Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.08.2013, Síða 22

SIX YEARS AGO
Hooray! We turned ten this year. For a
humble street rag like Grapevine, turn-
ing ten is a pretty big deal—we barely
expected to make it to ten issues (and,
indeed, all of our contemporaries from
the Reykjavík's street rag market have
long since bid farewell... miss u, Undirt-
ónar!).
To celebrate our decade of existence,
we thought we'd get a little introspective
and reprint some choice articles from
the past that are for some reason signifi-
cant, accompanied by commentary and
even updates. Call it a "blast from the
past" or "a look into the dark cauldron
of time" if you want to—we call it fun.
Thus, for ten issues, expect a page dedi-
cated to a year of Grapevine's existence,
starting one issue ago, with a look back
into magical 2003.
This issue is a look at 2007, our fifth
year of existence when Sveinn Birkir
Björnsson was editor. Read on from
some reflections from the man!
Ah, 2007, the high watermark of pre-financial collapse
Iceland. A time when even shit smelled like roses. They
say hindsight is 20/20. And looking back at 2007, it is
easy to see how all the signs pointed towards our im-
minent demise, financially speaking. I would like to
say that the Reykjavík Grapevine was the lone voice
of dissent at the time, but I would probably be overstat-
ing our importance. The Reykjavík Grapevine did, at
the time, publish quite a few articles that touched upon
the morality of this thing, examining a society that was
increasingly being corroded by the unholy alliance of
politics and finance. But we didn’t do enough. No one
did. And frankly speaking, I am not sure what it would
have required at the time. The addict never listens until
he finds himself at the bottom.
I remember we had parliamentary elections that
year. The opposition at the time received 52% of the
popular vote, but still ended up one MP short of a
parliamentary majority due to district alignments. I
remember because I wrote about the shortcomings of
our electoral system then. We wrote about tourism, we
wrote about environmental issues and we wrote about
the value of the creative industries. These matters are
still at the heart of our political debate today, and lately,
they seem to be falling by the wayside in an attempt to
recreate the conditions that made 2007 possible in the
first place. Addiction is a powerful thing.
In December, journalist Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
wrote about the last days of the bar Sirkús, which was
located in an old house in an area slated for redevel-
opment. It is nearly impossible to put into words what
Sirkús was, especially to someone who wasn’t there.
Especially five years later. A cultural institution is a
description, but it falls short. Cut to 2013, and that same
scenario is being recreated again over concert venue
NASA, which is closing down to make room for re-
development. The more things change, the more they
stay the same. Which is great, because the second time
around, it is so much easier to feign cold-hearted cyni-
cism. I mean, who needs culture, anyway?
All along, though, The Reykjavík Grapevine
brought you the best available coverage of Reykjavík
culture. We talked to artists, filmmakers, musicians,
and loads and loads of interesting people who made
(and still make) Reykjavík such an incredibly vibrant
place. We did our best to let you in on the secret. Point
out the places to be and things to see and give you the
best possible experience of this little enclave of a city.
And most of the time, I think we did more than a decent
job of it. God knows we spent enough time in dingy
bars doing research.
There is a lot to remember from that year. We in-
terviewed Björk, and hid the interview inside our
cover design. We published a long interview with
drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson, who has served as
the metronome for something like four generations of
the Icelandic music scene. I enjoyed an ongoing series
by photographer GAS, called Scenes From Suburbia,
documenting the Reykjavík that most visitors are likely
to miss. I also remember Fabrizio Frascaroli’s multi-
part series “The Lonesome Traveller,” where he wrote
about his experience of walking across Iceland. It was
a feat, both physically and mentally, spending weeks
alone walking across the Icelandic interior, and his
writing often managed to capture that sublime experi-
ence. I also remember it was a lot of work to edit.
I’ll admit, I did not particularly envision The Reyk-
javík Grapevine at this stage. Ten years old, and still
representing the grassroots of Reykjavík. But, I am
glad it is still here.
By Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
Remembering 2007
22The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 11 — 2013