Iceland review - 2019, Síða 26

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Iceland Review
to sing. Because when that crazy person is driving,
and he hears the words in a song, then they sink in.
Because he’s alone in the car. Maybe. But that doesn’t
happen in arguments. Because the reaction is ‘No. So
what? I know better.’”
Staying power
I ask Bubbi about the secret to the longevity of his
career. “I don’t know. I don’t know why for nearly 40
years, I’ve been a professional musician in Iceland
and holding my head above water and able to survive,
through all kinds of styles, all kinds of movements.
Pop music is so cruel. It gives you two, three years, and
then it’s just ‘Next!’ But if you have something real, if
you have something to say, then there’s a possibility
you can survive that. Most don't survive because they
have nothing to say.”
Then is it important to think about who you’re writ-
ing for? “No, never. If you do that you’re doomed. You
start to worry about what others think, and then you
limit yourself, you start to censor yourself. If I thought
that way, a large part of my music would have never
been released.” Instead, Bubbi focuses on the creative
process. “I never think about anything else other than
‘I’m creating, take it or leave it.’”
Facing the music
The young Bubbi immersed himself in music to escape
the world’s turmoil. Yet throughout his career, he’s
harnessed its power to face the biggest issues. He
gives me a sneak peek of the lyrics of Regnbogastræti’s
title song. They touch on plastic in the oceans, politics
and truth, and the search for meaning in life. But these
days, one issue is foremost in the songwriter’s mind.
“The situation is this: nothing really matters except
that we have to stop harassing the Earth. If we don’t do
that, then the human race will disappear. The planet?
It will recover. It’s gone through all of this before. In
one or two million years the planet will be fine – but
mankind will not.”
The artist’s need to face the big picture is rooted
in more than just a belief in the power of music to
create change. “We can’t be human if we walk away
from the truth. That’s really what I’m singing about on
Regnbogastræti. Being a human being, for me, is facing
the truth. That’s what matters. There are of course
moments when I think, you know, ‘This is all going the
wrong way.’ But what matters most is not to give up.
You live through hope. Without hope, there’s no reason
to exist.”