Articles by: Valur Gunnarsson
Mike Pollock: Universal Routes
Something of a legend on the Reykjavík scene since the punk era, Mike Pollock seems to stake his claim as…
Talk Of The Town
“Everybody loves a winner, so nobody loved me,” croons Tony Bennett from the stage of Harpa’s Eldborg Hall. “I do,”…
Enemies Of Iceland
For as long as anyone can remember, any major or minor celebrity who set foot in Iceland has been given…
All Is Weill With Sigríður Thorlacius
Café Rósenberg is to music what Bíó Paradís is to movies. It is somewhere the enthusiast can go to really…
Another Side Of The God Of Thunder
The Norse gods have certainly made their mark on popular culture. Just look at last year’s ‘Thor’ or this year’s…
GP!: Elabórat
No, it’s not the soundtrack to a Spanish-language version of a Sacha Baron Cohen film, but rather the first solo…
Hörður Torfa: Eldsaga, Loftsaga and Jarðsaga
The album series “Vitinn” shows singer-songwriter Hörður Torfa in various stages of life. ‘Loftsaga’ (“Air Story”) from 2004 shows him…
The Faroe Islands: Neither Iceland, Nor Scotland, Nor Even Denmark
“It’s not Scotland, it’s not Iceland. The Faroe Islands have embraced me. It’s kind of in the middle. Like Sc-iceland….
Putting The Green In Greenland
Surely Eiríkur Rauði, Eric the Red, must be one of the more Viking of the Vikings. Banished from Norway for…
“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…