Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.11.2007, Blaðsíða 37

Reviews | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 17 2007 | 21
In Icelandic music, Megas is an institution. Few, if any, Icelandic art-
ists have enjoyed such critical acclaim although he will probably
go down in history as a master wordsmith and lyricist, rather than
a musician. Hold er mold features material originally written in an
August session for this year’s album Frágangur, but with an over-
abundance of songs, the material was distributed on two albums.
Joining Megas on the two albums is the band Senuþjófarnir, which
consists of members of the reggae band Hjálmar. As typically with
Megas, the poetry draws you in. The music mostly consists of folksy
tracks written for guitar, although the arrangements on the album
are beefed up considerably with the backing of a full band. Megas is
the kind of musician you either love or hate. If you are not already a
permanent member of his fan club, this will probably not do much
for you, but for any Megas fan, this is a required possession. SBB
Hold er mold
Megas & Senuþjófarnir
Owls of the Swamp is Pete Uhlenbruch, a 25 year-old troubador from
Australia who spent six weeks touring Iceland last year, which in-
spired his debut record, Smokey Bay (the direct translation of Reyk-
javík to English), his personal memory of his trip to Iceland. This is
an introspective work, full of haunting lyrics and lo-fi melodies, that
gracefully edge their way into the back of your head. Uhlenbruch
has a touch for sentimental delivery and touching storylines. I have
a feeling a few of the ten songs would play well under an extreme-
ly dramatic scene on Grey’s Anatomy. As heartfelt and under the
weather as this CD sounds, it does become quite monotonous and
repetive in its entirety, as Uhlenbrect never veers from his down-
tempo strumming. If the sad and lonely guy with the acoustic guitar
grabs your interest, you will likely enjoy this, but myself, I can only
handle this kind of heartfelt misery two songs at a time. SBB
Seeped in sweaty base synths and velvety vocal overtones, Blood-
group’s Sticky Situation is quick to establish its unrelenting made-
for-Saturday-night intensity. The album plays all its well-versed-
electro cards right, moving seamlessly between video game-esque
synth explosions and elusive references to late 90s rock-pop. Yet the
album never slows down enough to indulge in any of its plethora
of elaborate motifs. Rather than plowing strongly and decisively
through its heap of catchiness towards a lucid moment of its own,
the album happily surrenders to it. Its energy, rather than infusing it
with excitement or power, serves mostly to give it a distinct trying-
too-hard feel. Much like the hot sweaty club where it belongs, the
album requires an extraordinary amount of energy to follow. VÞ
Sticky Situation
Bloodgroup
Mugison’s first studio album since the award winning Mugimama, is
This Monkeymusic? has been awaited with some anticipation. His
new effort is darker, moodier and considerably heavier than previ-
ous work. Mugison’s distinctive folk-blues sound is still present but,
on several tracks, it is coupled with a more rocking tone. Mugison
draws from a wide array of influences and different genres, from
sweet-sounding melodies like Deep Breathing and The Great Un-
rest, where piano and strings create a sombre feeling of sorrow; to
more traditional blues rock hits like Mugiboogie and Jesus is a Good
Name to Moan. For me, the highlights on this record are easily the
out and out rocker Two Thumb Suck’n Son of a Boyo, where Mugi-
son allows his industrial metal side to run free and the folksy, guitar
plucking Mugison on The Pathetic Anthem. Although this record
does not contain an instant nut-grabber like Monkeymusic’s Murr
Murr, this album is a more complete and enjoyable effort. SBB
Few musicians have enjoyed more commercial success with not
only one, but rather two, different rock bands, than Dave Grohl, for-
mer drummer of the grunge-outfit Nirvana and current leader for
rock n’ rollers Foo Fighters.
Australian Jeff Apter, former editor of the down-under ver-
sion of the Rolling Stone and currently a contributing editor for the
Aussie GQ Magazine has written a book on Grohl’s adventure as a
teen punk, grunge superstar and a rock n’ roll icon. The book draws
heavily on previously published material, in particular the works
of Michael Azerrad such as his book on Nirvana, Come as You Are
and the very excellent Our Band Could be Your Life: Scenes From
the American Underground 1981 -1991. Still, there is enough good
research and interviews with key figures from Grohl’s career to offer
something more than a magazine profile would.
The most interesting part of the book deals with Grohl’s youth
as a hanger-on in the prolific DC hardcore scene that begat such
influential bands as Bad Brains, Minor Threat and to some extent
Black Flag (although Black Flag was an LA band by definition, sing-
er Henry Rollins came up in DC and remained close to that scene).
With insights from Ian MacKaye, the sparkplug that kept DC firing
at the beginning, the book provides a good take on what the atmo-
sphere was like. Grohl would go on to drum for the seminal DC hard-
core band Scream before latching on with Nirvana in the early ‘90s.
After joining Scream as a tender seventeen-year old (He initially told
his bandmates he was 23), Grohl toured the US back and forth, liv-
ing his life in the typical punk lifestyle, hand-to-mouth at the back of
the van or on the floor of a friend of the band. Although far removed
from his punk roots, Grohl has always maintained that his early life
influenced him greatly in later years.
The book adds little to the legacy of Nirvana. Anyone who has
had a passing curiosity for the Seattle trio has probably read about
most of these events at some point in time, as the written Nirvana
anthology is quite extensive. However, the book details the sour re-
lationship between Courtney Love and Grohl to some extent, a feud
that is still making headlines to this day, with Love recently going on
record to claim that Kurt Cobain had in fact loathed his energetic
drummer. Apter also details contract squabbles between Grohl and
former Scream manager who sued the drummer after he left the
band for Nirvana, while still under contract with Scream.
The largest section of the book is reserved for Grohl’s current
project, Foo Fighters, a band that started as a Grohl solo project
while still in Nirvana. Apter gives a thorough recount of the record-
ing of the first three albums, but later recordings suffer, perhaps for
standing too close to the subject in time.
This is a good read for anyone with an interest in contempo-
rary rock history and the segment on early DC alone makes it worth
the price. Apter is a skilled writer, although his love for the word
‘punter’ is extremely tiresome. SBB
Mugiboogie
Mugison
The Dave Grohl Story
By Jeff Apter
Smokey Bay
Owls of the Swamp
CD
CD
CD
CD
BOOK
This exciting new multimedia exhibition tells the story from an island’s dramatic
birth from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean through its forty year history to the
current day – and beyond, glimpsing the future 120 years hence.

The exhibition explains the Government’s decision to submit an application
to UNESCO to designate Surtsey a World Heritage Site.
The Culture House - Þjóðmenningarhúsið
National Centre for Cultural Heritage
Hverfi sgata 15, 101 Reykjavik
Telephone 545 1400 www.thjodmenning.is
Open daily between 11am and 5pm
The admission fee grants entry to all exhibitions at the Culture House. Adults ISK 300. Senior citizens ISK 200.
Students ISK 200. Free entry for children 16 years of age or younger. Admission is free on Wednesdays.
SURTSEY – GENESIS. EXHIBITION AT THE CULTURE HOUSE