PM’s Assistant Was In Punk Band

One of the Prime Minister’s assistants, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, was a bass player for punk rock band Vafasöm síðmótun (“Questionable later development”). Current band members are less than pleased with the discovery.

“I haven’t played with the band in quite a while,” Jóhannes told Stundin. “Members of the band aren’t named, either.”

Vafasöm síðmótun have given out four albums, and have performed live on RÚV’s news discussion show Kastljós (see below). Their most popular song by far, though, is probably “Sigmundur”, which is dedicated to current Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and is comprised of text ironically praising him as a “haven and a savior”.

When asked if he felt punk was appropriate music for a PM’s assistant, Jóhannes replied, “Isn’t punk just good music? There are many things punks get involved with. I haven’t stopped playing punk, although I haven’t played with Vafasöm síðmótun in a long time.”

Current members of the band, upon learning that one of their former members is now serving the Prime Minister, were decidedly unhappy with the news. In a capslock-laden statement on Facebook, the band expressed “shock”, denying that they had any idea Jóhannes was one of the PM’s assistants, adding numerous choice adjectives to describe the Progressive Party.

For those interested, you can sample some of Vafasöm síðmótun’s body of work below:
[vimeo 8020348 w=500 h=375] [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113265175″] [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113265174″]