Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Blaðsíða 2

2
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16 — 2009
Cover Photo:
Hörður Sveinsson
On Cover:
Óttar Proppé of Dr. Spock
Art Direction:
Jói Kjartans
Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies.
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
grapevine@grapevine.is
Published by Fröken ehf.
Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry
Association - www.saf.is
Editorial:
+354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is
Advertising:
+354 540 3605 / ads@grapevine.is
Publisher:
+354 540 3601 / publisher@grapevine.is
Publisher:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson
hilmar@grapevine.is
Editor:
Haukur S Magnússon
haukur@grapevine.is
Journalist:
Catharine Fulton / catharine@grapevine.is
Contributing Writers:
Sigurður K Kristinsson
Florian Zühlke
Marc Vincenz
Bergrún Anna Hallsteinsdóttir
Ólafur Halldór Ólafsson
Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir
Haukur Már Helgason
Flosi Þorgeirsson
Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl
Irina Domurath
Páll Hilmarsson
Birkir Fjalar Viðarsson
Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir
Valur Gunnarsson
Bob Cluness
Adam Wood
Ben Frost
Dr. Gunni
Tim Hecker
Nico Muhly
Editorial Interns:
Rebecca Louder / rlouder@grapevine.is
Louise Petersson / louise@grapevine.is
Michael Vladimar Zelenko /
michael@grapevine.is
Food Editor:
Sari Peltonen
On-line News Editor
Paul Nikolov
paulnikolov@grapevine.is
Art Director:
Hörður Kristbjörnsson
hoddi@grapevine.is
Design:
Jóhannes Kjartansson
layout@grapevine.is
Photographers:
Hörður Sveinsson / hordursveinsson.com
Julia Staples / juliastaples.com
Sales Director:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson
adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Guðmundur Rúnar Svansson
grs@grapevine.is
Distribution:
distribution@grapevine.is
Proofreader:
Jim Rice
Press releases:
listings@grapevine.is
Submissions inquiries:
editor@grapevine.is
Subscription inquiries:
+354 540 3605 / subscribe@grapevine.is
General inquiries: grapevine@grapevine.is
Founders:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Valur Gunnarsson
The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18
times a year by Fröken ltd. Monthly from
November through April, and fortnightly
from May til October. Nothing in this
magazine may be reproduced in whole or
in part without the written permission of
the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine
is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri,
Egilsstaðir, Selfoss, Kef lavík, Ísafjörður and
at key locations along road #1, and all major
tourist attractions and tourist information
centres in the country.
You may not like it, but at least it's not
sponsored. (No articles in the Reykjavík
Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions
expressed are the writers’ own, not the
advertisers’).
I’m back. I wrestled the reigns away from
Davíð Oddsson. Even though I was excited
about some of his new editorial policy
(expanding the poetry section, more original
fiction), it still came down to the fact that I
kind of like this job.
Also, employment in the field of
publishing is hard to come by these days,
especially jobs that don’t entail your owner
spying on you and reading your e-mail and
stuff. So I took it back. Yay, me.
Anyway, all of the amazing Grapevine
staff has been hard at work for the past
couple of weeks, preparing this packed
issue of packed-ness. It has it all. Interviews,
opinions, music reviews, comix. Oh and a
whole extra paper inside, The Grapevine
Airwaves Mini, where you can read up on
your Iceland Airwaves bands and get some
good advice on how to conduct your festival
in an optimal manner. It’s loaded with stuff.
(Sidenote: I am in awe of the folks that
contribute to making Grapevine. From our
proof-reader Jim, to our SUPER TEAM of
interns, to every single writer, photographer
and illustrator to grace our pages, and our
designer extraordinaire, Jói – these people all
continually break their backs (or allow me to
break them) and bust their asses just so you
can gain some enjoyment from this paper. I
hope you’re happy. At least I am. And proud
to get to work with all these fine people).
Now. Here are two points:
1) Read Catharine Fulton’s eye-opening
feature on the privatization and subsequent
sale of HS Orka. To me, this is some scary,
eyebrow-raising stuff. Even if every party
involved in the transaction has the best
of intentions (which is unlikely, if THE
COLLAPSE taught us anything about
common businessfolks’ ethics, and if we
look at how such deals have gone down in the
past), this is still a matter of grave importance
that should be discussed and debated heavily
before any course of action is taken.
We just effectively sold off exclusive
rights to all of Reykjanes’ harnessable
energy for the next 130 years. And if what
we’re hearing is right, this might just be the
beginning. Selling off a nation’s resources
at bargain rates, while that nation is battling
severe economic problems and in great
need of an instant cash injection – that just
doesn’t sound like a very smart idea. Like a
downtrodden crack-addict pawning his TV.
Anyway, no matter what your opinion on
these issues will be, I dare you to have one.
That is important, as this is an extremely
important matter. Possibly one of the most
important we as a nation will be confronted
with in the next decades. We cannot afford to
be lazy here. We just can’t.
2) If you’re going Airwaves next week,
make sure to catch as many of the local acts
as you can. And dare to be surprised – there
are a lot of great things happening in the
Icelandic music scene these days and you
won’t have heard about all of them. Go out
early, stay out late, don’t get too drunk and
respect your elders.
I ALSO HAPPEN TO BE A MEMBER OF A
BAND THAT’S PLAYING AT AIRWAVES
AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK
US OUT AS WE ARE REALLY GREAT AND
LIFE ALTERING AND STUFF! WE’RE
CALLED REYKJAVÍK! Phew.
Editorial | Haukur S Magnússon
Haukur’s 16th Editorial
Just Haukur rambling, really
In the midst of a harsh economic recession, Icelanders have started selling off their valuable energy resources to
international corporations at KREPPA-rates. Grapevine's Catharine Fulton investigates the sale of HS Orka to Canada's
Magma Energy, how the deal went down and if it is an indication of what's to come. PG. 12.
www.grapevine.is
+ COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS - INSIDE!
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Look inside for your free copy of
Grapevine Airwaves Mini!

Featuring comprehensive festival
coverage, tips and trix from the
stars, reviews, interviews and the
chance to win the ultimate
Airwaves experience!
Tel +354 577 60 50
www.sixt.is
It’s Airwaves time again. Damn, that’s exciting. All that music,
all those shows. It’ll be a blast for sure. The thought of all this
impending fun makes us feel all festive and warm inside. And
you know us, we like to spread the joy around and so we done
went and made up this cool Iceland Airwaves compilation for y’all
to download and blast in anticipation of the great fest.
It features select contributions from some of our favourite
local artists that are playing Airwaves 2009 (not all of them, but
some of them) for all your CD burning pleasures. It also has a full
tracklist and a sweet cover designed and shot by our very own Jói
Kjartans. Here’s what’s on it:
Ben Frost – The Carpathians // Berndsen - Dark Times //
Dynamo Fog - Rock 'n' Rock // Egill S - Stay Unhooked /// FM
Belfast – Frequency // Foreign Monkeys – Los // Hjaltalín - Stay
By You // Kimono – Black //Lára - Love // Mammút - Rauðilækur
// Me, the Slumbering Napoleon – She’s a Maniac// Morðingjarnir
- Manvísa // Retro Stefson – Montana // Retrön - Iron Goblet //
Reykjavík! - THE BLOOD // Sudden Weather Change - She was a Cheerleader //
Svavar Knútur (of Hraun) – Yfir hóla og hæðir // Sykur - New Horizon
This Issue’s Free Track COMPILATION!
Grapevine Airwaves 2009 Compilation
CD OF
THE ISSUE
Download your
free copy at
grapevine.is
Comic | Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir
Download the free Compilation CD
at www.grapevine.is