The News Review:

- Reality star Steve-: Mom’s alcohol abuse made him ‘powerless&…
- Iceland kicks off music festival season despite snow
- Monday ‘” March 24

Reality star Steve-: Mom’s alcohol abuse made him ‘powerless&…
Reality TV World – Mar 24, 2008
“Shortly thereafter I was taking LSD on a regular basis. It was my prerogative to try just about any drug I could get my hands on. It is not my intention to glorify my history as a drug abuser with elaborate stories about having sex in lavatories on airplanes after snorting amphetamines off the toilet at the tender age of seventeen” he wrote. “I will simply say that when I was interviewed about it all upon checking into this rehab facility it became frighteningly clear to me how lucky I am to still have any chance whatsoever at leading a happy fulfilling and meaningful life.

Iceland kicks off music festival season despite snow
NME.com – Mar 24, 2008
Whittled down from around 130 applications this year’s I Never Went South boasted a vast range of genres ages and talent. Among the highlights on the opening night (March 21) were Bob Justman who came across as a rocked-up Belle & Sebastian Hjaltalin who thanks to their multi instrumentalists and euphoric chamber pop have been called Iceland’s Arcade Fire ambient noise experimentalist Ben Frost – who called on the services of former Sugarcubes drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson – and Megas. A legend on the native music scene and credited as “grandfather of Iceland’s intellectual pop” singer-songwriter Megas felt part Mark E Smith and part an aged Pete Doherty as he played a rare set of whimsical artful songs that ended with a lone but highly devoted stage invader who initially could not be convinced to step down. Mugison himself closed the first evening with a selection of his groove driven rock ‘n’ roll songs that inspired a frantic moshpit and waves of crowd surfers as only a local boy can. The second day (21) had a longer bill and even more variety. Young band Retro Stefson shined with a mix of Afrobeat and cowbells that recalled a rustic take on The Rapture Lara Runars appeared to be Iceland’s answer to Kate Nash with a pleasingly cheeky set that climaxed with a deliciously witty song about realising her boyfriend was gay while Benny Crespo’s Gang demonstrated real potential beyond the island’s scene. Combining urgent synths and driving impassioned rock their twin boy-girl vocalists saw them swap between moments both Biffy Clyro and Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) would be proud of… Hraun – possibly familiar to wider audiences after being finalists in a BBC World Service international battle of the bands last year – provided one of I Never Went South’s biggest highlights with a set that started with the band mixing Icelandic atmospherics with West Coast Americana and ended with them stripping down to the waste and screaming about lemon pie. UMTS XXX Rottweilerhundar and Sign all pointed to the Icelandic music scene’s future. All provoking violent moshpits and relentless pogoing the first band’s synthcore resembled Enter Shikari both in style and for provoking an insane audience reaction; the second act are the country’s first “commercially successful” hip-hop outfit and suitably had to be carried from the stage at the end of their set; while Sign proved why they are already well-regarded by the international heavy metal community. The festival’s closing act SSSol fittingly best encapsulated Iceland’s idiosyncratic music scene. ne of the country’s biggest acts in the mid 90s and seen by many as the definition of Icelandic pop the band have played few gigs recently and had their guitarist missing due to a hand injury. Instead they relied on Sign’s lead singer on guitar who earnestly complimented their pop power as the crowd went wild for the reformation – the effect was felt something like The Beautiful South playing a rare gig in Pembroke Docks with Gallows’ guitarist. Speaking after I Never Went South 2008′s climax Mugison declared the event the best yet hailing the Icelandic music scene.

Monday ‘” March 24
NEWS.com.au – Mar 24, 2008
11 The Angry Hour (punk). Midnight The Power Team (metal). 7 – 1am Adelaide’s Best Music.