Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.12.2010, Page 20

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2010 That guy, Bobby Conn, is playing Venue TONIGHT! Hurry and go
see him, He'll be giving out hugs!
your Emotions | Ask The Doctor Music | Imports
Christmas brings to many of
us happy childhood memo-
ries of time spent with family
and friends, Christmas gifts
and winter vacation. Winter would prob-
ably be difficult to bear if we did not have
Christmas to look forward to with all the
additional stuff that makes this time of
the year extra merry and jolly. Christmas
is the perfect time to eat, shop, think
about family, remember the past, make
New Year’s resolutions, share time with
those we love, drink Christmas beer,
mumble Christmas songs, decorate the
home and behave like kids.
Lights and Christmas decorations, clas-
sic Christmas songs, gingerbread cook-
ies and the good old Santa dressed in
his classic red and white suit are all es-
sential during this time of the year. Here
in Iceland, children have a lot to look
forward to during the holidays, with the
Icelandic Santas bringing them pres-
ents for 13 consecutive nights including
Christmas night. But let’s face it, Christ-
mas is not a jolly time for everyone and
for some it can be quite stressful and
even dreadful so here are a few tips to
make this time of the year a bit more
bearable:
Make it simple, you don’t need a
Christmas tree and just a few Christmas
lights can be enough to get your home
ready for the holidays.
Enjoy the food; remember that this is
a once a year event and smoked lamb is
really not that bad.
Try all the different Christmas beers;
some of them can be quite good.
Shop early and avoid the Christmas
rush.
don’t spend too much; candles and
playing cards are considered traditional
Icelandic Christmas presents.
Be creative; this is the perfect time to
show off how creative you are by making
Christmas cards and presents yourself.
Enjoy the free time from work.
And last but not least, give yourself a
present; and if you don’t like presents,
you can donate to a charity.
But enough of Christmas, here are your
dilemmas and my answers to them.
My boyfriend does not do anything
at home and this is really getting on
my nerves. We have been together
for four years and he has NEVER
washed his clothes and has once
cleaned the toilet. My dilemma is…
Is he just plain lazy, or is this just a
guy thing?
Well, you sound upset, and I guess it is
understandable considering the time
and effort involved in taking care of a
home. Very few men are raised to be
fully responsible for household chores,
and many men consciously or uncon-
sciously look at housework as “wom-
en's work”. Current research has sadly
shown that on average, girls spend more
hours each week doing housework than
boys and that boys are more likely to be
paid for their work than girls. This data
are quite upsetting considering the fact
that we women work as hard outside
the home as men do. So the fact that he
does not do housework does not neces-
sarily mean that he is lazy, but just a guy.
On the other hand, most men will readily
do some garden work, wash and main-
tain the household car and make repairs
around the home. To them, these proj-
ects count as much as housework and
are more stereotypical “men’s work.”
As with every couple’s dispute, com-
munication is an important step in solv-
ing conflict. Firstly, you need to tell your
man how you feel; and secondly, he
might need encouragement to become
more involved at home. You can start
by telling him how his inactivity troubles
you and how pleased you would be if
he did more housework. Next, you can
make a schedule together and divide
between the two of you the different
housework that needs to be done. One
important thing to have in mind is to try
not to put down or criticise your man
for the mistakes he does or for what he
fails to do. Rather praise him for what he
does well, and build on that.
One last thing, if this advice does not
work, stop washing his socks and un-
derwear and see what happens.
Need some help solving your dilemmas?
Ask Paola by sending your questions to:
askpaolasala@gmail.com
Christmas and the Lazy
Boyfriend
Psychologist Paola Cardenas answers your dilemmas
Not your Conventional Rock Star...
Bobby Conn Rises Up In Iceland
If there’s one word that certainly
doesn’t describe Bobby Conn, it’s
ordinary. A collaborator with the
likes of Jim O’Rourke and The Cribs,
the Chicago musician is known for
his flamboyant style, manic stage
shows and glam rock/disco tinged
songs about Jesus Christ on crack,
Tom Cruise and the Iraq war. And
he’s coming to Iceland on his Euro-
pean ‘Rise Up’ tour. The Grapevine
managed to lob some questions at
him when he was at a service sta-
tion somewhere on the Autobahn...
you're currently touring Europe to
help promote the re-issue of your
first two albums (‘Bobby Conn’ and
‘Rise Up!’). What was the motivation
for getting them released again?
