Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.07.2004, Blaðsíða 30

by Sjón
My absolutely favourite book is the novel ‘The Master and
Margarita’ by Mihail Bulgakov. I first read this Russian masterpiece in
English when I was at the tender age of eighteen. It blew my mind to see
how easily Bulgakov mixed fantasy and reality and stirred it all up with
a healthy dose of humor, love/sex, humanism and theology. The book had
such a profound influence on me that for a few months I actually became
one of the characters in the story; Korofiev the Choirmaster. He is one
of Satan’s sidekicks; a dangerous and idiotic troublemaker harbouring a
slowburning sorrow. (So, now you know!) And, ah, I must confess, ever
since those bright and blue summer days of 1981 have I struggled and
strived to write something half as good as this marvellous book.
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
��
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
�
���
�
�
�
�
SJóN published his first collection of poetry
at the tender age of fifteen, three years before
reading the Master and the Margarita.
He has also published the novels “Night Of
Steel”, “Angel, Tophat and Strawberries” and
“Thine Eyes Saw Me”. His other activities
include three private art exhibitions, a brief
career as the megastar Johnny Triumph, and
writing the lyrics to Bjork’s recent hit-song
“Isobel”.
Due to a misunderstanding, which may or
may not be the fault of your editor, Sjón listed
his top 10 books of all time, be they Icelandic
or not.
1. The Master and Margarita by Mihail Bulgakov
1 1/2. Gerpla (Happy Warriors) by Halldór Laxness. Laxness’ great
outcry against the glorification of war is a testament to his masterful
command of epic storytelling. Imitating the style of the Sagas, he moves
his hapless hero from one hilarious massacre to the next. Yes, you’ll laugh
your brains out as you slowly realize that there is no such thing as a good
cause in war, that all wars are really fought against the interests of us
common people. And shame on ye Poets who praise Kings!
2. The Last World by Cristoph Ransmayr. A fascinating rewriting of
Ovid’s Metamorphoses with the poet himself at the heart of its drama.
Go, I dare you, go visit the Iron city and its shape-shifting inhabitants.
3. UBIK by Philip K. Dick. Since the death of sci-fi genius Horselover
Fat, it has become obvious that the rest of us are trapped inside his
imagination.
4. Edda by Snorri Sturluson. No one turns a phrase like this Icelandic
Renaissance man. No one!
5. Not before sundown by Johanna Sinisalo. In this incredibly
entertaining and thought-provoking novel, the Finnish writer Sinisalo
reinvents our world as a place where the feline-looking Night Trolls of old
legends are not only real but a force to be reckoned with.
6. The Quest for Dr. Ü by H. C. Artmann. Who is Dr. Ü? Is he the
trapeze artist with the obviously fake nose sitting next to you on the bus?
Or is he the Devil himself hunting for yor soul?
7. The Golden Ass by Apuleius. A horny man is turned into an ass
and goes on a punishing quest to reclaim his human form. Need I say
more?
8. The Demon Flower by Jo Imog. This dark fairy tale is about a little
girl who gets rid of her family to be able to live with her love, an eccentric
woman, living in the next Alpine village.
9. ELEKTRA Assassin by Frank Miller. Frank Miller’s story about
Elektra and her fight with the apocalyptically inclined and demonically
posessed president of the USA is as relevant as ever. Yeah, where are the
sexy, twisted, sword-wielding ninja girls when we need them?
by Einar Örn Benediktsson
I remember nothing! And I am thankful for that memory or memory
loss which could be attributed to excessive exposure to noise and bad radio
for decades. It also makes my day when I try to finger what has made my
day in the past, made me tick and think, yes this is it! And it usually boils
down to songs or tracks rather than whole albums.
At the tender age of 17, Einar was manager
for Bubbi´s band Utangarðsmenn. He then
formed his own band, Purkur Pillnikk, one of
the most influential bands on the punk scene.
When punk supergroup Kukl was formed from
the leading members of the punk scene, Einar
was one of the founders, despite studying
media in Britain at the time. Kukl became the
Sugarcubes and went on to world domination
� �
1. Fan Houtens Kóko
2. Lojpippos og Spojsippus
3. Stanya: Líf
4. Oxzmá
5. Sogblettir: 5. gírinn
6. Curver: haf
7. Jonee-Jonee: Svonatorrek
8. Trío Ólafs Ósýnilega
by Margrét Örnólfsdóttir � �
1. On Top (Með allt á hreinu) by Ágúst Guðmundsson (1982).
2. Regina (Regína) by María Sigurðardóttur (2001). Of course it
would have been in my nature to put my own offspring in first place on
the list but I decided to show a little bit of modesty. It is, on the other
hand, maybe not so illogical to put Regina second after Með allt á hreinu
because it is not unlikely that my obsession to bring that song-crazed girl
into the world can in some way be traced back to the impact MAÁH had
on me back in the old days.
