Reykjavík Grapevine - jún. 2020, Blaðsíða 10

All around the world, ravens are noto-
rious as creators of ominous premo-
nition—just ask Edgar Allen Poe. In
Iceland, though, the raven holds a special
place in the collective consciousness, and
it’s not all bad (but most of it is.)
A killer day
In Icelandic poetry from the Viking era,
the raven was first and foremost an evil
omen. But, there’s a twist—isn’t there
always one in Icelandic literature? Yes,
the raven was an omen of death if it
appeared on a bloody battlefield, feeding
off the dead. That said, if you were riding
to war and saw a raven flying in the same
direction as you, that meant you were
gonna have a killer day! Pun intended.
Ravens were also spies. Ó"inn, the
cyclops God, had two ravens called
Huginn and Muninn, who are often
depicted in artwork as standing on his
shoulders. That makes pirates look kind
of silly with their goofy parrots, right?
Anyway, Ó"inn would send his
ravens to spy on humans as they spilled
their guts for his own nefarious, prob-
ably pervy business. This made people
distrust ravens and hold their tongues
as soon as those creepy rascals came into
view.
Common people! Ugh!
But the appearance of a raven was a
harbinger of many other things than
one-eyed Peeping Toms. Their presence
would foreshadow people’s deaths, the
weather and—being Iceland—how many
fish one would catch that day.
Curiously, in ‘Fer"abók’ (‘The Book
Of Travel’), which was written in the late
18th century, it was stated that the dread-
ful “common people” had a very strong
belief that the raven was an incredibly
smart creature who knew a lot about
foreign places, as well as something
about the future. Those peasants. What
did they know?
What should we learn from all this?
Should we shut our mouths and flee
in terror at first sight of the winged
messengers of death? We’re not entirely
qualified to comment, but that said,
maybe hold off on talking shit about
Ó"inn around them.
The Ravens Are Listenin#
So be careful what you say...
10 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04— 2020
Da!i - family man
A truly hypnotising
piece of ambient
pop, Da%i’s
fluid vocals are
endlessly soothing.
Just try to feel
remotely stressed
while listening
to this song; we
challenge you. PA
Hugar - A New
Renaissance
Living up to a band
name meaning
“Minds,” this gentle
instrumental track
makes for ideal
ambient music for
relaxing one’s own,
whether simply
used for soothing
backgrounds, or as
an ideal soundtrack
for meditation or
yoga. NB
Mighty Bear - Is It
True?
Most covers
simply don’t
live up to their
source material.
However, Mighty
Bear’s cover of this
Eurovision entry
more than lives
up to the original,
it surpasses it.
While Yohanna is
strangely smiley
throughout her
2009 performance
of this very sad
song, Mighty
Bear leans into
the tragedy
and delivers
a melancholic
performance that
is, frankly, moving.
I’m crying. SPO
Emilia Anna - Dare
to
This lo-fi electronic
single is a mournful
plea to a lover to be
something more.
The lyrics, “Dare to
love me, dare to
fight me,” seems to
cry out to a person
who isn’t living
up to their full
potential, urging
them to do better.
Coupled with a
deep bass line, this
one hits right in the
feels. SPO
Creepshow Remix
- Black Devil - Synth
Is Not Love
Creepshow, the
side project of
Reykjavík resident
John Grant, has
released a lively
reworking of
electro legend
Black Devil’s
latest single. Its
distinctive hook
and eerie multi-
layered synth
brilliantly capture
the energy of the
early 1980s electro
scene, but with a
modern edge. PA
Joey Christ - Píla Ft.
Lil Binni
Joey Christ
burst onto the
Icelandic Hip-Hop
scene three
years ago and
has not yet let us
down. His newest
o#ering, Píla, is a
refreshingly slick
song with a dash
of humour and an
excellent video.
Lil Binni is a nice
addition to the
song’s cool vibe. VG
GRAPEVINE
PLAYLIST
JUST SAYINGS COMIC
So, you’re looking to explore canni-
balism with your best friend but
aren’t sure how to broach the
subject? Don’t worry—we’ve got
you. This saying literally translates
to “You can bite into more things
than a fat steak.” It’s so simple yet
so eerie that it’s a perfect conversa-
tion starter for just such an occa-
sion. Of course, your friend could
misunderstand and think you are
merely preaching veganism to
them, but if the circumstances are
just right and you are both utterly
insane, your friend will understand
for whom the bell tolls. VG
First
Three ravens, seen here in a meeting trying to figure out how to read your Messenger conversations
„Fleira má
bíta en feita
steik“