SVEINBJÖRN BEINTEINSSON
VONBRIGDI "Ó Reykjavík"
Because at the time when rock musicians
got acquainted with the U.S. NATO base radio
and the music played there you could get a lot of work playing
on the base.
I remember, maybe you had up to 30-40 gigs a month there
and many of the groups played almost nowhere else.
And I think there are obvious connections between Icelandic
rock musicians and the U.S. radio and
many musical directions that were broadcast through it.
And for that I think Icelandic musicians can be grateful.
FRYÐRYK "Í kirkju"
It was around 1974 when the school headmasters
simply banned groups from playing at school dances
and in my opinion this is the worst thing that has happened
to the rock scene.
They argued that there was more drunkenness when there were
bands playing than when there was a disco. As a result,
in 75-76 when these kids were supposed to show up on the
country dances, which have been the main source of income for
rock musicians, they did not at all and then the disco had
taken over and was most popular. So it was not until 1980 with
the new wave that the kids started to listen to music again.
Until then there had been only discotheques,
they didn't get any chance to hear live music.
EGÓ "Sieg Heil"
It seems like the kids get really into this -
the young kids.
The grown-ups are so, you know, packed with opinions that there
is nothing left but a file - here.
But these kids seem to know what free thought means -
they make up their own minds, others read it all in books.
BARAFLOKKURINN "Moving Up to a Motion"
The Icelanders have finally realized that you don't have to be
able to do guitar solos like that in order to play
in a group.
You don't have to be very good at playing an instrument to be
in a rock band.
I know nothing about playing, Bragi knows a tiny little bit
Ásgeir knows a little bit less, but he doesn't know anything
about drums at all.
PURRKUR PILLNIKK "Óvænt"
Rock is a political phenomenon, you only have less of left
orientated rock then right-wing orientated rock.
Look at the punk bands today we can call these bands here
punk groups, real punk groups.
They say we don't care a shit about left wing
politics and socialism.
All right, but at the same time they are advocating
a political line, which is very definitely right-wing.
They are really serving those forces which they pretend
to be up against.
By turning against political lyrics, turning against all
attempts to deal with elements in your social environment,
avoiding any political labels they are at the same time serving
the interests of those who want to keep political groups down.
Therefore Margaret Thatcher could as well be operating
a few punk groups, by letting them sing communism
is bullshit, left-wing politic is bullshit.
Fuck it, and you know, sing: We want anarchism,
we want anarchism.
This really shows you the ability of capitalism
to adapt itself to new situations.
Q4U "Creeps"
Don't you know the International?
What's that? The International.
One is fed up with all this social stuff here,
nothing seems to be any good except hammer and sickle.
"I love my country" "I love"
"I love my nation"
Yes, if you haven't worked in a fish factory for 10 years,
you're no good.
Yes, Icelanders seem to think that anarchists and left wingers
are the same kind of phenomenon. You know, I mean all these
anarchists decorate themselves with A and junk like that.
They just do it and then nothing more.
Therefore they could just as well draw swastikas.
Anarchism is just a fashion, like peace signs and other
similar bloody junk.
BODIES "Where Are the Bodies"
With this group we want to show, or in other words ask
women to get it going.
To show that they can do it and it's no big thing we want.
In other words, hire a garage, get bank credits, buy instruments,
carry them into the garage, put it together and
just start, practice hard and everything will fall into place
...and never to cry.
GRÝLURNAR "Gullúrið"
I think I can be quite sure to say that all of us have had
some kind of sexual kick on stage.
I am quite sure, that I don't think this applies to me at all.
Because this is something totally unknown to me until
this minute. On the other hand well, if you start thinking
about it, then it is of course a very special feeling
to stand up on stage
...what kind of feeling?
...well, that's the question.
...Yes, think about it, there is a whole mass of guys
standing in front of you
...don't you think it affects you?
...stiff with pleasure, man
...you respond and stiffen up yourself.
I'm so stiff that I haven't been able to play anything.
I wouldn't say that
...it was in the beginning when I was most nervous.
...No, first then you get a special feeling into the music.
SJÁLFSFRÓUN "Antichrist"
We are criticizing what we want to criticize -
the government, a stupid government here,
a boring country, nobody does anything for you.
You're not allowed to be anywhere.
Sometimes bus drivers won't let you in.
In Kópavogur one of the bus drivers throws you out if
you've got chewing gum. We call him a Nazi or Jesus.
Yes, we are despised. People are crazy here.
They shouldn't be allowed to live in this world.
Yes, people shout at us and if something is done
they immediately attack us, blame it on us.
SJÁLFSFRÓUN "Sjálfsfróun"
The sniff, when I started to look for stuff to get high on
I usually either went to a petrol station or got somebody
to buy glue for me or I went somewhere myself.
In Kópavogur it's not possible to buy glue there anymore
because the police stopped it and some guy named Hafsteinn,
some kind of social worker, pushed for the ban of glue.
But nowadays it's much better to go downtown to the gas stations
to buy glue.
