Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.06.2003, Page 21

- the reykjavík grapevine -20 june 27th - july 10th, 2003 - the reykjavík grapevine - 21june 27th - july 10th, 2003
LISTINGS
ÞEYR
MJÖTVIÐUR TIL FÓTA
Founded in 1980 Þeyr, or Theyr for
those who don’t like Icelandic letters,
released a number of records, EP’s
and LP’s over their short lifespan
of 3 years. Members were Hilmar
Örn Agnarsson (bs/txt), Magnus
Guðmundsson (voc), Þorsteinn Mag-
nússon (guitar), Guðlaugur Óttarson
(guitar) and Sigtryggur Baldursson
(drums).
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, now the leader
of the Nordic pagan religion in Iceland,
managed the band and acted as a sort
of ideological guide adding his occult in-
fluence to the lyrics and stage perform-
ances of the band. Drummer Sigtryggur
later founded the Sugarcubes, Björk’s
pre-world fame group. Þeyr was the
most promising band to rise from the
Icelandic punk wave in the early eighties,
the most experimental group of them all,
and the one that had the best musicians
on board. The band toured England
under the name Thule on a quest for
a record deal, but with little luck. The
band still released one English language
album titled As Above, the album was
also released in Iceland, under the name
“Mjötviður Mær”. The album “Mjötviður til
Fóta” is a digitally remastered reissue of
that album and another album titled “Iður
til Fóta.” Both albums were recorded at
the same time, in the same studio with
the same engineer, so patching them
together like this does no harm,
“Mjötviður til Fóta” kicks out punk-funk
jams in the apocalyptic style of the Fall
and the Killing Joke, dark guitar work
also shows strong traces of Bauhaus
and Joy Division, while there’s more than
a hint of the Resident’s art-rock terrorism
in the weirdly distorted, declamatory
vocals and the idiosyncratic songwriting.
The album is lunatic with screams and
laughter, but also political as the song
Rudolf refers not to the happy reindeer
but the less loved Adolf Hitler. The lyrics
you usually don’t notice, the vocals are
often obscured by the band’s inspired
musical turbulence, and are, though in
Icelandic, hard to understand even for
Icelanders.
The band broke up in 1983 and their
swansong was three tracks recorded
with Jaz Coleman of the Killing Joke,
under the name “Lunaire.” The tracks
remain unreleased but are said to be,
by the few that have had the chance to
listen to them, the most interesting work
of the band and some even dare to state
it as the most interesting recordings ever
made in Iceland. Personally I can´t wait
to hear them!
Jóndi
Drummer Sigtryggur later founded the Sugarcubes, Björk’s
pre-world fame group. Þeyr was the most promising band
to rise from the Icelandic punk wave in the early eighties,
the most experimental group of them all, and the one that
had the best musicians on board.
David Bowie is one of the most interest-
ing, innovative artists of the rock era.
He’s also a money grabbing business
venture and a one man stock com-
pany. In the early 90´s, his catalogue
was re-released on CD with additional
photographs and bonus tracks. Some
of his best songs, such as Conversa-
tion Piece, Sweet Head and his version
of Brel´s Amsterdam were first made
widely available on these issues, and
they were rare instances of CD´s that
were actually worth buying even if you
had the albums. The rich got richer,
but for once the punters weren’t be-
ing shafted more than felt necessary.
However, in the past few years the al-
bums have been re-released yet again,
this time in their “original packaging,”
that is too say, without additional pho-
tos or bonus tracks. This feels like a
huge loss to the Bowie catalogue, as
the aforementioned gems were again
lost. But, on the 30th anniversary of
the release of Ziggy Stardust, punters
got the opportunity to buy the album
yet again, this time with extensive
liner notes and a whole CD of bonus
material. The album in question being
one of the best by anyone anywhere,
the idea of a whole new CD of mate-
rial seemed mouth-watering. Until, of
course, you take the wrapping off and
find that the bonus tracks are exactly
the same ones as previously available
on older reissues of the early 70´s
albums. The only new material is a
few seconds of dialogue preceding
Sweet Head, and a remix of Moonage
Daydream, which is actually better than
the original, but hardly worth the price
of admission. At least Amsterdam is
available again, but no
Conversation Piece,
unless, of course,
you buy the special
edition of Heathen
which features a rere-
cording. This year, on
its 30th Anniversary,
Aladdin Sane has also
received a birthday
makeover. Again, the
bonus CD is not all
one could have hoped
for. We get two ver-
sions each of John,
I’m Only Dancing and
The Jean Genie, and
most of the other
tracks are annoying
single edits. The two
worthwhile additions
are the previously
unreleased Bowie
studio version of the
classic All the Young Dudes, and a live
acoustic Drive-In Saturday, seemingly
fresh off the pen.
