Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.06.2014, Qupperneq 32

It’s pretty windy up there
Visitors are welcome to the interactive exhibition on renewable energy at Búrfell
hydropower station, a 90 minute drive from Reykjavik. North of the station you
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bright future for Icelandic wind farming.
Búrfell: Interactive exhibition every day 10am-5pm
Kárahnjúkar: Guided tours Wed & Sat 2pm-5pm
Wind farm: Guided tours Sat in July 2pm-5pm
,SBnBGeothermal exhibition every day 10am-5pm
Free admission
www.landsvirkjun.com/visitus
MUSIC 32 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 06 — 2014
Tell Me About Yourself
I was born in Selfoss in 1949. When it was
time to go to high school I didn’t want to
live in a dorm so I moved to Reykjavík
to attend Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík. I
actually just attended my 45-year high
school reunion the other day. I lived at
Nýlendugata with three other girls. I felt
like they were old ladies even though they
were only two years older. When they
came home from work on Friday they’d
bought a half-bottle of vodka to share
between the three of them. That wouldn’t
be considered much today, I think.
They went to the dances at Hótel
Saga and sported bouffants pretty much
every weekend. I never joined them; it
wasn’t my cup of tea. They liked The
Beatles and all, they weren’t particularly
old-fashioned, but something changed
with my generation. The Beatles belong
to us—the class of ‘69. The speeches
at my reunion largely revolved around
The Beatles. Because they changed
everything—music and mentality. It was a
liberation.
How did you party back then?
I grew up during the ‘sveitaball’ [country-
style dance] era. I started going to
those at 14. IDs weren’t introduced in
Iceland until I was 16. I don’t mean the
old-fashioned sveitaball with accordion.
I’m talking about gigs with Hljómar and
Mánar and other rock bands.
I’d go by myself and meet up with
other girls from the Selfoss area. This
was considered brazen, because the
reputation of sveitaball attendees wasn’t
exactly flattering. But it was completely
untrue. Some people were drunk, others
not really and some not at all. I learned
to drink anything—lukewarm brennivín
mixed with coke or preferably brennivín
with appelsín [orange soda].
During verslunarmannahelgin
[bank holiday, first weekend of August]
in 1968 we went to an
outdoor festival. The
buses were searched
for booze so some
people would bury
their bottles on the
festival site a few days
early. I was working
at the milk factory
and the engineers
came up with an even
smarter scheme. You
signed up for vodka
or rosé, and then they
canned the booze in the middle of the
night and labelled it ‘UHT Milk.’ Once you
arrived at the campsite you could pick up
your ‘milk’ without a problem.
That’s crazy! So you didn’t get
plastered in the city?
In those years I preferred going to Selfoss.
In Reykjavík, you had to stay indoors. But
at a sveitaball you could go outside. And
people were generally more free spirited
in the country. See, in the sixties and
seventies, the clubs in Reykjavík would
have dress codes. You couldn’t wear
these trousers or those shoes or that
jacket. People tried hard to make people
wear their parents’
clothes.
But I think Reykja-
vík is wonderful. I
wouldn’t live anywhere
else. I still think it’s
a beautiful city—al-
though this may be
changing. There are
too many hotels for
my taste. Right now,
there’s a beautiful tree
on Grettisgata that
they’re tearing up. I
don’t blame Samfylkingin [The Social
Democrats] for those awful towers in
Borgartún, but I feel like they’re following
that path and I don’t appreciate it.
You don’t like how the city is de-
veloping?
I like how the city has developed, but
I’m afraid of all these hotels. And now
the hotels are even complaining about
noise coming from the bars! I find these
people stupid…I don’t know who they
“I was working at the
milk factory and the en-
gineers came up with an
even smarter scheme.
You signed up for vodka
or rosé, and then they
canned the booze in the
middle of the night and
labelled it ‘UHT Milk.”
INTER
VIEW
Words
Atli Bollason
She must be the coolest 65-year-old in Iceland. Long, flowing silver hair. Black coat,
black trousers, black ‘With the Beatles’ shirt. George Harrison pin on her left, John
Lennon pin on her right. Between the two, a huge ‘peace’ necklace. Now top that off
with a Pirate Party pin. Andrea Jónsdóttir is a well-known DJ in town. Every weekend
you’ll find her sitting on a shelf at the back of Dillon Whiskey Bar flipping through bind-
ers full of CDs and blasting classic rock song after classic rock song. You might also
recognise her voice from the National Radio where she’s hosted a number of shows.
Consider her the oldest and wisest bar guide ever.
Reykjavík's
DJ Queen
Andrea Jónsdóttir says
silence is too loud
Photo
Hörður Sveinsson