3. Dot Dot Comma Dash (Punktur, punktur, komma strik) by
Þorsteinn Jónsson (1980). I was 12 years old when this film was made and
because my father was one of the producers I could be around and watch
the preparation and shooting. That´s probably where it all started, when I
became interested in film making.
4. Rainbow´s End (Á hjara veraldar) by Kristín Jóhannesdóttur (1983).
When Rainbow´s End was released I was passionately into European
films and this film was in harmony with that. I found it deliciously weird
and beautiful and it spoke strongly to me even though I didn´t really
understand it.
5. Rock in Reykjavik (Rokk í Reykjavík) by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson
(1982). It felt like Rock in Reykjavik was sent from heaven to give you the
message that you actually had a chance in this world. What a treasure!
6. Pigen Gogo, aka Taxi (79 af stöðinni) by Erik Balling (1962).I
don´t know what it is with this film. Maybe it is my weakness for black
and white movies with creaking sound, but more likely it is the delight of
watching Kristbjörg Keld who is so strikingly beautiful that you instantly
forget that you have ever set eyes on Ava Gardner.
7. The Icelandic Dream (Íslenski draumurinn) by Róbert I. Douglas
(2000).When I saw The Icelandic Dream I remembered how much fun
it can be to go to the movies. This is one of the funnier pictures I´ve
seen and it´s a relief to finally get this relaxed atmosphere into acting
and dialogue, which is one of the major complaints you can have about
Icelandic filmmaking, even though it is getting much better.
8. Magnus (Magnús) by Þráinn Bertelsson (1989). Þráinn Bertelsson
manages in Magnus to procure a very balanced atmosphere that it is
difficult to master. It is both light and funny and bittersweet and human.
Undoubtedly the most entertaining Icelandic movie ever made and the first
movie I paid twice to go to see. It was made by people who were determined
to entertain the audience and they were having tremendous fun doing it. It is
filled with such joi de vivre and fluent sense of humor that even the head-
strongest fýlupúkar are bound to lighten up.
Margrét Örnólfsdóttir was the
Sugarcubes keyboardist, having
formerly been member of the band
Risaeðlan (Reptile). She has done
various things since, notably writing
the screenplay and music for the
children´s film Regina.
Með allt á hreinu brought a fresh and powerful feel into the Icelandic film environment,
although it wasn´t much of an environment at the time. At least we the teenagers
thought Icelandic films were quite lame and boring with bad acting and terrible sound.
I think few musicals have such a high number of hit songs as this one does. Almost all
the songs of the film went straight to that place in your head where songs that will not be
forgotten go to. And every single scene of the film is memorable. It is hard not to admire
the big thinking. I´m not sure any film producer today would approve to sending two
pop bands and Eggert Þorleifsson and no script on a tour around Iceland. Oh, and we
mustn´t forget to thank this movie for making an actor out of Eggert Þorleifsson.
My memory remembers nothing really
before 1977 in music, if anything then
listening to Megas through my friend
Bragi whose musical know-how towers
over mine. Requested to list eight, I go
automatically back, way back, in order to
see if something from the past makes me
want to join Mínus today. I remember
Trió Ólafs Ósýnilega, a duet, of course,
who played transistors and liquid fuel at
the launch of a Purrkur Pillnikk record.
Jonee-Jonee made it all the simpler
with only drums, bass and voice, the
simplicity is still something which is to
be admired. Curver’s Haf, a submerged
trip into the deep. I later learned that
his first vinyl on his Christmas list was
Sogblettir. In their 5th gear, they did not
mean to take any prisoners but to mow
everyone down. In Oxzmá I find that
multi layered talent, when art was not
a swear word. Stanya brought me Líf, a
vinyl EP, which at the time interwined
music as a travelogue. Lojpippos and
Spojsippus, making strange music on synths some 2 decades ago and bringing
smile on my face everytime, and recently given 4 tracks they made brought
back the smile.
Fan Houtens Kóko “Það brakar í Herra K”, says it all in the title, “Mr. K is
creaking” and the certain assertion that “the city can be seen”, just makes me
want to cry and make sure that the rest will be just as simple as that. Their
stuff is still shit hot, if my memory serves me right.
� �