Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.05.2014, Side 23

Punk rock faced the same problem everywhere. Whereas rock music grew up and be-
came the soundtrack of Western capitalism, punkers could only either die or become a
joke. Sid Vicious did the former, while his former bandmate Johnny Rotten opted for the
latter. In the USA, it returned to the art schools from whence it came before briefly re-
emerging as grunge. In Britain, a more proletarian version briefly merged with that other
music of the disposed, reggae, before mostly disappearing.
In Berlin, punk stubbornly refused to
die, but failed to adapt to the collapse
of the Wall and techno—perhaps the
least political of all musical styles—be-
came the soundtrack of the revolution.
German punk seems perpetually stuck
in a time-warp in SO36, where they
still trade tapes and party every night
like its 1977. Only in Iceland, it seems,
did punk manage to truly grow up and
conquer first the world and then Reyk-
javík.
Punk Exploded Everything
Like the industrial revolution and free
market capitalism, punk came late to
Iceland. But when it did, it changed ev-
erything. Unlike many other places, the
‘60s did not leave a major impression
on Icelandic pop music, most bands
being Beatles or Stones clones. It was
only in the ‘70s that Iceland started to
find its own voice in popular music.
And then punk came and exploded
everything.
Unlike the hippies, the punkers in
Iceland went beyond copying their for-
eign influences and managed to create
something truly unique. Many Icelan-
dic bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s dreamed
of international stardom. One of the
best-known attempts was when some
of the biggest local stars formed the
band Change, dressed up in tight over-
alls that were fashionable at the time
and tried to conquer London with their
falsetto singing. The all-male band be-
came known as “the girls from Iceland”
and have since regularly been made
fun of in local rock histories.
But perhaps it was the originality
of Icelandic punk that turned it into
an export product. Some of the best
bands of the era are represented in
the legendary documentary ‘Rokk í
Reykjavík,’ including a teenage Björk.
As the movement was winding down
in the mid-‘80s, members of the lead-
ing bands formed the supergroup
Kukl, which later went on to spawn the
Sugarcubes. The latter band went on to
become the first Icelandic band to truly
make an impact abroad.
Even The Drummer!
The Sugarcubes disbanded in 1992,
after making their final splash opening
for U2. The singer Björk outdid the band
with her solo ‘Debut’ in 1993, and has
remained in the limelight ever since,
but the other members have continued
to make their mark in Iceland.
You know that a band’s got talent
when even the drummer manages
to have a successful solo career. Us-
ing the name Bogomil Font, stickman
Sigtryggur Baldursson turned into a
crooner and had one of the biggest
selling albums of 1992 in Iceland, and
followed this by making an album of
the songs of Kurt Weill in Icelandic and
other languages. He currently hosts
the top music programme on local
television.
“The Annoying One”
Bass player Bragi Ólafsson and some-
time air guitar player Sjón (yes, he
played air guitar) have become two of
the most influential names in Icelan-
dic literature, while keyboard player
Margrét Örnólfsdóttir writes for tele-
vision. The record label set up by the
Sugarcubes, Bad Taste, played a part
in getting Sigur Rós recognition and is
still a force in Icelandic music, running
a record store downtown and handling
Björk’s records locally, the proceeds of
which go to producing other artists.
Perhaps most interesting, however,
is the career of co-vocalist Einar Örn,
sometimes known as “the annoying
one.” After a stint as a bartender and
concert promoter, and occassionally
making music with Damon Albarn or
the band Ghostigital, Einar Örn finally
decided to enter politics in 2010. He
was one of the founders of the Best
Party and second on the list of candi-
dates, after a certain Jón Gnarr.
Jón Gnarr had been a fixture on the
Reykjavík punk scene since the early
days, known as “Jónsi Punk” and play-
ing bass with the band Nefrennsli. He
and his wife-to-be Jóhanna became
good friends with the Sugarcubes, and
Björk later dedicated a song to Jóhan-
na on the album ‘Homogenic’ (“Jóga”).
Gnarr became well known locally in
the ‘90s as a radio presenter and actor,
and became one of the country’s most
popular comedians.
The Best Party, which also included
second generation punks such as Ót-
tarr Proppé, surprised everyone by
doing really well in the 2010 Reykjavík
elections, and now run the city along
with the Social Democrats, with Jón
Gnarr acting as mayor. Despite calling
himself an anarchist, Jón and his team
have shown themselves capable of
competent governing.
A sister party at the national level,
Bright Future was set up before the
2013 parliamentary elections and man-
aged to get six seats. Another new
party to parliament, the Pirate Party
managed to get three seats. Both it and
The Best Party are members of the of
the International Pirate Movement. Al-
though that election saw a centre-right
government take control of Iceland
again, Reykjavík still belongs to the
punks.
Icelandic Punkers
Grow Old Gracefully
Words
Valur Gunnarsson
23 Music Issue 5 — 2014
“The punkers in Iceland
went beyond copying
their foreign influences
and managed to cre-
ate something truly
unique.”
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