Whitney Houston R.I.P.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYTFJvgxx5Q

"How Will I Know" is probably my ultimate favourite, but I love all of the big songs from The Bodyguard, esp. "I Have Nothing". I don't care how schlocky it is. It's like a tidal wave.

RIP Whitney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Sgnlz719Q

;_; RIP

'tidal wave', 'massively massive' indeed...

:-(

That 98/99 Whitney comeback was really great - certainly better than the Bodyguard balladosaurus era. 80s dancepop Whitney forever though. RIP.

Works shockingly well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7DHjUH2UbM

Wait, this is the better one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKjZAsbLCxQ

I really like the Whitney mash-ups, because they underscore something in her voice that the boilerplate '80s pop backing didn't always convey. And again, that's the real tragedy, that she was rarely matched with music that truly suited her vocal talent. And she truly didn't give a shit, either.

2nd one is great

I really like the Whitney mash-ups, because they underscore something in her voice that the boilerplate '80s pop backing didn't always convey. And again, that's the real tragedy, that she was rarely matched with music that truly suited her vocal talent. And she truly didn't give a shit, either.

It's pretty much the classical definition of a tragedy, isn't it?

I dunno, I think the original music for "How Will I Know" is fabulous.

The Material collaboration is an anomaly; her voice was still embryonic. Houston was custom designed for big productions.

It's a crying shame we never got Whitney Houston Tortoise dubs.

xpost "How Will I Know" would have been fabulous for anyone.

damn -- I didn't know Jermaine Jackson had three productions on the debut album (only knew the duet).

The only cluster of songs which leaves me cold: the blockbuster trilogy from Whitney ("So Emotional," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go").

It's pretty much the classical definition of a tragedy, isn't it?

Well, it is a waste of epic proportions. No one would fault her voice, an incredible thing. The tragedy is that despite that voice, and beauty, and fame and money and success, fate had other plans for her. Hooking up with Bobby Brown, of all people, only enhanced the classical Greek aspect of her fall.

Like, most people confuse tragedy with anything bad that happens. But in the classic sense, it's really inevitable self-destruction. See: I believe we are in the catharsis stage of the narrative.

(Creepy true story: in I want to say elementary school music class, all those years ago, the day the teacher taught us what a "figure" was he used Whitney Houston as an example. Like, a creepy punny example, as in, "check out Whitney's figure!" Left an impression, I guess.)

...because they underscore something in her voice that the boilerplate '80s pop backing didn't always convey. And again, that's the real tragedy, that she was rarely matched with music that truly suited her vocal talent...

which is why when her vocals were isolated as in the first few minutes of this, it is utterly wondrous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enbfmqmBBqI

It would have been nice if she made a full album with Kashif and Paul Laurence around '82-'84, or Jam and Lewis around '85/'86, or Foster and McElroy around '90/'91. She still MOVED/affected millions of people! I see no "waste of epic proportions" in that.

OTM andy k

the "boilerplate backings" weren't the point.

Man...the musician deaths in the last 2 years have been brutal. :(

RIP Whitney

would not want to be in a karaoke bar tonight.

― pplains, Saturday, February 11, 2012 8:29 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

I was. only one person did an attempt at a 'tribute' song tho thankfully....

I dunno, I think the original music for "How Will I Know" is fabulous.

― Tim F, Sunday, February 12, 2012 8:28 AM (1 hour ago)

yeah i never knew people preferred the acappella version before! song is perfect as is!

i don't think anyone does prefer the acappella, it's just a pretty astonishing demonstration of her voice

this sucks

watching videos of her when she first became a star and then thinking of what she became when she got into drugs is just ridiculously tough to reconcile

anyway RIP, life is mad short

from Newark, so RIP

i don't think anyone does prefer the acappella, it's just a pretty astonishing demonstration of her voice

― first period don't give a fuck, second period gon get cut (lex pretend), Sunday, February 12, 2012 9:42 AM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalin

right--i love the music to that song but i think the acappella is what we need today; that shit just haunted me last night.

She still MOVED/affected millions of people!

Dunno how old you are, but I imagine there are at least as many people who know her best as a drug-damaged wreck than as a pop force. MJ's global ubiquity transcended his infamy. But Whitney's reality show descent I think proved far more damaging to her career. Lots of folks have moved and affected millions. Far fewer so perfectly eroded such good will. That, I'd argue, is her legacy, not some ace pop tunes released nearly 30 years ago.

