Reykjavík Grapevine - júl. 2020, Blaðsíða 8

Words:
Catherine
Magnúsdóttir
Photo:
Adobe Stock
When you can’t rely on the sun to tell
you when to wake up, coffee becomes a
necessity. According to Icelandic lore,
your latté can even determine how
your future plays out.
Get roasted
It was said by the old Icelanders that
drinking hot coffee would make
you uglier, while drinking it chilly
supposedly made you prettier. This,
of course, feels like a marketing ploy
by the iced coffee lobby, but we can’t
legally confirm any coffeeruption was
involved.
It’s also essential to put in sugar
before cream or you will not get
married for the next seven years. As
well, if you happen to find two spoons
in your cup, you could be expecting
twins in the next year, secretly engaged
or just invited to a party. A mismatched
cup and saucer indicates that you’ll get
married twice, or have an affair.
The best situation? Pray that your
coffee has bubbles in it. Sipping them
means you’ll get super rich.
Ground-hog day
It’s also what’s inside the cup that
matters.
“Tasseography” is a form of divi-
nation that interprets patterns in
tea leaves, wine sediments or coffee
grounds. While tea-reading never
gained much popularity in Iceland—
potentially due to accessibility—coffee
clairvoyance was all the rage. But
given that a lot of Icelandic supersti-
tions, particularly coffee-cup readings,
tended to predetermine someone’s
death or other bad news, the practice
has since fallen out of fashion.
The Grapevine’s witchcraft depart-
ment couldn’t find any Iceland-specific
coffee ground omens—curiously,
they’ve all disappeared from the inter-
net—but they did determine that if
you see a vegvísir in the bottom of your
mug, you’re probably a basic bitch.
So, enjoy your déjà brew. And
regardless of whatever omens you find,
be nice to your waiter.
For Whom the Bean Tolls
Ra!e a!ainst the espresso machine!
8 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 05— 2020
KÚTKAST -
SUPERPOSITION
Here is a nice bit of
ambient music, set
to a very strange
video. What’s
happening? Some
kind of dream
sequence set in
the cold war? I’ve
watched it three
times and I still
don’t know, but I
want to watch it
again. SPO
Emilia Anna -
Broken Bodies
The spiritual
successor to
“Dare To” by the
same artist, this
track bumps with
a heavy bass and
a melody that is
eerily familiar. It’s
like when you get
into an argument
with someone
right before you go
dancing, and even
through the loud
music, you can’t
stop thinking about
what they said. SPO
Atli Örvarsson - You
Are Here
He's already proven
that he can do
soundtracks. But
his music can not
only be heard in
such cinematic
masterpieces
as this year’s
‘Eurovision Song
Contest: The Story
of Fire Saga.’ His
album “You Are
Here” still sounds
a lot like a movie
soundtrack but it
does make for a
nice and dramatic
background
score for your
daydreams. CM
Jónsi & Gy#a
Valt%sdóttir - Evol
Lamina
The eerie vocals, the
heavy breathing, the
sublime distortion:
perfection.
GOOSEBUMPS! If
there’s no secret
message when this
is played backwards
I’m suing. Anyone
else convinced
that a Jónsi ASMR
track is what the
world needs right
now? Just me. Cool
cool. PA
Brikcs - Your
Message
EMO NEVER DIED,
BABY! Imagine
if Dashboard
Confessional and
AFI collaborated
on an acoustic
b-side—it would
be “Your Message”
by Brikcs. We
needed those emo
throwback vocals
because tbh,
listening to “Jesus
Christ” by Brand
New on repeat was
getting old. Brikcs,
I’m living. But I’m
also dying. HJC
Kiriyama Family -
Every time you go
A polished banger
from this groovy
cinquet. Hulda’s
emotive, pining
vocals will stick in
your head for days,
and that sweet
piano solo in the
middle is a burst
of raw, acoustic
energy. Not to
mention, the video
is a spectacular bit
of work with mirrors
and lights. SPO
GRAPEVINE
PLAYLIST
JUST SAYINGS COMIC
“No goose flies into your mouth
already roasted” sounds like a fairly
obvious observation to make. Geese
are mean, vicious creatures with
teeth on their tongues who will
chase you at the slightest provo-
cation. But the actual meaning of
this phrase is that you can’t expect
to get the things you want just
because you want them; you have
to earn them. Let that be a lesson
to you, goose-lovers. Your goose is
cooked... but you have to kill and
cook it first. ASF
First
I looked into your future and I saw death
„Engum fl%gur
sofanda steikt
gæs í munn“