The Músíktilraunir Kids Continue to Shine
Whenever some crappy band in Iceland decides to pretend they’re múm or Sigur Rós and make a bunch of slow, boring and uneventful music that’s supposed to make you feel [&hell
Bela – Hole and Corner
Like the Telepathetics above, Bela is an Icelander “discovered” by British industry people. Like the Telepathetics, Bela has excellent production. In fact, Bela sounds quite to
The Grapevine’s Lonesome Traveller
For eight kilometres I’ve been ascending the barren wasteland of Hrafntinnusker, 900 metres above sea level. The snow, common here even in mid-summer, provides a little more resi
Hornið
Hornið, which literally means ‘the corner’, is an old haunt of the Grapevine staff. Our offices used to be located directly above them, but it wasn’t just the convenience th
Rossopomodoro
Rossopomodoro is a chain restaurant with a difference. There may be more than one of them around the world, actually most are in Italy itself, but the cuisine on offer […]
Are You Gay Enough For This? – Different Days in Reykjavík
Iceland’s Gay Pride Festival, or ‘Hinsegin Dagar’ (Different Days) kicks off for its eighth gay year on Wednesday, August the 9th with a gay drag show at Gaukur Á Stöng. [&
From Newsman to Man on the News
Paul Nikolov has been a writer for the Reykjavík Grapevine for coming up on three years. This July, he finishes his contract with the Grapevine, and seems to be transitioning [&he
Roots, Rock, Reykjavík
“A lot of them want to know about the Vikings, so I have to explain the different way we use the term in Iceland – there weren’t that many ‘true’ […]
192-Hour Party People
Grapevine goes to the Roskilde FestivalIt would take a die-hard stalwart of a Guns ‘N Roses fan to be satisfied with the million-dollar joke the distinctly ungainly Axl Rose pull
“He Was Just Standing There”
On Wednesday July 5th, the news in Iceland was full of Magni Ásgeirsson, who would be competing on the reality television show Rockstar: Supernova on a direct feed from the [&hell
Reykjavík!
Typically they start with the weather. If you’re writing about the northernmost capital in the world, the windiest country on the planet, a country with “Ice” in its name, ye
The Climax of All Our Hard Work – Inside Reykjavík: The Grapevine Guide
The Grapevine can finally firmly recommend a guidebook for getting around our hometown of Reykjavík – our own guidebook, Inside Reykjavík. Not that other travel books from
Flaming Lips – At War With the Mystics
We watched, and listened to, the Flaming Lips drive an Acid Punk movement in the 90s, then they blew the introspective noise rock genre that the more popular Smashing Pumpkins [&he
Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
The last three years we’ve heard nothing but Danger Mouse, first with the Grey Album, then with Gorillaz’ Demon Days, and now with Gnarls Barkley. This year’s release from Da
Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Doing an album of Pete Seeger classics isn’t all that imposing a task. Pete Seeger influenced a lot of people, befriended a lot of people, but as much as Seeger […]
Follow This Cab
“I’ve seen a lot of things,” Hafliði, taxi driver for BSR tells me. “Adultery, drugs, drunkenness, more adultery. People don’t seem to care what a taxi driver sees or he
Quantum Leap: We Did it Sam, We Saved Homoerotic Icelandic Rock!!
I had seen Icelandic rock icons HAM 15 years ago at Fellahellir. I thought they looked like freaks (guess they still do) and I was actually a little bit scared […]
How the Techno and Lo-fi Show Didn’t Disappoint
Reykjavík is the kind of place where, one day, the neighbour that you never realised spoke English will knock on your door and tell you that the rest of your […]
Nýhil Poetry itn the Grapevine:
Tígrar eru töff það segja það allir siðferðilegur skilningur er ekki bjór. Bjór er töff, það segja það allir. …og orðið var Clint Öllum að óvörum reið h
A Great Place for Lobster, Ghosts, Giraffes and Friends of Foo
“This building used to be a freezing plant,” Viddi’s mom tells us while pouring us a cup of coffee after we have attended a local art show. Viddi’s parents own […]