Kick Off ! Inside Guide - Experience the City Like a Local UÊThe Grapevine Predicts the Euro 2008 Finals Summer Releases - What are you Going to Listen to This Summer? UÊ7 ÞÊÃÊ,iÞ>ÛÊÃÊ Ý«iÃÛi¶ + ^c[d#A Complete City Guide and Listings: Map, Dining, Music, Arts and Events >hhjZ%,$$?jcZ%+"?jcZ&.'%%- 02 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 07 2008 | Year 6 | June 06 – June 19 The Reykjavík Grapevine Opinion Vesturgata 5, 101 Reykjavík www.grapevine.is Forget the Foot Massager 08 [email protected] An opinion by Marie-Alexandra Hertell www.myspace.com/reykjavikgrapevine Published by Fröken ehf. The Little Country Leading The Way 08 An opinion by Iris Goemans Editorial: +354 540 3600 / [email protected] The Road to Oblivion 10 Advertising: An opinion by Ben Frost +354 540 3605 / [email protected] Publisher: +354 540 3601 / [email protected] Articles The Reykjavík Grapevine Staff Publisher: Everything Is Ridiculously Expensive in Iceland 06 Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson Interview with blogger and consumer rights crusader Gunnar Hjálmarsson [email protected] Editor: Rock n’ Roll Noise Pollution 12 Sveinn Birkir Björnsson / [email protected] Shooting the breeze with Kerrang!’s Paul Brannigan Assistant Editor: Steinunn Jakobsdóttir / [email protected] Concert Reviews 18 Contributing Writers: Dormah / Mike Monday / Super Mama Djombo Haukur Magnússon / [email protected] Ian Watson / www.ianwatson.org CD Reviews 19 Páll Hilmarsson / [email protected] Dísa / Bang Gang / Benni Hemm Hemm / Múgsefjun / Grjóthrun í Fellshreppi / Sigurður Guðmundsson Editorial Intern: Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson The View from the Top 24 Art Director: Exploring Mýrdalsjökull Gunnar Þorvaldsson / [email protected] Photographer: City Slicker Rides Again 26 Gunnlaugur Arnar Sigurðsson (GAS) Horseback riding in Laxness [email protected] Marketing Director: Jón Trausti Sigurðarson / [email protected] Sales Director: Features Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / [email protected] Distribution: Reykjavík – the Insiders Guide 16 Þórir Gunnar Jónsson / [email protected] How to feel like a real Reykjavíkian Proofreader: Jim Rice Press releases: Destinations [email protected] Submissions inquiries: The View From the Top 24 [email protected] Riding snowmobiles in Mýrdalsjökull Subscription inquiries: +354 540 3605 / [email protected] City Slicker Rides Again 26 General inquiries: Horseback riding in Mosfellssveit [email protected] Reykjavík Summer Spots 28 The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times Where to embrace summer in the city 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 info. written permission of the publishers. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure that Listings B2 all information inside the magazine is correct, prices and details may be subject to change. The Food Reviews B10 Reykjavík Grapevine can be found in Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Selfoss, Keflavík, Ísafjörður Office Skills for Foreigners B12 and at key locations around road #1 and at all major tourist attractions and tourist information Your Guide to This Summer´s Releases B13 centres. The Grapevine´s Euro 2008 Pool B14 You may not like it, but at least it's not spon- sored. (No articles in the Reykjavík Grapevine The Most Expensive Icelandic Film B15 are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’). Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 30.000 copies. From the Editor’s Chair This issue marks the beginning of a transitional of the paper. A new logo is coming your way and you how to behave like a Reykjavíkian and Dr. phase for the Reykjavík Grapevine. Next week the whole paper has been redesigned for the plea- Gunni tells you why Iceland is so expensive. (June 13) marks the five-year anniversary of this sure of you readers. June 13 we will also launch a I look forward to presenting a new Grapevine to publication. Next week, we will put out a cel- new website, filled with new features to enhance you readers with the next issue. In the meantime, ebratory issue, which will be guest edited by an your interactive experience and help you enjoy I’d like to congratulate myself and the rest of the exiting group of young people: Barði Jóhannes- Iceland, and the Grapevine even more. Grapevine staffers on the birthday. Enjoy the last son of Bang Gang, Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson of So there are exciting times ahead. But this is issue of the 4 year old Grapevine. Kick Off ! Sprengjuhöllin, Pétur Blöndal journalist from an exciting issue as well. We did some investiga- Morgunblaðið, artist Sara Riel and photographer tive journalism to find out what artists will be re- Silja Magg. This special anniversary edition of the leasing an album this summer. The list is long. We Inside Guide - Experience the City Like a Local UÊThe Grapevine Predicts the Euro 2008 Finals Grapevine will also signify a change for the look examined some destinations for you. We teach Summer Releases - What are you Going to Listen to This Summer? UÊ7 ÞÊÃÊ,iÞ>ÛÊÃÊ Ý«iÃÛi¶ + ^c[d#A Complete City Guide and Listings: Map, Dining, Music, Arts and Events >hhjZ%,$$?jcZ%+"?jcZ&.'