And the winner is...?

Planet Awards just wrapped up in the capital city, Tórshavn. The awards conmemorate mostly musical acts, but a category like "Best YouTube video" was implemented this year.

Best Faroese CD: Terji & Føstufressar - Tvey

Best female singer: Anna Katrin Egilstrøð (Valravn)

Song of the Year: Grandma's Basement - Hon fær ongantíð nokk (ed: She never gets enough)

Best new act: Hamferð ( http://www.myspace.com/hamferd )

Best Faroese YouTube video: "Vit koyra grill út" (originally it had several 1000 hits, but they altered the video a bit, and dropped the old account)

Best male singer: Jens Marni Hansen

Band of the Year: The Dreams

Festival-photo of the year: You can see it here (Shot by Jón K. Joensen, at the G! Festival)

Recognition of the Year: The Rhythmical Choir in Hoydølum (a school which is the eqivalent of high school. They have staged several musicals, and it is for that, they get the recognition).

That's it for this years Planet Awards. See you next year!

The Christmas Podcast, 2010

This week, we talk to our producer, Tollak Hansen about Christmas in his village (pictured above). And we answer the age old question, "should I be afraid of that meat?"

As always, you can listen on our media player, on iTunes, or download the show directly here:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_77.mp3

And from all of us here at the Faroe Islands Podcast, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Awards Update

Just a short note to say that we did not prevail in the "Travel" category in tonight's podcast awards. We were up against a Disney-themed podcast, and it's not easy to go up against the mouse. But we understand that we performed respectably, so we can all hold our heads high.

And in the process of competing for this award, we picked up a bunch of new listeners. So to the new members of our little family, we say "welcome."

New Christmas podcast is on its way next week.

Podcast 76: Carjacking and Culture

This video of a man in a lion suit pretending to steal a car is considered funny by some, while others have condemned it as irresponsible. This week, we talk to the man in the suit and ask him what this was all about.

And we'll continue our conversation with Birgir Kruse, one of the most interesting people in the Faroe Islands. Then we'll wrap things up by hanging out at the harbor... but not in a creepy way.

As always, you can listen on our audio player directly above, or listen on iTunes. Or you can download the show directly here:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_76.mp3

Podcast 75: Tourism and Isolation

This week, we talk to the head of Visit Faroe Islands about the state of tourism in the Faroe Islands today. Then we head off to Skaelingur (pictured above), a place where almost no tourists go.

As always, you can listen on iTunes or on our audio player at the top of the page. Or you can download the file directly here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_75.mp3

Also, we still need your votes for the Podcast Awards. We're in the running in the "Travel" category. Listeners can vote once each day by going to http://www.podcastawards.com . Voting closes on December 15th, so you've still got time to make a difference and spread the word about the Faroe Islands.

Shameless Plug

You may have noticed the banner ad at the top of our blog and wondered just why it urges you to vote now. That's a good question, and we'll answer it right now.

We've been nominated for a Podcast Award in the "travel" category and we couldn't be more pleased. The winner will be decided by popular vote, so yes, we're in the middle of a popularity contest. And the competition is stiff. We're up against no fewer than FIVE podcasts dealing with Walt Disney World. And two of them have been nominated for the more prestigious "Best Produced" award, which means they likely have a large and motivated fan base.

But we here at the Faroe Islands Podcast believe we can pull off a major upset simply because the Faroe Islands is better than Disney World. And with a little help from all of you, we can make this happen.

All you have to do is click on the banner at the top of the page or go to http://www.podcastawards.com and vote for us. The "travel" category is at the very bottom of the page, so you'll have to scroll down a bit. After you vote, the site will (almost always) send a confirmation email to your account. Click on the activation link, and you're good to go.

Under the rules of the competition, fans can vote for their favorite podcast once a day until December 15th. That means our small but loyal fan base can turn themselves into an outsized number of votes during the next two weeks.

So please vote and help us spread the word about the podcast and the Faroe Islands. Thanks.

Podcast 74: A Little Bit Country

On this week's show, it's the first edition of our new feature: Matt and Birgir Talk About Everything. Birgir Kruse and I start talking about the popularity of country music, and it just kind of takes off from there.

Then, it's off to the stunningly beautiful village of Kunoy (pictured above).

As always, you can listen on our audio player or on iTunes, or you can download the show directly here:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_74.mp3

Also, we're up for a Podcast award in the "travel" category. Just click on the link below or on the banner at the top of this page. The rest should be self explanitory]

http://www.podcastawards.com