Author: Valur Gunnarsson
“I Have Never Written A Love Song”
“My heroes were the poet Steinn Steinarr and the drummer John Bonham,” says singer-songwriter Bjartmar Guðlaugsson who at 60 can…
From The US Army to Army of Me
The US Naval Air Station in Keflavík, which operated for 55 years before closing in 2006, has cast a long…
Prog ‘Til You Drop
When Manfred Mann’s Earth Band takes the stage, they open, not unsurprisingly, with Bruce Springsteen’s “Spirit in the Night.” The…
Sunday Morning Coming Down
Ever had one of those Sundays when you feel wiped out and you’re not sure whether to go to an…
Go To Bió Paradís
Bíó Paradís is a welcome oasis in that barren wasteland of American teenflicks that is the Icelandic cinema scene. We…
GRM: Þrjár stjörnur
The three stars of the album are as known for their quality song writing as they are for their unconventional…
Rúnar Þórisson: Fall
‘Fall’ is so laid back that one hardly notices that the singer arrives a song too late. When he finally…
Gímaldin And Friends: ‘Þú ert ekki sá sem ég valdi’
Rock ‘n’ Roll has long had an infatuation with addiction, and many odes have been composed to various forms of…
All Tomorrow’s Parties
So, will the Icelandic government survive yet another Grapevine deadline? Probably, but its chances of re-election are looking increasingly grim….
A Watergate Of Our Own
The Watergate scandal was both a low point and a high point in American politics. The downside was that the…
Problems In The Eurozone
One of the challenges of covering a film festival is finding a unifying theme. Sure, most of the films here…
It Was Twenty Years Ago Today
Some decades arrive late, in a pop cultural sense at least. The ‘50s started in 1955 with the simultaneous advent…
Is The Government About To Collapse?
In many countries, the above question might lead to pundits punditing and even stock markets crashing. In Iceland, the possibility…
Hope Is Like A Dog Bitten By A Sheep
Multi-Instrumentalist and songwriter Gímaldin recorded in Russia for a while, but is now back at home among friends, some of…
Iceland As It Should Be
“Is he Swiss?” asks a person in the back row. “No, I think he‘s Estonian,” replies another. The man on…
The Meeting That Almost Changed Everything
It was the second most important event to take place in Iceland during the Cold War. However, it could easily…
The True Cost Of The Cold War
Born in the mid-seventies, I probably belong to the last generation to have a clear memory of the Cold War….
Back To Elves, Then
In a recent issue of Time Magazine, columnist Joel Stein talks about how he helped Iceland rewrite its constitution by…
Bjartmar og Bergrisarnir: Skrýtin Veröld
The ‘80s were, perhaps surprisingly, something of a golden age for Icelandic pop lyrics. Socially conscious, verbally biting artists competed…
The Amazingly Accurate Relationship Checkup
The Icelandic dating scene might at first seem like one gigantic free-for-all. But as any sociologist worth his salt will…
Are Icelanders Americanized? Really?
With their propensity for obesity and economic mismanagement, one could be forgiven for thinking of the Icelanders as little Americans….
Killer Volcanoes: A Comparative History
Which country starting with the letter ‘I’ has caused the most international havoc due to volcanic eruptions in the modern…
Whatever Happened to Our Crisis?
In a great article in the last issue of Grapevine (yes, every conversation should start with those words), writer Eiríkur…
Are Icelanders True Romantics? Really?
Walking through Reykjavík late on a Saturday night and observing the natives attempt to go through the preliminary stages of…
Friendship In The 21st Century
One of the things visitors to Iceland, especially those venturing from southern climates, often comment upon is that Icelanders seem…