Author: Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir
Tjarnarbíó – Thursday
Photo by Hvalreki Most of the people who had shown up at 19:10 for Kristín Bergsdóttir’s set at Tjarnarbíó were…
NASA – Wednesday
Funny how an artist can convince you their music is good just by the way they move to it. Premiering…
Scenes From Menningarnótt
by Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir and Catharine Fulton
At the Grapevine, we love us some culture and arts and music and poetry and literature and waffles and intoxication…
Now & Then
I was last in Iceland on August 24, 2008. At the time the price of the US dollar had just…
The Sweaty Musical Armpit
This summer marks the advent of two exciting releases from two of the scene’s youngest and most promising rock bands….
Deafening Silence
Sigur Rós, despite their success, is a band that is still on it’s way out of Iceland. In a way,…
A Postcard from America
Greetings from America! The weather is lovely here! About 4°C and sunny with just a bit of wind, and the…
The Icelandic Music Awards
Everyone who’s anyone who was up for an award was at the 14th annual Icelandic Music Awards on March 18….
Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson
I’ll start by congratulating you on your nomination to the Icelandic Music Awards. Yes, thanks. I was very pleased to…
Kommunan
It’s the all too familiar scene: naked over oatmeal, the lesbian airing out her yeast infection in the kitchen. “There’s…
Democratic Antics
Ah, to be young and virile! Full of raging idealism! Free from the arrogance of age! What a rousing thing…
Sirkus: the 11th Hour
On January 25 – 27, legendary bar Sirkus on Klapparstígur marked its impending closing and demolition with a three-day-long series…
Lyrical Savages
Actress Brynhildur Guðjónsdóttir is a long-time veteran of the Reykjavík stage. Having frequently crossed thespian-media to star in premier films…
Psychedelic Normalcy
Bathed in a purplish glow, the Benny Crespo’s Gang foursome opened up the first seated rock concert in recent memory,…
Icelandic Christmas Traditions
Laufabrauð The making of laufabrauð, or “leaf-bread,” is usually a family-affair taking place early in December. People gather together to…
What a Day for Window Weather
“Stykkið,” or “the piece” from which Stykkishólmur takes its name, now sits under the largest of three wharves in the…
Of Men and Mongeese
When the Grettir Kabaret sponsored show at Organ began, the lineup was still a complete mystery to me. I had…
The Sequences Art Festival
“We’re putting emphasis on time-based art in unconventional places,” says Andrea Maack, project manager for the Sequences “real-time art festival”…
An Everyday Extraordinary
“Every time she saw me she laughed,” says Mary Ellen Mark smiling at one of her large framed black and…
Kron
That old cliché about women having a soft spot for shoes is alive and well in Reykjavík, especially when those…
Something Worth Hyping About
The two-person mosh-pit gyrating to Jakobínarína’s Jesus was spilling beer onto the crowd. It wasn’t their beer, they definitely didn’t…
The Boys Dance Too
2004 was undeniably the year of Franz Ferdinand, when the Scottish four-piece along with their self-titled debut ploughed the dancepop-…
Idiot Culture for the Masses
The rambunctious howls of Ljótu Hálfvitarnir, or Ugly Idiots, greeted me mid-brisk-walk towards the big stage at Miklatún Park early…
New Icelanders Build on Language
In the past three or four years, the influx of immigrants in Iceland has increased steadily. According to a study…
Etching Bold Patterns
Twenty-seven-year-old Ingibjörg Finnbogadóttir, or Imba as she is known in the design world, has been working on a host of…