Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.11.2011, Síða 25

25
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 17 — 2011
Music | Interview
Hope is like a Dog Bitten by a Sheep
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Multi-Instrumentalist and song-
writer Gímaldin recorded in Rus-
sia for a while, but is now back at
home among friends, some of whom
have made an album with him. Few
lyricists working today have a better
grasp of the Icelandic language, but
sometimes he can be hard to fathom
in any tongue. But that won’t keep us
from trying.
What exactly is a Gímaldin?
Gímaldin is a famous breed of Turkmen
race horse. It probably has something
to do with my musical experience as
a teenager, when everything revolved
around speed and muscles—and that’s
not in the contemporary sense of white
powder or tanned sociopaths, more like
Randy Rhoads and Mickey Rourke
Your new album is called ‘Þú ert ekki
sá sem ég valdi’ (“You Are Not the
One That I Chose”). Is this a barbed
indictment of our President, or
something more personal?
Any way you want it. When thirty-some-
thing males enter into the second Capri-
corn Era, they often need to re-evaluate
their life and being. This summation is
supposed to be about finding ways to
become a better you—however, many
find themselves confronting a feeling
that they are not altogether happy about
anything in their life and personas, and
would like to change everything or bet-
ter yet, become someone else—which
puts a new spin to bettering yourself.
As tautological as it may sound, this
re-evaluation period is quite possibly
something Icelanders are either going
through, or aren’t and should be. The
Capricorn passes over the male’s life
a couple of times during the lifecycle,
which is a nicer way of saying that not
everyone matures into this revision
thinking at the same age. Following that
train of thought, there is nothing really to
exempt the President. Or as Keith Rich-
ards once said, or someone else (maybe
my copy-editor), “Revision makes for
Re-Vision.”
You have spent a lot of time in Rus-
sia. Is there anything we can learn
from the Russian experience, other
than that our politicians should
spend more time flying rescue
planes bare-chested or searching
for lost treasure?
A couple of clichés come to mind. “Don’t
put all your eggs in one basket” and
“Money well-earned is by no means
Howard Stern.” Or even: “A day on the
bus is like a day off from work.” But seri-
ously, many praise the Russians for put-
ting their “excess” monies into a fund,
which then made for a guarantee when
the first economic crash took place.
That’s always a sensible move. Other
than that, military background really
shouldn’t matter all that much. We had
a Norwegian double-agent as PM and
his urban guerrilla training didn’t really
make much difference, did it? [This is a
reference to former Prime Minister Geir
Haarde, who is indeed of Norwegian de-
scent].
The centrepiece of your new album
seems to be a trilogy of songs about
body parts. These can be roughly
translated as: “My Flesh is Grow-
ing,” “Her Hands Are Too Big,” and
“Butt Girl.” Are you having weight
control issues?
I’d refer this question to the proper
Board of Fat Fanatics, we wouldn’t want
to burst their bubble, or capsules—or
even bust their caps.
“Hope is like a dog that’s been bitten
by a sheep?” Care to elaborate, or is
it self-explanatory?
The premise is always that the dog
would be quite sad if he’d be bitten by
a sheep. Anyway, this is something you
have to picture in your head and then
you either get it or you don’t.
You composed an ode to Ulrika Er-
iksson, MTV presenter and live-in
girlfriend of Cardigans’ songwriter
Peter Svensson. What gives? Is she
a metaphor for a better world or are
you simply being a ‘lovefool’?
For a while it was not such a bad world,
your life revolved around watching MTV
and having your favourite present-
ers. Then either the world changed or
MTV did. Anyway, rockers obsessing
about public personas is a nice cliché
and within the acceptable boundaries
of gender stereotyping. Remember the
Winona song and the Winona album by
Daniel Lanois? I also seem to remember
some band dedicating a song to Taiwan-
ese actress Hsu Chi. [Japanese artist
Tsuki Amano also made an album called
Winona Riders, and another called Sha-
ron Stones].
Two of your collaborators are Gísli
Már and Gísli Helgason. You your-
self are also a Gísli. Does this ever
create confusion in the studio?
Confusion is the name of the game, rock
without confusion is like foam pop music
without the “umcha-umcha.” Prince was
confused and then he played his best
guitar solos.
The best time we had in the studio
was when our band photographer, also a
Gísli, showed up. I think we never told as
many Gísli Rúnar jokes in one afternoon
[Gísli Rúnar is an Icelandic comedian
known for his “Where is Gísli?”routine].
One of the albums’ standout tracks
is called “Ballad of the Icelandic
WMD’s” and is among other things
a comment on racism. Do you think
xenophobia is stepping in to fill the
void left by the banking collapse, as
often happens among troubled na-
tions?
Actually the song is from 2004, and if the
verses are relevant now, then it just goes
to show that our problem runs deep and
that we really need to exert ourselves if
things are not to turn even uglier. But
besides that, one remembers many ex-
amples of opportunistic politicians try-
ing to harness racism to their cause,
though often it doesn’t necessarily re-
flect on any authentic positions, the key
word being “opportunistic politics” – The
outcome, however, is the same.
VAlUR GUNNARSSON
Gímaldin Explains his New Album