Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.02.2016, Blaðsíða 2

Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.02.2016, Blaðsíða 2
2 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 2 — 2016 2 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 2 — 2016 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 Production manager Jón Trausti Sigurðarson jontrausti@grapevine.is Journalist & Listings editor Gabríel Benjamin gabriel@grapevine.is Journalist & Travel editor: John Rogers john@grapevine.is Food Editor: Ragnar Egilsson ragnar@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: Andri Gunnar Hauksson Ciarán Daly Davíð Roach Eli Petzold Grayson Del Faro Hannah Jane Cohen Kristín Svava Tóm- asdóttir Óli Dóri Paul Fontaine Rebecca Conway York Underwood Editorial Interns: Hadrien Chalard / hadrien@grapevine.is Hrefna B. Gylfadóttir / hrefnab@grapevine.is Art Director: Sveinbjörn Pálsson Contributing Photographers: Art Bicnick Baldur Kristjáns Hafsteinn Viðar Ársælsson Magnús Andersen Sales Director: Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is Distribution manager: distribution@grapevine.is Proofreader: Mark Asch releases: listings@grapevine.is Submission 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 writ- ten permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, 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’). On the cover: Kári Stefánsson. Photographer: Magnús Andersen - magnusandersen .co.uk Assistant: Berglind Erna Tryggvadóttir asdfhg.’s “Kirkjusandur (óður til strætó nr. 12)” (in English, “Kirkjusandur, ode to bus 12”) is our dreamlike track of the issue! Steinunn and Orri, the two young kids behind asdfhg., both live close to Kirkjusandur, and took frequent walks around the area last summer—as such, they felt the name Kirkjusandur encap- sulates their friendship. “Ode to bus 12,” however, is a reference to the fact that Steinunn often has to stand out in the cold for extended periods of time wait- ing for that bus. Bonus fun fact: they have a favourite bus driver who has long hair, who they’ve given the nickname “Bus Jesus” (the song is not about him, though). The electro duo recently released their first EP together called ‘Skammde- gi’ (“Short Days,” in English), which was written and released in the short Icelan- dic winter days. asdfhg. will perform for the very first time at Sónar Reykjavík, so be sure to check them out! TRACK OF THE ISSUE asdfhg. “Kirkjusandur (óður til strætó nr. 12)” Download it FREE at grapevine.is A special thanks! host a luxurious dinner for one of the bands. This will hopefully serve as encour- agement for future generations of musi- cians to release music and perform con- certs, and possibly get free stuff in return. Who knows. Get the FREE Grapevine apps Appy Hour, Craving, and Appening. Available on the App Store and on Android Market Regarding Sustainability An afterword by Haukur S. Magnússon Call it growing pains. As the seemingly interminable influx of tourists to Iceland continues to prop up the nation’s economy and fund its con- sumer electronics habit (thanks, guys!), we have all but ceased debating whether there might be any negative aspects to this apparent windfall. Because these negative aspects have long since revealed themselves. Because the topic is far beyond debate by now. Because the adverse effects of Iceland- ers’ gold-rush-inspired approach to tourism have been plainly evident for years. As the country’s infrastructure struggles to accommodate humans in numbers that far exceed what it was built to sustain, popular tourism desti- nations rapidly deteriorate, worn down by a constant barrage of excessive foot traffic, and residents of an entire postal code are pushed out to make way for in- ternational visitors who wish to experi- ence first-hand the quaint and quirky culture they’re displacing. Turns out a frenzied rush for profit without a hint of planning or oversight hasn’t gotten any more viable a strategy in the decade that’s passed since we last gave it a go. The circumstances may be different, but the methods are the same and so are the results. To their credit, Icelanders have ac- knowledged the problems wrought by their rapid ascent into mass tourism, and have begun taking measures towards crafting a more sustainable environ- ment for the industry, in which tourism can thrive in harmony with Iceland’s nature and culture. Now, this is not to say that these measures are working, or that they ever will—as a matter of fact, our government’s attempts at regulation have mostly seen its ministers blindly stumble between half-hearted, ill- considered attempts at solutions which rarely make it to even the parliamentary debate stage due to their panicked