicants
each year. For a nation that prides it self of
being one of the richest in the world, that
record is not so much poor as it is shameful.
Saving Iceland’s International Summer of
Dissent protest camp is up and running. In
Iceland, there exists an incredible fear and
suspicion when it comes to activists. I’m just
going to come out and say this, since no other
media outlet is likely to do that: activists do
not equal terrorists. When you come across
one you should engage him in a conversation.
It might be a learning experience for both of
you.
Now, I should probably say something
worthwhile and thought provoking, but I think
I will rather just go and start my vacation while
you go and figure out the rest.
From the Editor’s Chair
Opinions
06 On Arrogant Writers (us included)
An opinion by Magnús Björn Ólafsson and Jamie Burton
06 My Opinion
An opinion by Marvin Lee Dupree
16 Are We Ever Going to Find the Next Björk?
An opinion by Helga Þórey Jónsdóttir
Articles
08 The Age of Global Protesting
An interview with Attilah Springer and Lerato Maria Maregele
10 Laws on Stripping Laid Bare
Exploring Iceland’s recently implemented stripping and prostitution laws
1 A Story of Asylum
14 Outside and Off the Grid
Naïve artists in Iceland
18 Mountain Pioneers
An Interview with the founders of Icelandic Mountain Guides
Features
0 Iceland’s Music Scene: Ready to Erupt Worldwide
Exporting Icelandic music
 GusGus at Glastonbury
3 Ipswich vs. Gavin Portland
Music & Nightlife
6 Saving Iceland Mega Concert
6 Thrash Revival
Trassar, I Adapt, Bootlegs, and Changer in concert
Outside Reykjavík
9 Arnarstapi
30 Round and Round Around Route 1
3 The Lonesome Traveller – Lónsöræfi
info.
B1 Listings
B6 Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
An interview with Retro Stefson
B7 LungA Young Artists’ Festival in Seyðisfjörður
B10 Food Reviews
B11 Classic Toys Return
B14 Shopping GusGus Does Glastonbury • Gavin Portland Does IpswichThe Lonesome Traveller Does Lónsöræfi • Another Dude Does the Ring Road
Issue 10 // July 13- July 26 2007+ info. A Complete City Guide and Listings: Map, Dining, Music, Arts and Events
Cover photo by:
Gulli
Thanks to:
Eimskip