It was Fire Records idea, but as I listened
to both records again in view of what has
happened in the world and in the US
over the past ten years I realised, "I was
right!" I predicted the economic crash
based on unlimited easy credit (my
‘Continuous Ca$h Flow System (TM)’).
I predicted the rise of the Christian right
in US politics. And I predicted the wars
of paranoia we’re engaged in as a means
to preserve the relevance of our empire.
I'm a goddamn Nostradamus and I want
some credit for it! So it's nice that the re-
cords, even after twelve years, are still
lyrically current.
While listening to those first two
albums, there are so many ´70s in-
fluences in there, from glam rock to
philly soul. Is there a specific love
for that period, or does other music
bore you incessantly?
I'm really interested in the power of
nostalgia, especially now that all cre-
ative work is understood via reference to
the past. It's as if everyone in Western
culture suddenly became students of
French semiotics without realising it.
But leaving the metaphysics aside, yes,
I love the ‘70s. It's a time that balanced
experimentalism with big budget ambi-
tion and still had a basis in songwriting
and musicianship. There's plenty to like
nowadays, but in terms of really interest-
ing songwriting that kind of died in the
early ‘80s.
Back in the ‘90s, you were known
for saying some pretty far out shit in
press releases and interviews (you
were the Antichrist, that you’d been
in a federal prison, etc). Were you
amazed at how much you could spin
about yourself and get away with it?
And how do you look back on those
times?
To be honest (ha!), I was mainly enjoying
the novelty of getting any attention. Af-
ter the first couple of interviews I really
got bored of answering the same ques-
tions; I realised that ‘music journalism’
is a bit of a joke and that writers were not
as much interested in the absolute truth
as getting entertaining quotes into their
feature. I'm not sure why anyone should
trust anything I say; my music reveals
a higher truth. If that seems bitter and
pretentious, just imagine how you’d feel
if you turned out not to be the Antichrist
after so much hype.
your albums often contain socially
conscious yet paranoid views of
the USA. Considering the ‘interest-
ing’ times the country is experienc-
ing right now, do socially conscious
singers need to start making a
comeback?
I write about the dear old US of A be-
cause I can't write a love song without
getting hideously embarrassed and I’ve
no reason to write many ‘she done me
wrong’ songs. So that leaves politics and
religion for me. I can't speak for what
other folks should sing about; I have no
illusions that what I'm doing extends
beyond entertainment. If people find
inspiration and do some thinking as a
result of my work, that's great, but that's
just the frosting of a delicious cake of
plutonium for all to enjoy.
your tour takes in the likes of Ger-
many, Italy, France the UK... and Ice-
land. What possessed you to come
and play up here?
I want to eat some really fresh fish and
smell a volcano. The kids want to be
closer to Santa Claus.
OK, now the hard sell time. people
will be reading this and thinking "He
sounds cool, but I don't know..." Tell
them EXACTLy why they should at-
tend a concert by your good self.
don't be shy now...
If anyone has read this far, I congratu-
late you. I am a prophet. I have invest-
ment advice encoded into my songs that
will make anyone who listens tons of
money on the market. You will dance
and you will cry. I will rip your head off
with my guitar and Monica BouBou will
hypnotize you with her violin. I WILL be
giving out hugs. You WILL be sweaty.
We're all gonna have a really good time.
Plus, what else is there to do?
Info & Links
Bobby Conn will be playing at Bakkkus
Bar on Dec 3rd and 4th. Tickets cost
1.500 ISK
www.myspace.com/bobbyconn
pAOLA CARdENAS BOB CLUNESS
“I write about the dear old US of A because I
can't write a love song without getting hideously
embarrassed and I’ve no reason to write many ‘she
done me wrong’ songs. So that leaves politics and
religion for me.”