Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2012, Síða 2

2
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2012
Editorial | Anna Andersen Music | Free
When Brit folktronica band Tunng visited Iceland for
Airwaves in 2010, frontman Mike Lindsay became so
enchanted by the landscape around the north that he
decided to move there for a few months to record an
album. He brought little equipment (planning instead
to borrow from the local community) and put together
a studio in a cabin near Húsavík facing Kinnarfjöll,
which literally means “Cheek Mountain.” And so, under
the name Cheek Mountain Thief, Lindsay recorded his
upcoming self-titled album both with local musicians
and indie stars Sin Fang and Mugison. The result is a
beautiful, sweet album – at times cheery, at times more
contemplative.
Our track of the issue, “Cheek Mountain,” is a joyous
anthem to the project. Trumpets blare, violins sing and
percussion marches on behind Lindsay's cool, relaxed
voice. The album comes out August 13, so if you like
what you hear, there's plenty more where that came
from!
Cheek Mountain
Cheek Mountain Thief
Download the FREE track at www.grapevine.is
TRACK OF
THE ISSUE
Download your
free track at
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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 in ChiEf:
Haukur S Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is
Managing Editor:
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is
Journalist:
Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir / vala@grapevine.is
Editorial:
+354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is
advErtising:
+354 540 3605 / ads@grapevine.is
+354 40 3610
PublishEr:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / hilmar@grapevine.is
+354 540 3601 / publisher@grapevine.is
Contributing WritErs:
Ásgeir H. Ingólfsson
Bergrún Anna Hallsteinsdóttir
Bob Cluness
Bowen Staines
Davíð Roach Gunnarsson
Guðni Rúnar Jónasson
Ingi Freyr Vilhjálmsson
Joe Shooman
Kári Tulinius
Melkorka Licea
Paul Fontaine
Ragnar Egilsson
Snorri Páll Jónsson Úlfhildarson
Thomas Pankovas
Valur Gunnarsson
Editorial intErns:
Álfrún Gísladóttir / alfrun@grapevine.is
Byron Wilkes / byron@grapevine.is
Sarah Pepin / sarah@grapevine.is
Eli Petzold / eli@grapevine.is
Cory Weinberg / cory@grapevine.is
Photo intErn:
Juli Vol / juli@grapevine.is
Journalist
Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir / vala@grapevine.is
on-linE nEWs Editor
Paul Fontaine / paul@grapevine.is
art dirECtor:
Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hoddi@grapevine.is
dEsign:
Páll Hilmarsson / pallih@kaninka.net
PhotograPhEr:
Alísa Kalyanova / www. alisakalyanova.com
MusiC ManagEr:
Bob Cluness / bob@grapevine.is
salEs dirECtor:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is
distribution ManagEr:
distribution@grapevine.is
ProofrEadEr:
Jim Rice
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, Seyðis-
fjörður, Borgarnes, 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’).
Anna’s 11th Editorial
WHAT’S BEST ABOUT REYKJAVÍK?
This is Anna having a slice of pizza at the best pizza
place in Reykjavík, La Luna. You should too.
In the issue:
Special supplement from Visit North Iceland
www.northicleland.is
Cover by: Sigurður Oddsson
www.siggiodds.com
I’ve been thinking about this question for the last
week, as we’ve been making our fourth annual
Best of Reykjavík issue. This magazine is often
critical, even negative, but every year we dedicate
an entire issue to that superlative, “BEST.” In fact,
the word appears xx* times in this issue.
So what’s best about Reykjavík? For starters,
our city is run by The Best Party—at least that’s
what the party calls itself. And we elected them
because they wanted the best for our city. They
campaigned/sang to the tune of Tina Turner’s
“Simply The Best:” “We want a city that’s cud-
dly and clean and cool…and topnotch stuff as
a general rule…we want water fountains, trains,
and all kinds of animals…we want free towels at
the swimming pools, a polar bear for the Reykja-
vík zoo, all kinds for the unfortunates, Disneyland
in the Vatnsmýri area, a drug-free parliament by
2020…And, and we will not accept mediocre be-
cause we want the best…”
You may not agree with their ideas of what’s
best, and you may not agree with our idea of
what’s best, but who really knows what’s best
anyways. I won’t say that this is the best “Best of
Reykjavík” guide, but it’s full of a lot of the things
that we like.
Much like the group of people who wrote Ice-
land’s new Constitution (which has yet to be ap-
proved), we “crowdsourced” it. We called up a
group of people to sit around and discuss the best
of this and that in Reykjavík, and we sent out a poll
and asked our Facebook and Twitter fans for their
input too.
Ultimately it was not a democratic process
though, and perhaps it’s a stretch to say that we
crowd sourced it at all. Sometimes we even made
up award categories for things that that we like,
just to be able say: “You're the best.” And ulti-
mately I think what’s best about Reykjavík is the
fact that there are so many things worth calling the
best.
*Believe it or not, the xx wasn’t a typo! If you can guess
(or count) how many times the word “best” appears in
this issue, I’ll buy you a hot dog and a coke at Bæjarins
Beztu.
North Iceland
www.northiceland.is
Sp
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fontana.is
Your
element
• Steam rooms
• Thermal baths
• Sauna
Laugarvatn Fontana is composed of a series of interconnected outdoor mineral baths and steam rooms,
built over natural hot spring that Icelanders have used for bathing since year 1929.
The ideal stop between Thingvellir and Geysir
– daily tours by Reykjavik Excursions
Welcome to a true, authentic Icelandic experience!
Open daily
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ÍA

They take traffic signs much too literally
TRÖLL by Gísli Darri