Back in the 00s, I needed a lot of cheering up.
Coincidentally, Youtube appeared. This expanded the field – of my own musical
appreciation, to say the least.
And it is through Youtube that I discovered Les Rita
Mistouko. When I put a link up to one of their videos, the friend of my blog,
Amie – the late great Amie, whose death was a shock to my system that stayed a
shock – turned me on to other songs, and to some history of the group.
Catherine Ringer and Fred Chichin were the two elements of
that molecule – which was not only music, but dance and spectacle. They fully
embraced the cinematic side of the enterprise. Some of their songs were silly –
especially when matched up to their video – until, upon repeated listening, the
silliness became an initiation to a certain combative aesthetic joy. Prisoners sing for many reasons; one of them
is that the song is not imprisoned. That is combative joy.
Fred Chichin died of cancer. And now Catherine Ringer has
died of cancer.
To the me me me writing this, Catherine Ringer represented,
in a way, a certain French culture that I rather fetishize. It is the culture
of the paysan de Paris – it is a culture of metis, practical jokes, and a tough
view of morality, one that emphasizes respect and freedom as a synthesis rather
than a hostile truce.
Oh Catherine!
This is a song Amie sent me a link to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUOYXlBEjGI
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