Still, for those who don’t have the
album itself, the package is more than
worthwhile. Bowie’s string of albums
between 1969 and 1974 are of a
quality rarely matched in rock music.
Aladdin Sane has often been thought
of as Ziggy Stardust in America, and in
fact most of the songs are dedicated
to cities there. But it holds up comfort-
ably next to its illustrious predecessor.
The highlights are the perverse Weimar
cabaret feel of songs such as Time,
Lady Grinning Soul and the title cut
(can you actually do that on the piano?),
and the raw sexuality of Cracked Actor
and Let’s Spend the Night Together,
easily surpassing the Stones. Jag-
ger gets another nod on the beautiful
Drive-In Saturday, but whether they
were actually sleeping together at the
time is still open to speculation. In any
case Jagger at this time was already in
decline, and Bowie was just peaking,
but would rarely get this good again.
Whether it was the drugs, the greed or
just age that did them in artistically we
may never know.

VG
M U S I C
The Icelandic Phallo-
logical Museum.
all year exhibition

The museum houses over 150 pe-
nises of all known Icelandic mammals
except, sadly, Homo Sapiens. This,
however, awaits remedy as a gift to-
ken has been received by the museum
from an honorary member promising
his honorary member upon his demise.
The country eagerly awaits this newest
addition, as the items in question are
usually only displayed privately, un-
less the owner is severly inebriated,
and hence the exhibition might be in
somewhat less than pristine condition.
The exhibition ranges from the impres-
sive blue whale, to the somewhat less
impressive hamster, and a special sec-
tion even deals with rarely seen crea-
tures such as elves and trolls, which
is quite a coup as these species are
usually unwilling to part with the parts
on display. You can also see other
theme related memorabilia. You can
also, in fact, get married there, and
the first wedding was conducted there
on the first of April 2003. Whether
this improved the confidence of the
groom or gave the wife cause to doubt
her decision goes unreported. The
curator is usually up for a chat, and
his day job consists of teaching in a
secondary school. Rumour has it he
uses a dried whale´s penis to point at
the blackboard, but whether this is an
urban legend cannot be unsubstanci-
ated by this publication. In any case, it
is his feeling that phallology has been
neglected except as a borderline field
in other disciplines. This reporter can
corroborate that not a single University
teaches the subject as a major, or else
his career might concievably have
taken a different turn. In any case, the
museum is an important contribution in
the direction of bringing the study out
into the open.
Open Tuesday-Friday, 14.00-17.00.
Entrance is 400kr.
Exhibition of contemporary and traditional Icelandic
art and crafts.
National and University Library, Exhibition of
Lárus Sigurbjörnsson, the founder of the citys
documentation.
National Gallery of Iceland, Exhibition of
selected works by Icelandic artists from the
National Gallery’s collection.
Norræna Húsið, Nordic House, -12:00 to 17:
00- Exhibition; photos of people, culture and nature
from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
Saga Museum, -10:00 to 18:00- History face
to face, historical figures and major events in
Icelandic history from the settlers up to the
Reformation presented in a unique way. Admission
800 krónur.
Árbæjarsafn, Folk Museum, History of Reykjavik
Culture House, Images of Iceland - milestones in
cartography
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, Insight
into international contemporary art in Iceland
Hallgrímskirkja Church, -12:00- Lunch time
concerts, Guðrúns S. Birgirsdóttir flute. Kjartan
Sigurjónsson organ.
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, Some of the works
of painter Jóhannes Kjarval.
Norræna húsið, Nordic House, The Big Nordic
Elephant Show. Children dressed up as elephants
especially welcome.
Reykjavik Museum of Photography, The Five
Elements. Photographs and etchings from French-
Vietnamese artist Claire Xuan.
Ásmundarsafn, Sculpture museum, The
Modern Man, works of popular sculptor Ásmundar
Sveinsson, who believed sculpture should be part
of the urban environment.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works
of Iceland´s first modern sculptor, whose works
are partly based on Icelandic folklore.
Night
Grand Rokk, Band SIGN play 80’s style rock
music.
