Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.10.2010, Page 4

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16 — 2010
Editorial | Haukur S. Magnússon
The Reykjavík GRapevine
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
grapevine@grapevine.is
Published by Fröken ehf.
www.froken.is
Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association
www.saf.is
Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies.
Editor:
Haukur S Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is
Journalist:
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is
Editorial:
+354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is
advErtising:
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PublishEr:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / hilmar@grapevine.is
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Contributing WritErs:
Valur Gunnarsson
Emily Burton
Ólafur Arnalds
Rebecca Louder
Marvin Lee Dupree
Egill Helgason
Birkir Fjalar Viðarsson
Marc Vincenz
Alexander Roberts
Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl
Þórður Ingi Jónsson
Haukur Viðar Alfreðsson
Bogi Bjarnason
Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson
Bob Cluness
Ian Watson
Íris Erlingsdóttir
Dr. Gunni
Paola Cardenas
Anna Margrét Björnsson
Catharine Fulton
Editorial intErns:
Eimear Fitzgerald / eimear@grapevine.is
Wiebke Wolter / wiebke@grapevine.is
on-linE nEWs Editor
Paul Nikolov / paulnikolov@grapevine.is
art dirECtor:
Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hoddi@grapevine.is
dEsign:
Páll Hilmarsson / pallih@kaninka.net
PhotograPhEr:
Hörður Sveinsson / hordursveinsson.com
salEs dirECtor:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Guðmundur Rúnar Svansson / grs@grapevine.is
distribution:
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foundErs:
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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, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Kef lavík, Ísafjörður
and at key locations along road #1, and all major tour-
ist attractions and tourist information centres in the
country.
You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored. (No
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The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not the
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+
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
www.grapevine.is
POLITICS
The Gnarr Effect Is there a revolution
brewing?
MEDIA
How Iceland's
press totally failed
MUSIC
The story of SH Draumur
- Iceland's greatest
post-punk band
DESIGN
Turning wool into gold
with Vík Prjónsdóttir
ANGER
IN THE ISSUE Issue 16 • 2010 • October 8 - November 4 COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS - INSIDE!
It's Iceland Airwaves time again! And what a time! To mark the occasion, we're making three different covers (!)
for this issue, celebrating three generations of Icelandic musicians performing at the festival. This particular one
is dedicated to all the up-and-coming musicians in Iceland. Pictured are members of Pascal Pinon and Endless Dark.
Both bands' members are still in their teens, and both bands are already doing great things. Happy Airwaves, y'all!
Teen
Age
Riot
Iceland's
youngest
generation of
musicians is
making a name
for itself
AIRWAVES Vík Prjónsdóttir
Look inside for your free copy of
Grapevine Airwaves Mini!
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
www.grapevine.is
IN THE ISSUE Issue 16 • 2010 • October 8 - November 4 COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS - INSIDE!
It's Iceland Airwaves time again! And what a time! To mark the occasion, we're making three different covers (!)
for this issue, celebrating three generations of Icelandic musicians performing at the festival. This particular one
is meant to applaud the current pillars of the local music scene, who are represented by members of Amiina, Seabear, Sin
Fang, Hjaltalín and Retro Stefson. Happy Airwaves, y'all!
Star Power On top of their game, and they ain't going nowhere
POLITICS
The Gnarr Effect Is there a revolution
brewing?
MEDIA
How Iceland's
press totally failed
MUSIC
The story of SH Draumur
- Iceland's greatest
post-punk band
DESIGN
Turning wool into gold
with Vík Prjónsdóttir
ANGER
AIRWAVES Vík Prjónsdóttir
Look inside for your free copy of
Grapevine Airwaves Mini!
+ +
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
www.grapevine.is
IN THE ISSUE Issue 16 • 2010 • October 8 - November 4 COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS - INSIDE!
It's Iceland Airwaves time again! And what a time! To mark the occasion, we're making three different covers (!) for
this issue, celebrating three generations of Icelandic musicians performing at the festival. This particular one is meant
to honour the Elder Statesmen of awesome Icelandic music, who we all revere and love. They are represented by members of
HAM and Apparat Organ Quartet, two of the most excellent bands Iceland has fostered. Happy Airwaves, y'all!
Remain in Light
AIRWAVES Vík Prjónsdóttir
POLITICS
The Gnarr Effect Is there a revolution
brewing?
MEDIA
How Iceland's
press totally failed
MUSIC
The story of SH Draumur
- Iceland's greatest
post-punk band
DESIGN
Turning wool into gold
with Vík Prjónsdóttir
ANGER
Look inside for your free copy of
Grapevine Airwaves Mini!
The Elder Statesmen of Icelandic
music keep it respectable
Photography: Marinó Thorlacius - marinot.com
Art Direction: Hristbjörnsson - this.is/trendy
Styling: Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir & Brynhildur
Pálsdóttir. Vík Prjónsdóttir - vikprjonsdottir.is
Mayor's Address | Jón Gnarr
Comic | Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir
Welcome To Reykjavík
The odds of you being in Reykjavík are not great.