%%- Cover photo by: GAS On Cover: FC Grapevine’s captain 2375 CIN grapevine asdis 5x39.ai 6/4/08 2:21:57 PM 04 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 07 2008 | Letters Sour Grapes Say your piece, voice your opinion, send your letters to [email protected]. Hæ Hæ Respected editor, I’d really like to hear about your opinion on the whole Sig- Given below is the scientific proof that god exists. mund cartoon in Morgunbladid. Or someone’s opinion at the Albert Einstein stated “1 gram of any substance con- Grapevine. sists of 931 mega electron volt of energy”. Another science Thanks for reading, law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can Jasmine only be converted from one form to another. Any substance you burn on this planet earth, it radiates energy. After death, Dear Jasmine, first thing to leave a person is his breath. After death, Chris- Let me begin by explaining your request to other readers. Sig- tians and Muslims bury the dead body, Hindus burn it. So, mund is a cartoonist who has drawn political caricatures for the dead body either decays or reduces to ashes slowly. In the daily newspaper Morgunblaðið for more than 30 years. the process, it radiates energy and mingles with the atmo- Recently the paper ran one of his strips, which showed presi- sphere. From there, where it goes is a mystery. In my opinion, dential hopeful Barack Obama as a tribal cannibal wearing a it goes to god’s secret abode where each person’s soul has to straw skirt, brining firewood to a large pot containing one Hil- individually answer questions regarding actions (both good lary Clinton, saying that his people would like her well done. and controversial) he has performed in his life. Sorry, you Frankly, I thought the caricature was tasteless and ill- can’t play the blame game there. So, friends beware of your conceived. I realize Sigmund is an old man by now (b. 1931) present and everyday actions every second and apply discre- and was probably raised with a different world view and so tion in whatever you do. forth, but I can’t see how historical relativism can be an ex- A WORD OF ADVICE cuse for a blatant racist stereotyping. Close your eyes and think for a minute how your daily So yeah, that’s my opinion more or less. life would be if your vision was not there for one week. Thank god for giving you eyesight and avoid misusing it, that is don’t Editor watch vulgar stuff or read vulgar literature. Also, think of those people who don’t have eyesight since birth. Everybody (including you and me) is responsible to Dear Grapevine, god after death for his present actions. Everybody has to die sooner or later. So, please be careful of your everyday and I have just finished reading the final installment of the Lone- present actions and apply discretion in whatever you do. some Traveller’s trans-Iceland hike. (Incidentally, this late BIGGEST SHAME FOR WE PEOPLE because the penultimate issue, number 3, was not available Its quite evident from holy bible that Jesus had great to download until well after issue 4 for some reason, and I spiritual powers. Yet, he died on the holy cross just to relieve didn’t want to skip ahead.) us of our sins and the harsh truth is we are still shamelessly I just had to write to express my appreciation of his ar- sinning in many ways. ticles. I’ve long been an avid reader of the Grapevine and name:ramesh kumar enjoy each issue thoroughly. However, Fabrizio’s articles are place:mumbai,india. by far my favorite feature of the magazine when they are run. Not only do I find his accounts of exploring obscure regions Dear Ramesh, of the country on foot and alone keenly interesting, but his Maybe you should take this up with a scientist. If your theory writing and skill with language is simply beyond compare! holds up, you’d win the Nobel Prize for sure. In the meantime, My god. I am continually awed and humiliated by his ar- I’ll continue to embrace my long-standing atheism. ticulation, particularly considering the fact that English is my first language and his second. Editor. Sigh. While all his articles are of the highest standard, I found this last series to have raised the bar, much like how HELLO CUSTOMER SERVICE, this particular trip was a high water mark in his own personal HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? I HOPE ALL ITS WELL WITH history of hiking accomplishments.