Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.08.2011, Blaðsíða 25

Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.08.2011, Blaðsíða 25
25 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 13 — 2011 Eyrarbraut 3, 825 Stokkseyri, Iceland · Tel. +354 483 1550 Fax. +354 483 1545 · info@fjorubordid.is · www.fjorubordid.is At the Restaurant Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri > Only 45 minutes drive from Reykjavík By the sea and lobster a delicios WHALE WATCHING EXPRESS TOURS SPECIAL Make the most of your day! We offer free pick-up in the Reykjavik area! Call us +354 892 0099 or book online specialtours.is HOW TO BOOK? Takesonly 2-2 hours PUFFIN WATCHING The Puffin Express adventure is an inexpensive and charming option for everyone. Five times daily: 8:30, 10:30, 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30. Only 20 Euros! Spend more time whale watching and less time waiting. Say the keyword and save 10% of your whale watching adventure: Grapevine Special Offer. Takes only 1 hour Sea Angling Trips also available daily at 18:00. APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OKT 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 17:00 17:00 17:00 15 JUL – 15 AUG 20:00 20:00 WHALE WATCHING TOURS „That was marvellous! We saw many whales and dolphins. Fantastic.“ -Samantha Music | Reviews Can somebody please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD enable it so that the next Plas- tic Gods release has a good producer and a decent recording budget? We’ve all experienced the brilliance of their live show, and they have the ability and potential to produce THE immense doom metal album that would make Neurosis crap blocks of solid fear. Their latest release is a case in point. Containing their earliest composi- tions, ‘Plastic Gods’ is certainly a hard and undauntingly HEAVY album, with tracks like ‘Zero Tolerance’ seeped in great pools of sludge, with grinding guitars and bass buzzing aural dirt all over its workings. All the while, singer Ingó growls through the record like a bear in heat. But the album gives the impression of treading water as they reach the limits of their current position, both in their music and recording resources. ‘Heiðar’ does give signs of a new direction, with the band playing with varying tones and texture along the lines of Jesu. They’ve come this far on their own merit and you sense the next stage in the Plastic Gods story is going to be something truly awesome and terrify- ing and I for one will revel in it, as well you should too. - BOB CLUNESS Plastic Gods Plastic Gods www.gogoyoko.com/artist/plasticgods They’re almost there. Aaaaalmost! The opening tracks of this fine, strange album—‘Innsigling’ and ‘Leggir’—set up this LP as one containing the best doomy-blues songs that Nick Cave only wishes that he could have waved at as it passed his stupid, goth-y big head, gazing at a reflection of a Cap- tain Beefheart album in a river. Yeah, of blood, obviously. Which makes it all the more satisfyingly odd when a load of ‘50s doo-wop crops up immediately afterwards. And then rock and roll, ‘50s and ‘70s style, a hint of funk here and there with lasses/kids shadowing the main vocal with distinctly creepy effect on ‘Rokkabillíbúgívúgíblús’—a track which wouldn't sound out of place on a Roogalator album. You don't have to like this because it's a bit strange (though it is, in many ways both good and probably bad for you) and please don't listen to it ironi- cally (you're not from Camden, thank fuck). Just whack the album on and get boogying like the man says. Why the fuck not? - JOE SHOOMAN Skúli Mennski Búgí! www.mennskur.is Boogie? Yeah, ok. This, in turn, has sparked a volley of criticism from multiple sources. By letting domestic prices reach unsustainable levels, while not allowing the market to bring in cheaper goods, the minister is endangering the domestic market, says Finnur Árnason, the direc- tor of Hagar. Hagar owns a number of retail chains in Iceland, including Bónus, Hagkaup and Ferskar kjöt- vörur (Fresh Meat Products). He adds that the min- ister has raised import tariffs to such levels that the country is effectively closed to imports. Meanwhile, Ólafur Stephensen, the editor of Frét- tablaðið, responded to the minister's defence of Ice- land's sheep farmers by wondering what politician is looking out for consumers. FREE iPAD! Some are making their point in more creative ways. Leifur Þórsson, the director of Fresh Meat Products, took out a full-page ad in Fréttablaðið offering a free iPad for anyone who could bring him 600 tonnes of lamb meat. He emphasises that the focus should not be on the sheep farmers, but rather on meat export- ers, and not least of all, the tariffs system in Iceland. The Consumers' Association of Iceland has re- leased a statement saying they believe it is imperative that the minister needs to change his policies on what products may be imported, and how high the tariffs can be, for the sake of the country's consumers. They point out that the parliamentary ombudsman has al- ready stated that the current policy violates the Ice- landic constitution. Conservatives in parliament have seized upon the opportunity to employ populist rhetoric about Ice- land's consumers, with Independence Party MP Sig- urður Kári Kristjánsson calling for legislative changes that would allow meat to be imported. But the minister stands guard with his protection- ist policies, even acting unilaterally and against the judgement of his closest advisors, admitting recently that he unilaterally changed import tolls to be based on price rather than weight, thereby driving up the price of imports. While Icelandic consumers would undoubtedly prefer to buy products made in their own country, when those products are pointed squarely away from Iceland, while the same products from abroad are blocked entry, the protectionist stance the minister has taken translates to Icelanders having little choice but to pay more in the grocery store for goods their own country produces, while being assured this is be- ing done for their own good. Continued from page 10 Continued from page 12 WE NEED MORE YUMMY LAMB! ZOMBIE POLITICS Actually only twelve percent believe that parlia- ment is working for the common good. Politicians are detested. This general lack of trust is of course worrying—it is not an overstatement to talk about a crisis of politics. NEW PARTIES, NEW CHALLENGES Changes might be in the air. The two opposition parties are both moving towards nationalism. With this they cover their bases on the right, probably in- suring that Davíð Oddsson and his ant-EU followers do not form a nationalist party to the right of them. But at the same time they abandon their positions in the more internationalist centre. This is a place the Social Democrats would like to fill, but many of the centre right cannot imagine voting for them. So there is a void. One person who would like to fill it is Guðmundur Steingrímsson, a young politician from an illustrious family, the son and grandson of for- mer prime ministers of Iceland. He has just resigned from the Progressive Party and plans to found a new party—pro-EU, business friendly, pragmatic, with- out being in thrall to the interest groups that are so strong in Iceland. Politics is perceived as lacking in convictions, integrity, talent and ideas. Being a politician in this country is an ungrateful task—the pay is also very bad. But it has to be said that politicians have disgraced themselves through endless bickering. Many thought the collapse would be a wakeup call, but in fact the political discourse has been get- ting more insufferable. Another challenge to this system comes from a constitutional committee of twenty-five people, elected to present ideas for a new constitution. It finished its task in July, and now parliament has to decide what to do with them. Iceland still has an archaic constitution, originating from the time of the Danish monarchy. Prime Minis- ter Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is keen on rewriting the constitution, but the leaders of the opposition are not. If the government falls, this process will likely come to a halt. Some of the members of the constitutional committee have said that they would run for parlia- ment if this happens. This might actually be what is called for in Icelandic politics, candidates who are totally untarnished by the old and discredited party system.
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