Author: - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Author: Dr. Gunni

A Band To Remember: The Superfun Reptile Returns

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Risaeðlan was made up of kids that were keen followers of the great resurrection of Icelandic rock in the early…

Dr. Gunni’s Airwaves Highlights Of The Day

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dj. Flugvél og geimskip – Off-venue Slippbarinn @12:00 I will get some coffee and see Steinunn Hardardottir aka DJ F…

My Fall Foilage Tour To Connecticut, USA

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Last fall, I was fortunate enough to go on a fun trip to New England. This is the story of…

Why Is Everyone So Angry About That Pink Geyser?

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Last week, Marco Evaristti made the geyser Strokkur erupt in pink, and the general population of Iceland went nuts. Even…

Picks For Sónar 2015: THE OLD FART EDITION

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What’s happening at Sónar Reykjavík that old farts raised on punk and new wave might find interesting? Dr. Gunni investigates…

We Need 1,000,000 Humans, Stat

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Dr. Gunni, writer, musicianAt the end of 2014, we find ourselves inhabiting a Western welfare state, a pretty good one…

Christmas In The ’70s—A Remembrance

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Musician, writer, pop music scholar and nostalgicist Dr. Gunni (born 1965) pays a visit to The Ghost of Christmas PastThe…

More People = More Fun

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To generalise: Icelanders are a greedy bunch. After we escaped from the claws of Danish colonialist rule, the national imperative…

Icelanders Get All Excited About Rock ‘n’ Roll

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Dr. Gunni—Iceland’s eminent scholar of rock and pop music—is finally coming out with the long-promised English language version of his…

Iceland Will Definitely Win Eurovision This Time!

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From the beginning of Icelandic Eurovision times (1986), Icelanders have been from 75% to 100% sure that the nation will…

Icelandic Hard Rock In The Eighties And Nineties – A Skin-Deep Account

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In the beginning, Icelandic metal bands kept to themselves and were mostly left out of the mainstream. In the movie…

Dr. Gunni´s History Of Icelandic Rock / Part 30

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Iceland Airwaves is upon us once more. For five days about 750 bands and artists will perform in Reykjavík, of…

Sálin Reign Over The Country Balls

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March 10, 1988 was a big day for Icelandic music. In a long-since burnt down club called Tunglið, HAM were…

“It’s No Coincidence We’ve Been Called The Ironic Generation”

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I guess you could call them ‘legendary.’ In any case, they’re more ‘legendary’ than most of the crap that is…

Dr. Gunni´s History Of Icelandic Rock / Part 29

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In the eighties, Stuðmenn (“Funmen”) were the most popular Icelandic band. These people had a solid track record from the…

Dr. Gunni’s History Of Icelandic Rock / Part 28

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In 1980, the world was divided into two parts: disco and punk. In 1983, three thunderous years later, punks had…

Dr. Gunni’s History Of Icelandic Rock / Part 27

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Scoring a ‘Single of the Week’ in the English music press doesn’t necessary mean the instant access to the big…

Not Going Anywhere In Particular

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In 2001 Icelandic hip hop exploded with the genre’s first (and last?) super selling masterpiece, the XXX Rottweiler Hundar’s self-titled…

Five Super-Weird Icelandic Records!

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Icelandic musicians have produced their share of weird records. Some records aim to be weird, but some are weird by…

Dr. Gunni’s History of Icelandic Rock Part 25

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International recognition has always been every ambitious Icelandic pop musician’s goal. And no wonder. Few settle for the limitations of…

S.H. Draumur (1982 – 1988): Kicking Against The Pricks

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In 1982 I had been in bands for three years with basically the same guys in Kópavogur. Myself on bass…

Life Outside The Mainstream (1982–1985)

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Bubbi Morthens and Utangarðsmenn hit the dull sugarcoated Icelandic pop scene in 1980, spreading raw excitement in their wake. Almost…

The Rise And Fall Of Kukl

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The Icelandic rock movement associated with the ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’ documentary got yet another kick in the groin when the…

Rokk í Reykjavík!

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In 1981, filmmaker Friðrik Þór Friðriksson began filming Icelandic rock bands in action around Reykjavík for an upcoming documentary about…

Shabbiness And Bankruptcy

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Obviously I have no first-hand experience of clubs before I started playing in 1980, but from what I’ve heard there…