Best Icelandic Albums according to Einar Örn Benediktsson

Top 8 Albums by Einar Örn Benediktsson
Published in Grapevine, Issue 4, July 2004 www.grapevine.is

At the tender age of 17, Einar Örn was manager for Bubbi´s band Utangarðsmenn. He then formed his own band, Purrkur Pillnikk, one of the most influential bands on the punk scene. When punk supergroup Kukl was formed from the leading members of the punk scene, Einar was one of the founders, despite studying media in Britain at the time. Kukl became The Sugarcubes and went on to world domination.

I remember nothing! And I am thankful for that memory or memory loss which could be attributed to excessive exposure to noise and bad radio for decades. It also makes my day when I try to finger what has made my day in the past, made me tick and think, yes this is it! And it usually boils down to songs or tracks rather than whole albums.

My memory remembers nothing really before 1977 in music, if anything then listening to Megas through my friend Bragi (Olafsson) whose musical know-how towers over mine. Requested to list eight, I go automatically back, way back, in order to see if something from the past makes me want to join Mínus today. I remember Trió Ólafs Ósýnilega, a duet, of course, who played transistors and liquid fuel at the launch of a Purrkur Pillnikk record. Jonee Jonee made it all the simpler with only drums, bass and voice, the simplicity is still something which is to be admired. Curver’s Haf, a submerged trip into the deep. I later learned that his first vinyl on his Christmas list was Sogblettir. In their 5th gear, they did not mean to take any prisoners but to mow everyone down. In Oxzmá I find that multi layered talent, when art was not a swear word. Stanya brought me Líf, a vinyl EP, which at the time interwined music as a travelogue. Lojpippos and Spojsippus, making strange music on synths some 2 decades ago and bringing smile on my face everytime, and recently given 4 tracks they made brought back the smile.
Fan Houtens Kóko “Það brakar í Herra K”, says it all in the title, “Mr. K is creaking” and the certain assertion that “the city can be seen”, just makes me want to cry and make sure that the rest will be just as simple as that. Their stuff is still shit hot, if my memory serves me right.
Einar's Top 8
1. Fan Houtens Kóko
2. Lojpippos og Spojsippus
3. Stanya: Líf
4. Oxzmá
5. Sogblettir: 5. gírinn
6. Curver: haf
7. Jonee-Jonee: Svonatorrek
8. Trío Ólafs Ósýnilega