As the photographer drove me out of Reykjavík, complaining about Mosfellsbær as a suburb that takes too long on the bus, I could help noticing that, boring as the town may be, most people in the world would be impressed with its…

I remember nothing! And I am thankful for that memory or memory loss which could be attributed to excessive exposure to noise and bad radio for decades. It also makes my day when I try to finger what has made my day…

“We kind of kept our clothes on,” says Trabant drummer Doddi about the band’s performance this winter at Bessastaðir, the president’s house. “Though Ragnar did open his shirt.” When last the Grapevine reported on Trabant, they were all but naked and simulating…

They would have been surprised that I found Michael Pollock, guitarist for Utangarðsmenn and returning solo artist, at the city library. We talked briefly and agreed to conduct an interview at the Dubliner over a beer. One beer. Punk rock pro´s don´t…

5ta herdeildin is playing their second gig of the day. A talented four-piece, lo-fi, folk-influenced, genre-defying band, 5ta play in front of the globe in the pit of City Hall, then walk with me to the Alþingi in the hope that they…

In my teenage years my parents’ collection of jazz records became my main fodder before turning on to the likes of Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Leon Russell, Steely Dan and the fabulous Weather Report. Unfortunately, not many Icelandic counterparts could be…

The name means 12 tones and when it comes to variety of music, it’s a music store that indeed fills the whole octave. With a friendly staff of four, including a rock star and a classical musician, two floors full of CDs,…

I idolised these bands as a teenager and in my early twenties. Back then I was the only one in my circle of friends who liked the Pixies and I’ve always been grateful to Korn for putting metal-esque music back into the…

There´s some very Icelandic magic at work here and this album manages to be varied, surprising and clever. Megas had just gotten the first taste of punk and wrote the song Paradísarfuglinn (Bird of Paradise) where guitarist Valgeir Guðjónsson plays the most…

As I purchased my litre of Becks (a mere apéritif) and an extra box of smokes (ammunition for a long night) and walked down to meet this evenings´ team, I wondered exactly how this ´Nightlife Friend´ was going to be. I imagined…

The Violent Femmes were my local band. I saw them at least five times in high school. My friends and I thought of them as friends who just weren’t with us right now. We joked about Gano’s odd weight fluctuation in 1995…

Countdown: 8. Múm – Summer make good (2004). Minimal pop, makes you feel good. 7. Gunnar Þórðarson – Gunnar Þórðarson (1975). Sounds like a mixture of Stevie Wonder, Beach Boys and Beck. 6. Sagtmóðigur – Plata (1998). Great Icelandic punk. 5. Olympia…

Grapevine met up with half the band Kimono, Gylfi and Alex at Tjarnarbíó theatre, where they were busy gathering their stuff and cleaning the place after a concert held there the night before. The concert was arranged by the two and among…

From one of Reykjavik’s suburbs comes the band Maus, one of the more mature and developed bands in Iceland. They’ve been around for a while, released five albums and received a nice selection of music awards along with making numerous radio hits.…

It is still early evening, and the nation, wearing its finest, radiates with anticipation and joy. The clock in the room strikes loudly seven times, and people noisily attempt to quiet each other down. Then, as the clock concludes its countdown, all…

Grandrokk is one of those places that has what so many pubs promise but few deliver, atmosphere. What is it that gives a place atmosphere? It’s certainly not the stale air, cigarette smoke or stench of alcohol oozing from every pore. That…

For those not familiar with the term “hardcore” as one of many rock and roll styles, it is starting point to know that it started in the eighties as an evolution of the punk rock style. It is different from punk in…