Sniffing is getting high with different kinds of stuff
petrol, thinner, glue - mainly rubber glue.
It's one of the most dangerous but it's nice to sniff it
but now I've stopped it.
One guy, who nearly got mad from sniffing, when you met
him and asked him if he was still as spaced out then he
had a fit and screamed: "The glue, the bloody glue."
So it really didn't make any sense to be sniffing it.
There are quite a few who are mainly into the gas.
They just pump it straight down.
I didn't like sniffing it because it had rather
unpleasant effects, and the thinner also had bad
side effects.
You get very confused the day after,
and with petrol as well.
You also get hallucinations from the gas, for example
we once went to sniff and then one of us felt like
there came a guy running and went through his eyes and
down to his stomach and kept swinging there.
He couldn't get him out and when he had recovered,
he realized that this was just madness,
resulting from the sniff.
Once we had just bought rubber glue and were at
the bus station sniffing and then somebody told the
police that we were sniffing there and the guy who had
the glue was taken to the police station and the
glue was taken from him.
And of course the police didn't have any right to
take the glue, didn't have any right to it at all.
SJÁLFSFRÓUN "Lollipops"
Yes, if you haven't got any glue and no thinner and no
petrol then it's difficult to get it, maybe if it's late in
the evening and all petrol stations are closed,
then maybe you have to take petrol from a car or
something like that and then sniff it.
START "Lífið Og Tilveran"
The more you know the more you are able to get across whatever
you are doing. Well, if you have nothing to get across
like so many here, it doesn't make any difference how
skilled you are on the instruments.
The more skilled you become, the more you have to
make sure that you don't get more and more sterile.
There are far too many eunuchs in this music.
FRÆBBBLARNIR "Í Nótt"
I advise everybody to take as much dope as they can.
Eat as much dope as anyone can swallow.
Then when they have done that
they can make up their minds about whether to
No. ...I think it's all right to have a joint
after a gig, it's something quite natural
I don't drink, I don't use alcohol, I look at alcohol
as part of the enemy.
Speed I've tried and don't like it.
Grass. I smoke grass when I've got it.
That's fine.
I don't intend to advise anyone to take dope,
but grass is the stuff I personally use.
But if you look around most people are on some kind of stuff,
more or less, and that's up to them.
I bump... yes, then you should just come to me in
the chorus, yes? You can come to me in the chorus,
just here. Can I hear?
Sing the backing vocals with me. Just a minute.
One-two-three-four...
Was that out of tune?
Yes, yes, right on Jói.
EGÓ "Breyttir Tímar"
TAPPI TÍKARRASS "Dúkkulísur"
PURRKUR PILLNIKK "Gluggagægir"
But by all means sing along in the part about him...
Here in Iceland there have only been publishing -
and record companies that have taken care of the cost
of making a record.
We decided therefore that in order to be able to have
it more under our own control to take the risk ourselves
by being our own record company.
More Roland.
Now we have built here our own 8-track studio and we intend
to market our next record by ourselves.
We think we've found a way to avoid the situation where
you have put a lot of work into making more and more
records without making any money out of it.
I'm almost sure that the smallest part of the cost for
these record companies has been the money for the musicians.
Most of the cost has been for other factors,
like recording costs, the making of the record cover,
advertising companies, who take money for designing
these covers etc.
All of the people who join in after the music has been
played on the tape.
It was a very difficult time when the first groups started
to play their own music.
Then the people weren't really into going to dances -
because the dances were the only chances
groups had to play.
People said let's go to Glaumbœr instead -
don't go to this place, where there is a group playing
original music, there is no fun dancing to that.
SPILAFÍFL "Talandi Höfuð"
ÞEYR "Killer Boogie"
BRUNI BB "Af Litlum Neista Verður Mikið Mál"
This little hen is dead, this little hen is dead
Don't you want to ask why this little hen is dead?
This little hen is dead, this little hen is dead.
Do you think that we enjoy this?
Do you think it's something funny to let all animals die?
There are laws in this land which forbid the killing
of animals in any other way than that allowed by the
If animals.
Excuse me, excuse me... animals are allowed to die
in a slaughterhouse why not in a work of art?
JONEE JONEE "Hver Er Svo Sekur"
ÞURSAFLOKKURINN "Í Speglinum"
It's a bit funny, in a way I get a certain sexual kick
on stage, I do, for sure.
It varies, sometimes I'm acting for myself on stage.
It's like I step out of my body and just make an image
out of myself.
Sometimes, I'm checking how to do things.
And somehow I can look at myself in a way that I know
what I'm doing.
No, if you're interested you can probably fuck your dick
off during your first years of popularity,
nothing is easier.
But they are just so simple women, they are types
maybe not exactly stupid and...,
but in between there are of course
terrible monsters and idiots.
TAPPI TÍKARRASS "Hrollur"
Q4U "Gonna Get You"
FRÆBBBLARNIR "Gotta Go"
ÞEYR "Rúdólf"
MOGO HOMO "Bereft"
EGÓ "Sat Ég Inni Á Klepp"
English Subtitles: Árni Óskarsson