You sound as if her hits aren't played on the radio. I hear them all the time!

her global ubiquity DID transcend her infamy

uh....no, I think most people remember her as both. Like do you really think her songs haven't survived the test of time and the damage she did to her rep, because you're definitely wrong if so. xxpost

Lots of folks have moved and affected millions. Far fewer so perfectly eroded such good will. That, I'd argue, is her legacy, not some ace pop tunes released nearly 30 years ago.

feel like the second part of this isn't really connected to the first... whether or not her "legacy" is her descent into drugs or the songs she put out before that (the reality of course is that the entire thing is her legacy) is irrelevant to whether or not she moved and affected millions of people

i'm young enough and have friends young enough to basically only remember her in her addict period, but most reactions from ppl younger and older than me that i've seen have remembered who she was before that, so idk.

Alfred otm. FFS I still hear her songs all over the place, and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" was always one of the most popular choices at the local 'rising star' karaoke joint. in clubs people still dance to the goddamn song (usually at 80s nights but still).

I have many friends (ages ranged from like 20-45) who loved (and often publicly performed) her music. mostly singers, but they both embraced her music while still acknowledging her personal issues. They're devastated atm. But the idea that her music has fallen out of public favor is LOLworthy. maybe some of her lesser 80s hits, but for God's sake, stuff like "I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing" is timeless.

Stunningly, so far, the public reception to her death in my general circle has been less "ehh she got what was coming" than with say Amy Winehouse...I really think the public was sympathetic to her trying to make a comeback, that and possibly because most of her personal drama was private and not as public as Amy's. I don't think her addiction issues are damaging her legacy anywhere near as much as other deceased singers.

the thing with whitney and drugs is that while it's overwhelmingly sad to have seem her throw a large portion of her life away... i don't think most ppl feel like we didn't get enough out of her, musically speaking. she's not someone that lost her life at the prime of her career because of her addictions... it's more of a michael situation where you're just generally smh at what can happen to people, but it's not like there isn't a deep catalog of music to go back to

^^^ also otm

i think amy was also contemporary enough that people (inc the dicks making jokes) felt able to have ~opinions~ on whether she was any good or not, whereas whitney and michael's legacies are a) so obvious b) so far back in the past that it's kind of pointless to argue their validity

or put another way, one's opinions on amy could be seen as integral to constructing one's taste set in 2011; whitney and MJ, not so much.

or, like, if you didn't like amy's music, that's an ongoing conversation you'd have been having when you died. if you didn't like MJ's music or whitney's music, those would have been old thoughts, pointless to dredge up at a time like this.

any auditions portion of any given season of american idol (and i would assume other singing contest shows from around the globe) is pretty much enough to put the kibosh on the idea that whitney songs (at least the monster ballads) are considered by the youngs to be off-limits/forgotten/the embarrassing evidence of a drug casualty rather than (for better or worse) the big lung-busting showstopper standards of their generation.

<---- drowning in a sea of OTM posts

"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" was always one of the most popular choices at the local 'rising star' karaoke joint.

I got big applause when I did this at karaoke a few years ago. I pretty much never hear her songs anymore (don't listen to much MIX-FM-type radio), but people have a lot of fond memories...

Yeah, like these young kids actually pick those songs. Young kids had their Christinas and Mariahs, who granted, were not possibly, maybe, without Whitney, but I'm not so sure how much someone born in the '90s cares about Whitney any more than they care about Motown.

I guess that's the part I'm having trouble coming to grips with. Undeniably, she's popular, or was popular, but I never go the sense there was as much affection for her as there was for someone like Michael Jackson. Like, I'm sure people were rooting for a comeback, but unlike MJ, I'm not entirely sure how devastating it is that it never arrived. Just sad. But I could be wrong, I guess.

And really

"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" was always one of the most popular choices at the local 'rising star' karaoke joint. in clubs people still dance to the goddamn song (usually at 80s nights but still).

(sorry for typos and xposts)

One crucial difference: MJ (and Winehouse to a lesser extent) boasted dozens of critics who considered Off The Wall and Thriller classic albums whereas Houston endured a lot of sneers for most of her career.

anyway r.i.p. lady. my mom was a big fan and the 80s pop hits are ingrained in me from childhood and those late '90s club mixes were an essential part of my going out experiences in the major period when i bothered to go out. i always kinda hoped you'd do more house diva stuff.

wow, almost ALL whitney vinyl is selling on ebay right now. haven't seen that since MJ. needless to say, whitney not big with vinyl fans. you couldn't give it away. very much a cd artist.

Whitney's first album released at the cusp of CD's going blogal.