fum- bling. But it’s the thought that counts, and it’s reassuring to know that we have recognized the need to act, even if we haven’t quite worked out what it is that we should be doing. --------------- Wow, this sounds bad huh? But it isn’t really. I’ll let you in on a secret: None of the stuff I’ve outlined and complained about really matters, and none of it will have any sort of lasting effect on any- thing. Ultimately, we can’t really fuck up our nature with excessive foot-traffic or by erecting rows of tasteless gift shops. Given half a chance, Iceland’s nature will quickly reclaim its space and revert to its barren, unwelcoming and majestic self And while it’s always kind of a bum- mer when your favourite music venue or art gallery shuts down, that doesn’t really mean anything either. Folks will continue to play music and make art, be- cause those modes of expression are in- trinsic to human nature, inasmuch that such a thing can be said to exist. Even though I am prone to nostalgia, I am not conservative. I have accepted that permanence is but an illusion, that our world and our lives are forever in a state of constant flux and all things are subject to change from moment to mo- ment. I’ll even celebrate the fact, be- cause motion indicates life, just as stag- nation equals death. And life is glorious, and we should all be thankful that we even get to partake. With time, trampled walking paths are overtaken by vegetation, tourist- poop washes away, and musicians find new buildings to perform music within. (What’s truly harmful is actually the opposite. Attempts to preserve a culture or situation by imposing stasis or freez- ing it in time will at best serve to murder it, at worst you get like a fascist dictator- ship or some other kind of evil shit (I’m not sure, I’ve never tried, but I surmised this using my philosophy degree)). --------------- So even though Grapevine has been ragging on Iceland’s tourism gold-rush vibes for the near-decade that I have helmed it (which always made me chuckle, given that this is a publication that generates all of its income through tourism), we were never really targeting the idea of tourism. What I, at least, have been rallying against is essentially the same thing I ranted about during those prosperous bubble years that preceded that gnarly economic collapse of 2008: Blatant cash grabs coupled with a total lack of fore- sight, care or consideration at the hands of those entrusted with keeping our na- tion sane, safe and healthy. Ever since our GDP kicked in again around the same time Eyafjallamadaoodazxcczxr started spewing, we Icelanders have been rockin’ out to an exceedingly faith- ful rendition of that classic hit song “Ev- ery Single Mistake We Made A Decade Ago.” Or maybe it’s a remix. It’s a cover song for sure. Listen: having to repeat all that with the creeping certainty that we learned absolutely nothing the last time we lived through it has been fucking grim. Hell, I even sorta left the country for a while, to avoid going completely nuts. A lot of us have been doing that. For a reason. Yeah, prospects are grim in that re- gard, but again: nothing is permanent. And who knows, maybe the Pirates will save us? (They won't). Either way, I am not concerned. --------------- PS One last thing. After ten years of work- ing for this magazine, and nearly a de- cade of serving as its editor, it looks like I’ve finally managed to successfully re- sign from the post, after several botched attempts (see for instance my last fare- well editorial, issue 1, 2012). What a crazy fucking decade it's been, though. Wow. I get tired and kinda emo just thinking about it. Being editor is a won- derful, rewarding and well-paid job, which entails a lot of reading and writ- ing and rewriting plus updating a Face- book page every four hours every day of every week of every month—plus, you’re never lonely because important people (like marketers and deluded Belgians) will ensure your supply of fresh email never runs dry, while angry musicians and restaurateurs take it upon them- selves to call and check up on you from time to time. Hey that’s a joke. Sure, you get a lot of emails, but a lot of them are actually pretty good. And you get to meet and work with and learn from all sorts of wonderful people. And, you know…what can I say. For better or worse, it’s been my life. And, what a life it’s been! Thank you, The Reykjavík Grapevine. You’re the best, you really are. Please take care of yourself as you enter your teens, and try not to pick up a smoking habit even though all the cool magazines are doing it. You’re different. You’re better. Love, Your Friend At The Haukur S. Magnússon
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