2013
Most read
Latest
-
The Absolutely, Unquestionably, Very Best Of Airwaves 2013!
We did it again (oops). We did it again. It was a tough one, what with the one hundred thousand bands each playing three shows per night for fifteen consecutive nights at eight thousand venues spread throughout the gargantuan Reykjavík metropolis area…
-
Sykur: Being Insane Is A Good Thing!
The lead singer of Sykur, Agnes Björt Andradóttir, is clearly mental. But in a good way.
-
A Note On Replication And Adaptation
Apparently there has been some controversy — and some misunderstanding — regarding my recent comment about certain Icelandic bands and the music of the African diaspora. I do choose my words carefully, but some people didn’t read them very carefully. They seemed…
-
Reykjavík Grapevine’s Podcast: Airwaves Monday Edition
Poof! Five days packed with music, party and Grapevine Airwaves Podcast is now over. What a blast! As we say goodbye to Iceland Airwaves 2013, there is still room for one more thoughtful, hopefully entertaining podcast from Your Friends At The Grapevine.…
-
Confusing, Lovely, Twerking, Pre-Flight Entertainment
I will hand it to the six Icelandic guys in wifebeaters known as UMTBS for performing on a very high energy level to a room of full of tired and hungover people, and enjoying doing it. They shredded, they shrieked, they pressed…
-
Very Solid! – Iðnó pt. 1
It was an early start at Iðnó on Saturday. The band Vigri went on stage just after seven o’clock and played extremely melodic and well crafted electronic music. The vocal arrangements were nothing short of dazzling and complemented their keen sense of…
-
This Was Special For Mykki Blanco
One of the most notable shows of Airwaves 2013 was about to begin, featuring Nolo, Ghostigital, Mykki Blanco, Gold Panda, and Savages at the Reykjavik Art Museum on Saturday night, and Michael Quattlebaum Jr. aka Mykki Blanco is in his pajamas in the…
-
A Night Filled With Promise – Gamli Gaukurinn pt. 1
Gamli gaukurinn is a bar with a small stage in one corner. It is in no way perfect, but with the addition of Harpa Concert Hall to the Iceland Airwaves list of venues, I do kind of miss going to shows at…
-
The Inexhaustible Indie Venue – Iðnó pt.1
The former half of Iðnó’s Friday line-up was interesting. The night started promptly at eight with a set from Jóhann Kristinsson. His music is in many ways conventional indie rock with creative songwriting performed very nicely. He started out playing alone on his…
-
An Amazing Evening
You know how dogs sometimes spend so long with their owners that they start to resemble one another? John Grant and Iceland have a similar relationship going on. If there’s ever been a more convincing impression of a Reykjavik native done by…
-
Harlem Hypnosis – Harlem Pt. 2
It’s getting really late. It’s not late by Reykjavík standards, but it is considering how early everything started this evening. Half the room looks lobotomized, and I’m not sure they know where they are. But at least they know they’re having a…
-
The Choppy Line-Up
Although I deeply respect and understand the urge to push boundaries, there is always an audience to consider. Doing something is not the same as pulling it off.
-
WHEN RAX TOOK MY PHOTO
“Oh, it’s rough being famous in Iceland. Can’t even escape into the mountains without being followed by the paparazzi and appearing on the front page of the newspaper,” I posted on my Facebook not long after moving here in ’09. It probably…
-
The Paradox Of Choice
Making this issue—the annual Best of Reykjavík issue—always reminds me of how remarkable it is that a city of our size has so many things going for it. Behind every ‘Best of’ winner lies a heated discussion about all of the other…
-
Iceland Might Not Have Elves, But It Does Have Giants
Iceland might not have elves, but it does have giants. You’re looking at proof of that in this photo. The giant standing beside me is Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Iceland’s Strongest Man for the last three years and the world’s third strongest man…
-
Some Things Just Don’t Change
The day this paper hits the streets, it will be ten years since the first one did on Friday, June the 13th, 2003. Apparently the young twenty-something-year-old guys, who decided fresh out of high school to go into the publishing business, weren’t…
-
The Hair Of The Dog
It didn’t really come as a surprise when our new Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson decided to form a coalition government with The Independence Party. That is, after all, what we voted for in the last election, and is actually a return…
-
Áfram Ísland!
If there’s one thing that really unites Icelanders, it’s probably the annual Eurovision Song Contest. On May 18, the whole of Iceland will be glued to the TV, cheering Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson on as he performs the song “Ég á líf” before…
-
WELCOME TO OUR GARGANTUAN ELECTION GUIDE ISSUE!
Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into when we set out to make an “Election Guide” this issue. For at least a decade now, the same four political parties have been running for parliament. Although there have always been…
-
Bad Business Makes For Great Art
Once again we’ve dedicated our third issue of the year to the annual DesignMarch festival. Once again we’ve created a special pull-out with lots of design-related stuff including our annual Design Awards. And once again we’ve relinquished control of our cover to…
-
Are We Drinking The Kool-Aid, Iceland?
Icelanders breathed a collective sigh of relief this week when EFTA ruled in its favour in the long-disputed Icesave case. Congratulations flew this way and that and Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir even did a little victory shake to show how happy she…
-
A True Icelandic Christmas Story
As I thought about what to write in this space, the typical things came to mind—reflections on 2012, hopes and plans for 2013, a glorified table of contents… But in the end I thought, why not relay a simple Christmas story, which in…