Skrifstofuplanta (Office Plant)

The first song “Ábót” (Refill) is written to a poem by my sister Helga Guðmundsdóttir. She wrote a poem in English many years ago and she gave me permission to translate it to Icelandic and make it fit a song that I was writing. The lyrics are about waking up in the morning and knowing exactly what you want. At first it seems like it is a love song about a person but when you listen to the lyrics closer you find out it is about wanting coffee.

The second song is called “Drasl” (Disorder/Mess). It is about realizing that the state of your belongings and the state of your mind is the same, everything is in a mess, in your head and in your room. Everything is in disorder and you really need to start tidying up and clean up the whole place.

The third song is called “Inn og út” (In and out) and is about being really bad at remembering the names of people around you but being very good at remembering names of TV characters from your youth, like the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek, the barflies at Cheers, the lifeguards in Baywatch, Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, Derrick, Matlock and of course MacGyver.

The fourth song is called “Einn góðan dag” (One fine day) and is about the day when you are finally ready to face the insecurities that have been a part of you since… well always.

The fifth song is called “Húð og hár” (Hair and skin). The song is an attempt to combine biological facts about the body´s deterioration and regeneration abilities with the New Age/hippie hypothesis that we are all connected, all one. It is about the fact that our old hairs and skin cells fall of and get blown in the wind and land on somebody else, so, a part of me becomes a part of you and vice versa, so we are all connected. The song is therefore very scientific, maybe a bit creepy, yet has a warm message.

The sixth song is called “Veiðimenn og safnarar” (Hunters and gatherers). It is about consumerism on a personal level, about dealing with your inner capitalist, knowing that you have all that you need but still wanting more. It is about being a modern-day hunter and gatherer, hunting for good prices and gathering things in your shopping trolley or online cart.

The seventh song, “Skrifstofuplanta” (Office plant), the title-song of the album, is about realizing that you and the office plant (in this case a Snake plant) on your desk are the same. That you are an office plant. Stuck inside your office space, staring at computer screens, chewing on pencils, writing and reading long texts about specific things that you were not interested in when you were young. About worrying about the lack of toner in the printer and lack of color in your life.

The eight and last song on the album is called “Dansinn” (The Dance). It is a cover song from my father’s old band Randver. It was released before I was born and written by Randver’s guitar player Jón Jónasson to a poem by an old Icelandic folk-poet kalled Káinn. It is about an old man who sits in the corner at party and watches the young people dance and feels a nostalgic longing and a fire burning inside of him that he has not felt for a long time. When my father sang the song in the original Randver version it was a very up-tempo song. I do it much slower. My brother and my fathers-brother sing it with me on the album. In a way my version is done in memory of my father.

Skrifstofuplanta (Office Plant)

The first song “Ábót” (Refill) is written to a poem by my sister Helga Guðmundsdóttir. She wrote a poem in English many years ago and she gave me permission to translate it to Icelandic and make it fit a song that I was writing. The lyrics are about waking up in the morning and knowing exactly what you want. At first it seems like it is a love song about a person but when you listen to the lyrics closer you find out it is about wanting coffee.

The second song is called “Drasl” (Disorder/Mess). It is about realizing that the state of your belongings and the state of your mind is the same, everything is in a mess, in your head and in your room. Everything is in disorder and you really need to start tidying up and clean up the whole place.

The third song is called “Inn og út” (In and out) and is about being really bad at remembering the names of people around you but being very good at remembering names of TV characters from your youth, like the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek, the barflies at Cheers, the lifeguards in Baywatch, Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, Derrick, Matlock and of course MacGyver.

The fourth song is called “Einn góðan dag” (One fine day) and is about the day when you are finally ready to face the insecurities that have been a part of you since… well always.

The fifth song is called “Húð og hár” (Hair and skin). The song is an attempt to combine biological facts about the body´s deterioration and regeneration abilities with the New Age/hippie hypothesis that we are all connected, all one. It is about the fact that our old hairs and skin cells fall of and get blown in the wind and land on somebody else, so, a part of me becomes a part of you and vice versa, so we are all connected. The song is therefore very scientific, maybe a bit creepy, yet has a warm message.

