Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.09.2009, Qupperneq 37

#63 - Issue 12 - 2007#62 - Issue 11 - 2007 #64 - Issue 13 - 2007
This is where we tried our very best to explain the Icelandic fishing
quota system – how it works, why it’s there and what it’s doing – via
our ‘amazing panel of experts.’ Sounds boring and uninteresting?
Maybe. Still, the feature is fun enough to read through, and the
founding of the quota system was pivotal in transforming Icelandic
society and capitalism to the messy mess it currently is. Also, cover
model boy is handsome as fuck. HSM
Warming up for the year's Airwaves festival, we interviewed then-
kings of Icelandic rock n' roll, Mínus, who had recently put out an
album and gone through some line-up changes. Mínus was the
third band to be on the cover this year, to be followed by... SBB
This one features a pretty sweet photo from the island Grímsey by
our very own GAS. The issue’s probably most memorable for intern
Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir’s ‘Date With Jakobínarína,’ where the now
defunct outfit managed to piss off every Icelandic band and musi-
cian out there with their Oasis-like remarks. On Icelandic music: “It’s
all so much thrash.” HSM
Bloc Party, who rocked the Airwaves festival (and are at the time
of writing the only non-Icelandic act to grace our cover). This was
one of our favourite image from the festival, shot by the excellent
Swedish photographer Emma Svenson, who we invited to join our
Icelandic photography team to shoot the festivities. SBB
This is a cover I've always been pretty satisfied with. Suddenly, vio-
lence in the city centre had become the hot issue in the Icelandic
media. In the feature, we showed – through interviews and statistics
– that the story had completely been blown out of proportion by
the local media, and that the crime rate in the city centre was de-
creasing if anything. The cover was shot with a group of youngsters
from a local high school, who agreed to stage a full on fistfight for
the shot. The combination of the feature and the cover shot worked
great; we received numerous emails, thanking us for an intelligent
discussion of the situation. SBB
Another Christmas issue. This time, the idea was to depict the com-
mercialization of the holidays, and how far removed from the sea-
son's spirit the whole thing has become. The shoot was not without
its problems, the little ungrateful crying girl kept giggling from the
excitement of it all. Those first steps on the way to supermodel star-
dom are the hardest. SBB
What I remember most about this issue is that after it had been
shipped off to print, we discovered an embarrassing typo on the
cover. They were already prepping the plates at the printing press
when we got them on the phone and managed to salvage the situ-
ation. SBB
Everybody loves statistics. We decided to gather random numbers
from the previous year and present 2007 in numbers. My favorite:
5.9% - 12 month inflation in Iceland in 2007. By the way, 2007 was
the height of the Icelandic economic adventure. SBB
Iceland - China relations was discussed and artist Sara Riel drew
symbolic animals from each country. Thinking back, we could prob-
ably have come up with something more exciting. SBB
Grapevine 101
#66 - Issue 15 - 2007#65 - Issue 14 - 2007
#68 - Issue 17 - 2007#67 - Issue 16 - 2007 #69 - Issue 18 - 2007 #70 - Issue 1 - 2008
City planning in Reykjavík is cause for extreme agitation. The con-
tinuous political strife over the future location of the Reykjavík Air-
port inspired this cover. The missing puzzle is where the airport
is located. Or alternatively, an area where a part of the sprawling
Reykjavík suburbia could have been built. SBB
#72 - Issue 3 - 2008