Category Archive Iceland

ByGD

Pollyblog: Iceland on My Mind

Pollyblog: 1. When you don’t want to say too much, but 140 characters just won’t cover it. 2. Good ideas that haven’t got their legs yet.

You know how when you buy a new car, you suddenly see that kind of car everywhere? Or you discover a new band, and suddenly it seems like everyone else is talking about them, too?

Lately, I’m having that experience with Iceland. Since coming home from Airwaves, I’ve written about my trip nonstop. When I finally wrapped up all my interviews, and “what I did in Iceland” blog posts, I thought I would be able to go back to my normal life. And in many ways I have. But it seems like Iceland is lurking around every corner.

I walk down the street, and the bus driving past me reminds me of Iceland.

Iceland bus ad

I clean up the house, and stumble on unintentional souvenirs.

Icelandic water bottle

I pick up a new tube of mascara and only think to look at the ingredients after I get home.

mascara made with Icelandic moss

Sometimes, when I’m convinced that I don’t have a thing to wear and need to buy clothes, I look up the day’s date on The Uniform Project. It’s a nice reminder that taking a new look at your clothes is cheaper than buying something new and just as effective. So last week when I did this, look what I found. (Note the collar.)

uniform project with Icelandic knit

Day 238. Thu, December 24 2009

Santa’s little helper

Hand knitted icelandic collar made by Bebe. Thrifted blouse from Beacons Closet, vintage suede hat from a brooklyn antique warehouse, tights from Sockdreams and vintage boots from eBay.

I am trying desperately to find meaning in these coincidences. I think I need to watch I Heart Huckabees again to see what the coincidences with the African guy meant. I vaguely remember that they were just coincidences and meant nothing.

Now that I think about it, I Heart Huckabees stars Jason Schwartzman, whose brother Robert Schwartzman was in the movie I watched last night, The Princess Diaries (it was kids’ choice) with Anne Hathaway. She was also in Brokeback Mountain with Heath Ledger. He was in the Batman series. Batman Begins, the first in that series, was filmed in Iceland. So there’s that, too.

What, you think I’m stretching?

ByGD

Stalking Ásgeir Trausti

Asgeir Trausti Airwaves 2012I saw Ásgeir Trausti four times at Airwaves this year. Add the Reykjavík Calling show in Seattle, and I’ve seen him play five times. With the possible exception of my boyfriend’s band in college, I think that’s the most times I’ve seen any musician. Obviously, I really liked Ásgeir Trausti’s debut album Dýrð Í Dauðaþögn (Glory in Dead Silence). But it’s not like I set out to see as many Ásgeir Trausti sets as possible. It’s not like I was stalking Ásgeir Trausti. Read More

ByGD

Got Itchy Feet? Put Iceland On Them

View of ReykjavikFor those unfamiliar with the expression, itchy feet is a traveler’s disease. It is the unquenchable desire to escape everyday life to explore someplace new. Like other viruses, once contracted, it remains in the body forever, flaring up at the most inconvenient times. The only treatment is hair of the dog. You’ve got to get the hell out of Dodge to find any relief. For me, treatment is only effective when airplanes and passport stamps are involved – long weekends and camping trips rarely make a difference – and generally, the destination must be someplace new. Unless it’s Iceland. Read More

ByGD

Pollyblog: Sudden Weather Change

Pollyblog: 1. When you don’t want to say too much, but 140 characters just won’t cover it. 2. Good ideas that haven’t got their legs yet.

My first experience with Sudden Weather Change was at the Reykjavík Calling show that KEXP put on at Neumo’s in October. The show featured Ásgeir Trausti, Sudden Weather Change, and Apparat Organ Quartet from Iceland; and Redwood Plan from Seattle. There was also this cool thing where the Icelandic bands worked with local writers and the Seattle band worked with an Icelandic writer to create new music for the show, but describing that would turn this into a proper post instead of a pollyblog.

Sudden Weather Change

I use this picture a lot.

Sudden Weather Change lived up to their name with music that shifted from abrasive punk to melodic indie so suddenly that sometimes they were actually doing both at once. It was angular and unexpected and awesome and I couldn’t wait to see them again at Airwaves a couple weeks later. Except somehow, I didn’t, and Sudden Weather Change became one of the ones who got away.

Eureka!

Recently, I discovered this gem on KEXP, and got a Eureka! moment  when I heard that the band’s first album was straight up garage rock. They weren’t satisfied with it, so they started working to develop a new sound with a producer – Ben Frost at Greenhouse Studios.

Greenhouse Studios

Greenhouse Studios

I visited Greenhouse Studios to interview Bedroom Community co-founder Valgeir Sigurðsson when I was in Reykjavík. Preparing for the interview, I had listened to music from each of the label’s major members, which is how I became acquainted with Ben Frost. All of the Bedroom Community folks do experimental, primarily electronic music, but each has a different take on the fundamental concept. Frost has a more industrial aesthetic, which makes him more accessible to me than some of the other members of the community.

E = mc2

Garage band + Ben Frost = Sudden Weather Change

Simple equations that tell great stories.

{2018 Update: Sudden Weather Change, like most of the bands listed on this page, have since split up. You can hear some of their members in Oyama.}

ByGD

Unraveling The Great Weaver From Kashmir

The Great Weaver from Kashmir coverAs my trip to Iceland Airwaves grew imminent in October, I rushed to the library and asked what they had on the shelf by Halldór Laxness. After first telling me there was nothing, they tried again and found The Great Weaver from Kashmir (it was filed under Halldór).

Well. What an introduction to the author.

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