Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.12.2004, Side 46

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1. Fish can sing, by Halldór Laxness.
2. The Shakespeare translations by Helgi Hálfdanarsson. Helgi’s
translations are so original in a romantic fashion that they succeed from
time to time to both corrupt and enhance the original text by Shakespeare.
Honestly, don’t we all prefer to listen to Bach as the romantics played him
– or even the jazz players?
3. Under the Glacie by Halldór Laxness. Halldór Laxness. There is
a Laxness whom the Icelanders know and there is another Laxness.
Whereas the Icelanders consider him a realist historian (considered either
as vice or virtue depending on your taste and nationalistic sentiments), this
book proofs them wrong. He was a magical realist long before Marquez.
4. Independent People, by Halldór Laxness. A great epic that
challenges anything written by Tolstoy or Thomas Mann. Its grace and
vulnerability is not at least to be found in how it interweaves hopelessly
ephemeral issues with a narrative that transcends politics and 20th
Century history.
5. The saga of Gísli by unknown author. One could say that this is
the first European detective novel and its thrilling suspense makes you
struggle even through the unnecessary genealogy of the main characters.
Proofs that a suspense novel can reach a stylistic heights.
6. Sirkús, by Guðrún Eva Minervudóttur. A yet unpublished novel and
a horror story, which of course hasn’t been dealt with seriously since the
Icelandic Sagas.
7. The Sunshine Children by Steinar Bragi. As above, but strives
to dig even further, back to the Sagas, where nothing is as it seems
and magical creatures outmaneuver the heroes in a David Lynchean
dreamscape.
8. Morgunblaðið by various artists.The collected oeuvre of this
newspapers´ publication during the 20th Century is wonderful
achievement in fictional writing. I recommend the editorials when
it comes to a minimalist style that even surpasses Raymond Carvers,
where nothing is said but everything is hidden between the lines; or the
obituaries where Dorothy Parker’s motto is taken for granted: I admit to
everything, but the truth. Or what about the letters to the paper, a majestic
display of post-modernistic deconstruction even before Derrida was born.
1. Kukl: The Eye
2. Björk: Homogenic. One of many Björk albums that might well have
appeared on this list, but the one that means the most to me
3. Þeyr: Mjötviður Mær. If this album had never been released, Maus
would have sounded very different in its first three years of existence. It´s a
pity this has never been properly released on CD, I only know it from tape.
Does anyone have a copy of the album. I´ll buy it for 10.000kr. Anyone?
4. Trúbrot: Lifun. My old man shoved this down my throat when I was
ten. I spent the next decade in denial, until I was ready to admit this is an
incredible album.
5. Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson: Hananú. An amazing album, Bo Hall
has been trying to make one like it since this came out.
6. Sykurmolarnir: Life’s Too Good. The perfect pop album
7. Sigur Rós: Ágætis byrjun. A great album, but I think another ten
years must pass before I can enjoy it again, since I wore it out at the time
8. Skytturnar: Illgresið. The best hip hop album made in Iceland.
Amazing lyrics.
by Þorgeir Frímann Óðinsson
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1. Sódóma Reykjavík by Óskar Jónasson.
2. Rokk í Reykjavík by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. Well it’s history, isn’t
it.
3. 101 Reykjavík by Baltasar Kormákur. A great film about inner city
life in Reykjavik.
4. Nói Albínói by Dagur Kári. A portrait of rural depression. Stunning.
5. Englar alheimsins (Angels of the Universe) by Friðrik Þór
Friðriksson. I really love this film, made me laugh and cry. Icelandic drama
at it’s best, based on a true story about mental disorder.
6. Benjamin dúfa (Benjamin the Dove) by Gísli Snær Erlingsson.
Adopted from one of Iceland’s best loved childrens books, a good drama
for the whole family.
7. Veggfóður (Wallpaper) by Júlíus Kemp. Cult, cult, cult. Gets
better the older it gets, could be Iceland’s Liquid Sky.
8. Hrafnin flýgur (The Raven Flies) by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson. The
Viking Movie. Well, the best one at least.
9. Nýtt líf by Þráinn Bertelsson. Part of the Líf comedy series.
9. (Ó)eðli by Haukur M. Independent filmmaker Haukur M.’s debut,
made with no money, Looks it, but is nice.
Þorgeir graduated with a BA
in design from the Art School of
Iceland. He had an exhibition
at Hótel Borg last April with
portraits of Iceland´s MP´s, and
has taken part in an exhibition
in Klink og Bank, where he
has a studio. As Frank Murder
he has released songs such as
Beachblaster and Aftershock on
compilation albums.
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Sódóma, Reykjavík (Remote Control) by Óskar Jónasson
This film is great, has everything a good movie experience reqires and more. The first and only movie
about organised crime in Iceland. No guns, only drunk teenagers, bad bands and car chases that don’t end
in explosions. Imagine Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction set in Iceland. I don’t know if you could grasp it’s
magnificence today, but if you lived in Iceland in the early 90’s it may very well be that you think this is the best
movie ever made. Enough said
by Birgir Örn Steinarsson
Heartthrob Birgir Örn first came to
prominence in 1994 when his band
Maus won the Músiktilraunir Battle
of the Bands. The band have since gone
on to release many an album, and have
remained fixtures on the Reykjavík rock
scene. Their latest album of greatest
hits and rarities, Tónlyst, is out now.
Birgir´s day job is as a journalist with
Fréttablaðið and he currently divides his
time between Reykjavík and London.
He has just recorded a Christmas song for
Mæðrastyrksnefnd, available at www.
tonlist.is
Compiling this list is the most
difficult thing I´ve done in my life,
and it´s bound to change every
day. I picked Kukl´s first album for
the simple reason that so many of
my favourite Icelandic musicians
are coming into their own on it.
Sigtryggur Baldursson was still young
and out of control, virtually exploding with creativity...which he in fact still is. Einar is as completely obnoxious as
he gets. He is not everyone´s cuppa, but for some reason I connect with him. Björk was at the time still a diamond in
the rough, and plays her vocal chords like a saxphone she´s just gotten a hold of. Brilliant. The three of them vie for
your attention, but then Gulli Óttars snags it away from all of them with his scoarching guitar playing, reminding
you of a hungry hyena. Birgir the bassplayer is the only one remaining relatively calm. Kukl was a force of nature,
a collaboration that was bound to burst after a while. Some bands appear on the scene like a fat man jumping into
a pool, and then drowns when he
realises that he´s jumped to far and
doesn´t know how to swim. The
Eye managed to capture everything
that´s interesting about avant garde
Icelandic music, and still does.
by Valur Brynjar Antonsson
Born in Iceland in 1976 like many
a good Valur, Valur subsequently
moved to Sweden where he was
brought up and on returning
to Iceland was nicknamed ”the
Swedish Welfare Wonder.”
He toured with the Nýhil poetry
group in the summer of 2003 and
has recently released his first volume
of poetry, Ofurmennisþrá. He has
also directed a French-produced
documentary about a group of young
filmmakers who set up a collective
in Southern France. During the
day he studies for an MA degree in
philosophy
Fish can sing, by Halldór Laxness
Laxness, the Nobel laureate, no
longer an epic writer, struggles to
counter the modernist movement.
Though he was not successful,
he manages to compose the most
well thought out and structured
novel ever written in the Icelandic
language. Iceland’s answer to the
Great Gatsby