The greatest part of mankind is elsewhere. It is sci-
entifically proven. When I was little, I would often
ask myself why I had been born in Reykjavík. Is it
a coincidence where one is born? Is it subject to
some universal law? Did I exist in any form before
I was born? Did I have anything to do with where
I was born? Why did Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler
not bear any children? Did they not try to? Can it
be that no child wanted them as parents? I don’t
know, but I do not believe in coincidence. I do not
believe that God plays dice, especially not when
human lives are concerned. These thoughts inevi-
tably lead one to consider Schrödinger's cat. He is
probably one of the most famous cats in the world
(maybe after Ninja Cat). Still no one knows what
it was called? What was Schrödinger's cat called?
Abracadabra? I don’t remember. Let’s call it Phoe-
nix. That is a common name for cats. Phoenix was
of the nature that it both existed and not. There-
fore, it always existed, and even if Schrödinger
killed his cat in a rather tasteless manner, it is still
alive at Schrödinger's house, while Schrödinger
himself has been dead for a long time:

Does this mean that I always existed, or that
I never existed and do therefore not exist now?
That can’t be! It would mean that all our existence
was unreal and only existed in our own imagina-
tion. If I do not exist, then neither do you. I have
a hard time believing that. The facts speak for
themselves. If I am not real, then how could I f ly to
Finland, send myself a post card with a picture of
Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, f ly back
home and welcome the mailman that brought me
the card? I don’t know. I am one of many Iceland-
ers that believe in elves and trolls. I mainly believe
in Moomin elves. It is more of a certainty than a
belief. I have seen them and touched them. I know
they exist. I have been to Moominworld in Naan-
tali, Finland. I have evidence; photographs, video
recordings and witnesses. I had a good talk with
Moomin Papa. He told me that life in Moominval-
ley was much better after Finland joined the EU.
He encouraged us Icelanders to join the EU. He
also said that the Moomins had always existed,
long before Tove Jansson “invented” them. The
Moomins are eternal, at least in books.
I hope these thoughts shed some light on the
history of Reykjavík and its culture. I hope you en-
joy your time in Reykjavík, that you go swimming
a lot and tell all your friends how fun Reykjavík is,
and how everyone is always happy there and that
you will never forget your hotel, Suðurlandsbraut
and the eternally young cat Phoenix
Jón Gnarr, Mayor of Reykjavík
I will come right out and say it: I have been in love
with the Iceland Airwaves festival ever since I was
a teenager. There’s just something about it. Some-
thing in the air. I can’t really define it. I guess it’s
some kind of amalgam of all the excited musicians
gallivanting around town, the way Reykjavík fills
up with new and interesting folks, the non-stop
barrage of excellent concert action. And all the
drinking, too, but of course.
Thinking about it, I feel that maybe the Iceland
Airwaves festival’s main appeal has something to
do with all the fun, love and solidarity that seems
to permeate the air. It feels like everyone sporting
those wristbands has some sort of special bond
over the course of those five days. Thousands of
total strangers take over 101 Reykjavík with the
shared and mutual goal of experiencing as much
excellent music as they can in the least amount
of time possible. Of discovering something new,
and reconnecting with something old. Of having a
good time.
Yeah, that’s me. I like solidarity and bonding
and shared goals, love and fun. Those are all great
things.
And sadly, those are all things that have been
all too absent from Iceland over the last two years.
In conversation with my uncle Gummi the other
day, we reached the conclusion that our once proud
nation was handling this whole ECONOMIC COL-
LAPSE thing with as little grace as possible. There
is no solidarity. There are no shared, common
goals. There is no love.
There is plenty of finger-pointing in all direc-
tions. There is plenty of hate and spite. There is
lust for vengeance and retribution. There is an un-
bridled guarding of self-interest.
Reading the local discourse one starts feeling
like the nation of Iceland is comprised of several
small interest groups that have absolutely nothing
in common with one another, no shared memories
past, or goals, no common interest, no lineage. It’s
like we don’t even speak the same language. It’s
like we are totally unwilling to hear one another.
One even wonders why us 320.000 souls
choose to live together on this barren island, if
we are indeed so completely alienated from one
another. Should we just empty the ashtrays and
leave? Pack up our shit and try our luck elsewhere?
Wow. That’s grim. Sorry about that. I hope I’m
just being pessimistic. I am sure the Airwaves fes-
tival and all the currency-bearing Airwaves tour-
ists will inspire us to love one another once again,
to celebrate our shared heritage and to keep on
moving forward.
We really need to at this point.
PS – remember to visit our Airwaves site for
your daily updates, tips, trix and reviews of every
goddamn show!
The Annual Iceland Airwaves Editorial
On the covers: Members of: Pascal Pinon,
Endless Dark, Hjaltalín, Amiina, Retro Stefson,
Seabear, Sin Fang, HAM and Apparat Organ
Haukur’s 32nd editorial