Published November 7, 2014

Hey, check out the above photo. Who are those people? I’ll tell you: I’m in there, along with our designer Hrefna, along with our former interns Parker and Rebecca (currently visiting from abroad to do some writing), along with our current interns Tom and Saskia and Elín and Melissa, along with our listings editor Gabríel, along with our journalist John, along with the ghost of what should’ve been (always lurking in the background, him). Behind the camera is the lovely photographer Matt Eisman, who set up shop at our office over Airwaves, where he’ll be shooting some of our favourite musicians (check out his images and SO MUCH MORE at www.grapevine.is!). Entirely missing is our editor Anna, currently on sabbatical (miss u, Anna!).

The people in the above photo represent but a small part of all the wonderful folks who strive night and day and night (but never mornings, those are for sleeping) to ensure that the magazine you are currently reading can exist; that it looks nice, and that it has images and words and ideas and thoughts about who we are—we as a culture, and we as a people—who we were and what we are becoming; what we’re doing, and why we might be doing it.

I’ll also tell you this: Although the people whose thoughts and words and images and comix and efforts make up the Grapevine might have some very different motivations for subjecting themselves to hours upon hours of hard, mostly thankless work, they all share a passion for actively contributing to their/our community. They do this by reporting on it and reflecting upon it, providing us with food for thought and fodder for conversation.

This is great! Active participation! Active conversation! What fun!

I love them all, and I love you, too. Hey, want to join in? Drop us a line!

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As I write this, I can hear the band Hellvar blaring through our office window, performing at the official Bæjarins Bestu Pylsur off-venue (yup). It’s almost seven PM on Airwaves Thursday, and Reykjavík is brimming with energy, culture and enthusiasm. As soon as we send this off, I plan on heading off to drown myself in all the good vibes, to fully immerse in all the music, good and bad, and perhaps hang out with some of our lovely visitors.

It’s easy to lose hope when barraged by the absolutely WTF news that have been coming out of late (you can get informed about a lot of them in this issue—I recommend going straight for page six). At such times, it’s important to keep an eye on the good stuff (while remaining vigilant towards all the BS). At their best, festivals like Iceland Airwaves can serve to remind us why living in Reykjavík can be so great.

Keeping that spirit alive should be a priority.