For Boxer (and for Lil' BUB)

Kimya Dawson/Aesop Rock

 

Kimya Dawson is known for a string of lo-fi homemade albums released after the Moldy Peaches broke up. For Boxer comes from Knock Knock, Who? from 2004. The song is a heart-rending account of the death of her dear cat. I only found out later the song was about a cat and not a friend. Together with her often-collaborator Aesop Rock she also recorded an ode to Lil' BUB, a celebrity cat known for her unique physical appearance. 

 

Hugo Zemp/Il'aresi (or Aresi)

Aaresi and Il'aresi appear several times in the 1994 ethnographic documentary film 'Are'are Music by Hugo Zemp. Footage from the film was recorded mostly in 1974 and 1975 in Malaita, the largest of the Solomon Islands, the performers in the film belong the the 'Are'are ethnic group. The song illustrated here is an example of the Aamamata genre of funerary songs performed as a duo. The two singers are also seen in the film as part of a trio performing bamboo stamping tubes as well as part of a larger group of women performing several kiro ni karusi songs, which are water games. I finally found an image of Zemp that fits in between him as a young man and and old man (I think I might have used every image of Hugo Zemp available on Google Image. The photo I used was taken by Marianne Zemp.)