Hverfisbar, Bítlarnir 60´s band.
Amsterdam, Dj Andrés House music.
Café Sólon, DJ Andrés House music.
Prikið, DJ’s Snake ‘n Tiger.
Sirkus, Mike Pollock, guitarist of early 80´s punk
band Utangarðsmenn (Outsiders) plays guitar and
sings. (Where are the Bodies?)
Kaffi List, Roots! Rock! Reggae Explosion!
Jamaican music and food. Many DJ’s imported
especially for the occasion.
Gaukur á Stöng, The band Leaves performes.
Friday, July 4
Both Day and Night
Austurvöllur out door exhibition, Earth from
Above. Aerial Photographs by Yann Arthus-
Bertrand.
Café Sólon, Exhibiton - Mosaic mirrors by Rósa.
Day
Reðursafnið, Phallological Museum, A fine
penis and penis related selection from various
mammals. First human specimen still awaited.
Hafnarborg Art Gallery, Anniversary exhibition
from the museum collection.
Handverk og Hönnun, -13:00 to 17:00-
Exhibition of contemporary and traditional Icelandic
art and crafts.
National and University Library, Exhibition of
Lárus Sigurbjörnsson, the founder of the citys
documentation.
National Gallery of Iceland, Exhibition of
selected works by Icelandic artists from the
National Gallery’s collection.
Norræna Húsið, Nordic House, -12:00 to 17:
00- Exhibition; photos of people, culture and nature
from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
Saga Museum, -10:00 to 18:00- History face
to face, historical figures and major events in
Icelandic history from the settlers up to the
Reformation presented in a unique way. Admission
800 krónur.
Árbæjarsafn, Folk Museum, History of Reykjavik
Culture House, Images of Iceland - milestones in
cartography
Hafnarhúsið, Reykjavík Art Museum, Insight
into international contemporary art in Iceland
Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum, Some of the works
of painter Jóhannes Kjarval.
Norræna húsið, Nordic House, The Big Nordic
Elephant Show. Children dressed up as elephants
especially welcome.
Reykjavik Museum of Photography, The Five
Elements. Photographs and etchings from French-
Vietnamese artist Claire Xuan.
Ásmundarsafn, Sculpture museum, The
Modern Man, works of popular sculptor Ásmundar
Sveinsson, who believed sculpture should be part
of the urban environment.
Einar Jónsson Sculpture Museum, The works
of Iceland´s first modern sculptor, whose works
are partly based on Icelandic folklore.
Night
Leikhúskjallarinn, Johnny D
Kráin 73, 4th of July celebration American Burbon
specials troubadour Ingi Valur plays some music.
Celtic Cross, Band Spilafíklar and Troubadour
Garðar Garðarsson play.
Hverfisbar, DJ Benni
Café Sólon, DJ Þröstur 3000. Not to be missed.
Thorvaldsen bar, DJ’s Hlynur & Daddi Diskó.
Café Victor, DJ’s of the house, 80’s and 90’s
music.
Gaukur á Stöng, One of Iceland´s most popular
pop bands Sálin play their hits.
Prikið, Raggi and Heiðar from the band Botnleðja
do some Dj-ing.
Kaffi List, Roots! Rock! Reggae Explosion!
Jamaican music and food. Many DJ’s imported
especially for the occasion.
Amsterdam, Stóri Björn (Big Bear) Cover band
Café 22, Thule Music’s Þórhallur is tonight´s DJ.
Saturday, July 5
Both Day and Night
Austurvöllur out door exhibition, Earth from
Above. Aerial Photographs by Yann Arthus-
Bertrand.
Café Sólon, Exhibiton - Mosaic mirrors by Rósa.
Day
Reðursafnið, Phallological Museum, A fine
penis and penis related selection from various
mammals. First human specimen still awaited.
WHO WILL LOVE A LAD INSANE?
Another album cover
An album cover
Various Places Around
the Countryside.
First weekend in July
It has long been a tradition among Ice-
landers to go out into the countryside
during the summer, put up a tent, grill
some hamburgers, and then get roar-
ingly drunk. The biggest event for this
is the first weekend of August, but the
first weekend of July is the warmup
for this. Perhaps the reason for this
occasion is that on the 1st of July, stu-
dents get their first wages from their
summer jobs. Þórsmörk is one of the
hottest places to go, although to get
there you need a jeep or a bus, since
some river crossing is involved.