The sixth song is called “Veiðimenn og safnarar” (Hunters and gatherers). It is about consumerism on a personal level, about dealing with your inner capitalist, knowing that you have all that you need but still wanting more. It is about being a modern-day hunter and gatherer, hunting for good prices and gathering things in your shopping trolley or online cart.

The seventh song, “Skrifstofuplanta” (Office plant), the title-song of the album, is about realizing that you and the office plant (in this case a Snake plant) on your desk are the same. That you are an office plant. Stuck inside your office space, staring at computer screens, chewing on pencils, writing and reading long texts about specific things that you were not interested in when you were young. About worrying about the lack of toner in the printer and lack of color in your life.

The eight and last song on the album is called “Dansinn” (The Dance). It is a cover song from my father’s old band Randver. It was released before I was born and written by Randver’s guitar player Jón Jónasson to a poem by an old Icelandic folk-poet kalled Káinn. It is about an old man who sits in the corner at party and watches the young people dance and feels a nostalgic longing and a fire burning inside of him that he has not felt for a long time. When my father sang the song in the original Randver version it was a very up-tempo song. I do it much slower. My brother and my fathers-brother sing it with me on the album. In a way my version is done in memory of my father.

Skrifstofuplanta (Office Plant)

The first song “Ábót” (Refill) is written to a poem by my sister Helga Guðmundsdóttir. She wrote a poem in English many years ago and she gave me permission to translate it to Icelandic and make it fit a song that I was writing. The lyrics are about waking up in the morning and knowing exactly what you want. At first it seems like it is a love song about a person but when you listen to the lyrics closer you find out it is about wanting coffee.

The second song is called “Drasl” (Disorder/Mess). It is about realizing that the state of your belongings and the state of your mind is the same, everything is in a mess, in your head and in your room. Everything is in disorder and you really need to start tidying up and clean up the whole place.

The third song is called “Inn og út” (In and out) and is about being really bad at remembering the names of people around you but being very good at remembering names of TV characters from your youth, like the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek, the barflies at Cheers, the lifeguards in Baywatch, Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, Derrick, Matlock and of course MacGyver.

The fourth song is called “Einn góðan dag” (One fine day) and is about the day when you are finally ready to face the insecurities that have been a part of you since… well always.

The fifth song is called “Húð og hár” (Hair and skin). The song is an attempt to combine biological facts about the body´s deterioration and regeneration abilities with the New Age/hippie hypothesis that we are all connected, all one. It is about the fact that our old hairs and skin cells fall of and get blown in the wind and land on somebody else, so, a part of me becomes a part of you and vice versa, so we are all connected. The song is therefore very scientific, maybe a bit creepy, yet has a warm message.

The sixth song is called “Veiðimenn og safnarar” (Hunters and gatherers). It is about consumerism on a personal level, about dealing with your inner capitalist, knowing that you have all that you need but still wanting more. It is about being a modern-day hunter and gatherer, hunting for good prices and gathering things in your shopping trolley or online cart.

The seventh song, “Skrifstofuplanta” (Office plant), the title-song of the album, is about realizing that you and the office plant (in this case a Snake plant) on your desk are the same. That you are an office plant. Stuck inside your office space, staring at computer screens, chewing on pencils, writing and reading long texts about specific things that you were not interested in when you were young. About worrying about the lack of toner in the printer and lack of color in your life.

The eight and last song on the album is called “Dansinn” (The Dance). It is a cover song from my father’s old band Randver. It was released before I was born and written by Randver’s guitar player Jón Jónasson to a poem by an old Icelandic folk-poet kalled Káinn. It is about an old man who sits in the corner at party and watches the young people dance and feels a nostalgic longing and a fire burning inside of him that he has not felt for a long time. When my father sang the song in the original Randver version it was a very up-tempo song. I do it much slower. My brother and my fathers-brother sing it with me on the album. In a way my version is done in memory of my father.