Let's All Eat Rotten Shark and Puffin! [Icelandic Food]
Rather than try and explain traditional Icelandic food like putrefied shark and puffin, I thought I’d just let this guy’s video speak for itself. Thanks whoever you are for sharing this on YouTube and for going all in on the Icelandic eating experience. You deserve a bottle of Brennevin. ...
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Jónsi & Alex, "Happiness" [Icelandic Music]
First up today is the song “Happiness” by Jónsi & Alex from the Riceboy Sleeps album. Drifting, pretty post-rock, I like this album a lot more than the solo album Jonsi put out last year. And as you may know, or have already guessed, this is Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson of Sigur Ros . . . It all comes ...
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Seabear, "I'll Build You a Fire" [Icelandic Music]
There’s something about most Icelandic bands that’s just pleasing. By contrast, in my mind I associate Sweden & Finland with Death Metal (and ABBA) and Iceland with Operatic Indie Folk. An belief which will probably most definitely be clear by the end of Icelandic Week. Up now is Seabear, which was started ...
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"The Greenhouse" by Audur Ava Olafsdottir [Icelandic Literature]
Audur Ava Olfasdottir’s The Greenhouse, translated by Brian FitzGibbon, is one of only three Icelandic translations coming out in 2011, so it deserves a special bit of attention. This also happens to be the first Icelandic title to be published by AmazonCrossing, the relatively new imprint that’s dedicated to ...
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The Artists Formerly Known as Nýhil [Icelandic Culture]
This is another guest post by Amanda De Marco. Quick correction to her bio: She’s actually not currently in Iceland. But she was. Recently. Now she’s in Frankfurt enjoying the awesome that is the Book Fair. The seventh annual Reykjavik International Poetry Festival just took place last weekend. Thor Steinarsson ...
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"The Ambassador" by Bragi Olafsson [Icelandic Literature]
Since we publish two of his novels, and since we featured his band yesterday, I thought today would be a perfect day to excerpt Bragi Olafsson’s The Ambassador, which is translated by Lytton Smith. (FYI: Lytton is the one responsible for providing me with the bottle of Brennivin featured in my upcoming “Black ...
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Emiliana Torrini, "Gun" [Icelandic Music]
When I first started talking about Icelandic Week, Intern Six (aka Liz Mullins) insisted that I include an Emiliana Torrini song, which reminded me that Torrini is actually Icelandic . . . Here’s her bio from Last.fm: Emilíana Torrini is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, born on 16 May 1977 in Kópavogur, Iceland. ...
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