New York popsters The Postelles brought their upbeat bubble to the elegant stage of Idno in Reykjavik, as part of the Airwaves Music Festival. We caught up with the quartet -- Daniel Balk, David Dargahi, John Speyer, Billy Cadden -- right after their Airwaves gig and asked them to wax Icelandic for a minute before they headed back to New York. Catch them in NYC tonight at Bowery Ballroom or tomorrow at the CMJ PureVolume House after party. Or just catch ‘em kickin' it with the hidden people.

A noble nation fueled by clean geothermal energy and a strong dose of quirkiness (they actually believe in elves, diddle around with Matthew Barney, etc.), the Icelanders are fun-loving, open, and pure at heart. I can make these broad generalizations after spending just five days in Iceland checking out the Airwaves Music Festival because there's only 300,000 Icelanders total, which is basically the population of Manhattan below 14th Street. So when stumbling around from venue to venue checking out the bands, you encounter a representative chunk of Icelanders in toto. The dudes are friendly and a tad aggro and like to throw them 'bows a bit too much as they jostle around the club -- they are Vikings after all -- but not in a headbutt-you-for-kicks sort of Glasgow Kiss way. The girls are pretty forward, pretty blonde (though not exclusively), and pretty fun. All in all a charming bunch, which makes Reykjavik a killer place to host a festival. They have a famous, stunning hot spring called the Blue Lagoon, which is worth the trip right there. But one thing the Icelanders do not have are jokes.

Speaking of restaurants as nightlife, one of the most notorious (if not most controversial) of them all appears to have won its ongoing battle against the irate neighbors of Avenue B. Word via a press release courtesy of Lizzie Grubman (who better to represent a scandalous resto nightlclub than her) that Middle Eastern rager Le Souk is set to re-open its doors next Monday night. This means triumphant, thumping beats for the joint's Euro-ish devotees, and more ire for certain noise-averse neighbors. You pretty much have to side with Le Souk on this one.

And Phil Knight didn’t even have to use his AK! Here’s the new Nike joint that just dropped featuring pro skater Paul Rodriguez Jr. (who looks a bit like Adrian Grenier) skating to Ice Cube’s classic track "Today was a Good Day." Even if you’re not into skate vids, it’s a pretty ill video, and it might also be Cube’s strongest work of 2009, though I’m looking forward to his upcoming movie Janky Promoters based on the name and the concept alone. More than 20 years after they got Spike Lee to star in and direct all those classic Mars Blackmon Air Jordan ads, Nike once again proves there’s no corporation quite as talented at co-opting emblematic elements of mainstream black culture for their commercial gain and your viewing pleasure. Make sure to watch the whole extended version for the two cameos after the jump. Is it the shoes?

Did we mention they were dirty old man eyes? Randy right winger Silvio Berlusconi has a lot on his mind these days. There’s the matter of Italy’s shrinking economy. And keeping those dreaded immigrants out of racially pure Italy. Pissing off the Queen of England ate up a chunk of the calendar. Oh, and callously offending earthquake victims taxes a 72-year-old body. These things take time and work. So it should come as no surprise that his soccer team (that’s right, in Italy you can own a giant sporting enterprise like AC Milan and run the damn country at the same time!) has been slip-siding away while he lusts after 18-year-old models in Naples.

Sometimes the only way to squash beef is over drinks. You know that. I know that. And Obama knows that. A cold beer is perfect for quaffing racial tension in Boston because it’s culturally appropriate to drink beer in Massachusetts, the birthplace of Samuel Adams. Beer, when consumed in moderation, is also a mellow beverage that subtly dulls one’s aggression while lowering inhibitions. Obama was quite wise in choosing beer as the catalyst for resolving this conflict. But when the duel is deeper, more complex, or more violent, you need a drink that rises to the occasion. After the jump, I’ve paired several major international conflicts with the corresponding beverage to once and for all bring about their peaceful resolution.

FIFA, the shady world governing body of global football, just cleared the world’s most annoying stadium instrument for use in the upcoming World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa in June 2010. Vuvuzelas are those long plastic horns that drove players, journos, and many foreign fans so batshit crazy during the recently concluded Confederations Cup in South Africa (which served as a trial run for the actual World Cup next year). The players griped they couldn’t hear jack, and journos said it drove them nuts trying to do commentary over the din, but FIFA countered that the distinctive African sound had a right to be heard. "That would mean one would have to take away the cow bells from Swiss fans and ban English fans from singing," noted Hans Klaus, director of FIFA’s communications.

Pubs in the UK are dying off at a clip of 52 quaint pubs per week, according to a study by the UK Drinking Team, otherwise know as the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). Much to the delight of croissant-munching corporate wankers, the study also revealed that cafes, generic chain pubs, and food-serving gastropubs are opening at a healthy rate in Britain despite the bleak economy. What's to blame for the demise of Britain's once robust public houses?

Seemingly improbable smoking bans are fun because everyone bitches and moans for a while that it´s tantamount to cultural heresy and bodes certain death to the very essence of a city/country/romantic way of life. It happened in New York, Paris, Buenos Aires, London, Hong Kong, etc. Yesterday the tobacco-lovingest Turks implemented one of the strictest bans on smoking in all of Europe (though they are technically partly in Asia, but that´s another matter) that makes smoking illegal in all closed public places, including the typical Turkish tea and coffee joints where one might light up a traditional nargileh.

And you don't have to sleep with yet another sketchy club promoter to do it. To hype the 12th International DJ Awards, organizers are giving aspiring turntablists the chance to win a trip to the event at Ibiza uber club Pacha on September 24. Can you kill it on the decks, but only in the privacy of your room? Live in Iowa but always wanted to see the hedonistic isle of decadence up close? Just feel like going to the beach? Upload a short clip of yourself (and your skills) here for a chance to go there.