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CYOUR FA
The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 6 — 2013
2
Editorial | Anna Andersen
THE HAIR OF THE DOG
Anna’s 25th Editorial
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 to the precrash
status quo when these conservative forces
governed the country (read more on page 6).
Since then, we’ve been kept abreast of their
many meetings, sometimes learning more definitive
facts about what they’ve been eating
(waffles, if you must know) and what songs they
like to boogie to, than about their plan to deliver
Sigmundur’s lofty campaign promise to write off
everybody’s debts.
What exactly this new government will bring
is uncertain, but some think the local atmosphere
is starting to become reminiscent of what we experienced
in 2006 and 2007, two years that immediately
evoke images of extravagant parties,
flat screen TVs and Range Rovers in the minds of
many Icelanders.
Author, writer and filmmaker Andri Snær Magnason
says the feeling really sunk in when a local
radio show called up Sigmundur and Bjarni,
presumably at one of their meetings, and offered
them a request song. Being the gunslingers they
are, they asked for Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys.”
“I Googled the lyrics, not quite remembering
the lines, and got a nice chill down my back,” Andri
Snær writes in this issue’s feature article, “In
The Land of The Wild Boys,” (page 18). “I got this
strange flashback feeling and decided to revisit
the state of mind that we used to call normal in
2006. When the economic policy, the energy policy,
the expansion of our towns, the mortgages
on our homes—almost all aspects of our daily life
had become totally mad.”
It seems that the burgeoning startup community
too is feeling this “boost,” as it gets ready
to put on the second annual Startup Iceland conference
with the added bonus of President Ólafur
Ragnar Grímsson’s blessing (page 14). And
they’re not the only ones flying high. Our music
journalists at Straumur are also getting buzzed
on the roster of international acts scheduled to
play in Iceland this year (page 37).
Whether or not the new government is a harbinger
of a return to the collective madness that
took hold of the country before the crash, Andri
Snæri hopes we don’t sacrifice our nature on the
altar of easy profit. And I hope so too.
FUN TRIVIA QUESTION
Taken from the educational trivia game Instant Iceland
Q: The most serious terrorist attack in Icelandic history occurred in 1986, when
Canadian Paul Watson and his cohorts…
A
B
C
Sank two whaling vessels in Reykjavík harbour to protest
Icelandic whaling.
Kidnapped Iceland’s Prime Minister and demanded Quebec
independence in return for his release.
Poured massive amounts of oil into the Blue Lagoon to
protest its high admission prices.
We are now officially accepting nominations
for “Tourist of the year 2013.” Please submit
your nominations to editor@grapevine.is to
be considered. We will read them, post them
to our website and print the best one come
next January.
Note: To be eligible, the tourist (this can be
you) must have visited Iceland in 2013.
Submit your entry at www.touristoftheyear.is
TRACKS OF THE ISSUE
Reykjavík Music Mess
Sampler 2013!
Download for FREE at www.grapevine.is
E HERE
WILL YOU BE
GRAPEVINE’S
‘TOURIST OF
THE YEAR 2013’
Every once in a while, we go above and
beyond the call of duty of bringing you
fun new tunes and don’t get you just one
track, but a whole damn album! This issue
we are very pleased to grace you with this
super fun sampler for the Reykjavík Music
Mess, taking place this weekend (May 24-
26) in—you guessed it—Reykjavík!
This short and sweet festival will feature
a nice selection of cool, low-maintenance
bands who wanna look formal but are just
here to party, like Sykur, Muck, Boogie
Trouble, Bloodgroup and Mammút. There
are even a couple of bands from Australia
who flew Up Above to bring us some
southern hemispheric grooves. Download
this mix to rev you up for the concerts or
just to jam out if you can’t actually go.
Enjoy the mess! RL
Turn to page 28 for the answer!
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík
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Contributing Writers:
Valur Gunnarsson
Kári Tulinius
Larissa Kyzer
Atli Bollason
Thomas L. Moir
Björn Teitsson
Patricia Þormar
Snorri Páll Jónsson Úlfhildarson
Bob Cluness
Ari Trausti Guðmundsson
Vera Illugadóttir
Davíð Roach
Óli Dóri
Andri Snær Magnason
Scott Scholz
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Rebecca Louder / rebecca@grapevine.is
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Tómas Gabríel Benjamin / gabriel@grapevine.is
Parker Yamasaki / parker@grapevine.is
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Founders:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Valur Gunnarsson
On the cover:
Andri Snær Magnason
Photographer:
Ari Magg – www.arimagg.com
Assistant photographer:
Axel Sigurðarson
Make up:
Vigdís Jónsdóttir
Special thanks:
Farmers Market
The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd.
Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly from May
til October. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole
or in part without the written permission of the publishers. The
Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri,
Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at
key locations along road #1, and all major tourist attractions and
tourist information centres in the country.
You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles
in the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions
expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’).
Be in your
element
GEOTHERMAL
STEAM ROOMS
THERMAL
BATHS
SAUNA
Visit the Laugarvatn Fontana wellness centre. Relax in steam rooms over a natural
hot spring and open air thermal baths. Afterwards try local delicacies in our café.
Ask us how the locals at Laugarvatn use the steam baths!
The perfect rest stop between Thingvellir and Geysir
Opening hours: Weekdays 13-21 and Weekends 11-21
Make sure your Golden Circle tour completes the geothermal experience
www.fontana.is