Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Side 54

INTERVIEW
An Instant
Classic
The Icelandic Museum
of Rock 'N' Roll
Words HANNAH JANE COHEN Photos ART BICNICK
Tommi Young is the Keflavík na-
tive and Icelandic music scene vet-
eran who runs the Icelandic Mu-
seum of Rock ’n’ Roll. From Björk
to Quarashi, the museum tracks
Icelandic rock ’n’ roll from 1930 to
2014. It’s designed as a timeline,
so visitors walk through the dis-
play and read about each period of
Icelandic music. I’m lucky, though,
because Tommi gives me a person-
al tour around the museum him-
self, regaling me with tales of each
artist. I’m instantly captivated.
Páll Oskar’s drag race
To anyone who knows anything
about Icelandic music, the muse-
um is fantastic. There’s everything
from a collection of Páll Óskar’s
outfits to Rúnar Júlíusson’s jacket
and hat. “Rúnar was the man,”
Tommi tells me. “He was in the
most popular bands in Iceland.
His wife was Miss Iceland, and he
was also playing for the national
football team.” Rúnar’s band, Hljó-
mar, also boasts the most valuable
item of the museum. It’s an old LP.
“For some reason that’s become a
big item among collectors,” says
Tommi. “It sold on eBay for $3000.”
This man just becomes more
and more impressive.
The Páll Óskar exhibit is not
to be counted out, though. On a
guitar-pick-shaped balcony lie a
number of Páll artifacts, complete
with detailed explanations of each
period of his life, from his drag
days to his reign as the king of Ice-
landic pop. The cherry on top is a
set of videos made by Páll specifi-
cally for the museum. In them, he
explains his life, his inspiration,
and his music.
Unfortunately, the videos are
only in Icelandic, but Tommi tells
me they’re working on adding Eng-
lish subtitles.
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2016
54
Stick ‘em up
Tommi’s knowledge of Icelandic
music is deep and broad. He con-
tinually references artists and al-
bums with the ease of someone
discussing the weather. He seems
to know everyone and everything,
so naturally I ask for some rec-
ommendations. He names Júníus
Meyvant and Aron Can as current
personal favourites. “Aron is ac-
tually playing here tonight,” he
smiles. “It’s a school dance.”
As we arrive in the 80s, Tommi
motions to a glass case on the wall.
“This is one of my favorite covers,”
he tells me, pointing to an LP. It’s
Leoncie’s ‘My Icelandic Man’. The
cover presents the icy spicy singer
in a provocative Egyptian outfit,
posing in front of an Icelandic
bodybuilder. “The only thing I can
think of,” he says with a laugh, “is
that they don’t make them like this
anymore.’” They certainly don’t.
But what is it that inspires a
country of 320,000 to nurture a
rock scene rich enough to neces-
sitate a museum? Tommi shrugs,
replying: “The short days in the
winter, the size of the market—
musicians here aren’t trying to
break some sort of barrier and en-
ter the mainstream. They’re doing
what they want to do.”
That’s why, he explains, Iceland
seems to have a disproportionately
large number of creative, subver-
sive artists. He pauses, laughing:
“Or maybe the elves are making
music while we’re sleeping so then
you wake up, you think ‘Oh, I have
such a good idea!’”
And hey, maybe he’s right.
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