i will definitely need to really listen to her catalog at some point but my kneejerk pox is:
I Wanna Dance With SomebodyIt's Not Right But It's OkaySaving All My Love For YouI'm Your Baby TonightI Have NothingMillion Dollar BillHow Will I KnowI'm Every WomanHeartbreak Hotel (with Faith Evans and Kelly Price)I Will Always Love You
― some dude, Monday, 13 February 2012 18:56 (twelve years ago) link
It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be (with Aretha Franklin)
It certainly wasn't on the pop chart
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 18:57 (twelve years ago) link
prob "it's not right but it's okay" but i love "i wanna dance with somebody." also had forgotten how much i liked "love will save the day."
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 18:57 (twelve years ago) link
"How Will I Know" is "Who's Zoomin' Who" improved. You had to be in the fall of '85 to know what an aural impact this thing had.
I'm very fond of "All at Once" (cowritten by Jeffrey Osborne!).
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 18:58 (twelve years ago) link
Didn't We Almost Have It AllSo EmotionalWhere Do Broken Hearts Go
the worst of her big hits imo
add in "So Emotional" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and that's my bottom 5
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:00 (twelve years ago) link
lol I can't read
"So Emotional "Shoop Shoop (The Exhale Song)"
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
why do you hate i wanna dance with somebody so much, dan? ;_;
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
he fears her hair in the video
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
i don't get that shoop song at all. i don't hate it, i just don't understand. waiting to exhale soundtrack is fine by me though because of brandy's "sittin' up in my room"
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:02 (twelve years ago) link
haha i was going to mention her i wanna dance with somebody hair as the potential reason
"how will I know" by a mile for me
haven't heard everything though
― ploppawheelie V (k3vin k.), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:02 (twelve years ago) link
I only learned a few weeks ago that Annie Lennox wrote "Step by Step."
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:04 (twelve years ago) link
oh i like that one, too. but it's one of the remixes that i like.
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:04 (twelve years ago) link
So EmotionalWhere Do Broken Hearts Go
I honestly don't remember these songs at all when I could easily call everything else she did from that decade to mind. Very strange.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:06 (twelve years ago) link
lol I could probably write an essay
- the irritation of a song about dancing sung by someone who couldn't dance to save her life- her first actually irritating vocal, devoid of the character necessary to sell those terrible lyrics- the awful, awful video (the hair is not an insignificant part of the antipathy, but also the vacant miming of manic happiness that read more pathetic and controlled)- the contrast between her initial breakthrough singles, particularly the vastly superior up-tempo "How Will I Know?" and this unappealing frothy nothing- the sheer ubiquity of the song at the time of its release- the number of horrible cover versions and dance routines girls my age put on to it- that every single released from the album managed to be progressively WORSE than the song that preceded it
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
also can I just say how fucking lucky Mr Ned Raggett is to have "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" excised from his memory, because those songs fukkin SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:08 (twelve years ago) link
- her first actually irritating vocal, devoid of the character necessary to sell those terrible lyrics
come on the "don't you wanna dance say you wanna dance don't you wanna dance" part is sung so exuberantly!
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
voted My Love Is Your Love
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
the vacant miming of manic happiness
this is what frightened me about her for years and still does
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
i feel like "so emotional" was huge, too, like i remember her winning a bunch of awards for it when i was a kid. it was so confusing to me. even then i knew it sucked.
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:10 (twelve years ago) link
I mean "So Emotional" isn't emotional, like, at all.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:10 (twelve years ago) link
Every song from Whitney except "Love Will Save the Day" hit #1 on the pop chart.
IMO it only reads as exuberant if you are looking at her glassy-eyed rictus grin in the video, and even then only if you're being charitable
otherwise it's just unsubtle honking on a bridge akin to the second chorus of "I Will Always Love You" where she brays really flatly
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:11 (twelve years ago) link
xpost -- Song or single? We're not talking Thriller here...
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:13 (twelve years ago) link
no i hate the video, but i found out about her death on Saturday night when i was out, and then when i was driving home they played "i wanna dance with somebody" and "million dollar bill" on the radio and i was struck anew by how infectiously happy "i wanna dance with somebody" sounds! i had been feeling that her death was kind of surreal. that was the moment i got sad.
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:14 (twelve years ago) link
single, mais oui
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:14 (twelve years ago) link
i am v biased in favor of upbeat songs about dancing, tbf. madonna's "into the groove" is the best song in history, maybe.
To me "Greatest Love of All" is more horrifying than "I Wanna Dance." Her self-regard is chilling.
Her self-regard is what sells "GLOA"! That and the voice.
Horseshoe, I agree re: "Into the Groove"!
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:17 (twelve years ago) link
i wanna dance with somebody
― (_()_) (Lamp), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:18 (twelve years ago) link
Now that we're sharing Whitney experiences, let me mention that one particularly moronic teacher in sixth copied the lyrics in perfect Palmer handwriting, photocopied it, and distributed it as a graduation poem.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:18 (twelve years ago) link
Saving All My Love For You
― J0rdan S., Monday, 13 February 2012 19:18 (twelve years ago) link
more people should just post song titles that could double as declarative statements itt like lamp and j0rdan
― some dude, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:21 (twelve years ago) link
"Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (with Enrique Iglesias)
I have never heard this but I assume it is terrible
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:22 (twelve years ago) link
i only realized much later that "saving all my love for you" is sung from the pov of a woman having an affair with a married man. i don't know why it surprised me; it just seemed out of place with the smooth AC sound.
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:22 (twelve years ago) link
that makes the song that much more awesome IMO
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:24 (twelve years ago) link
― some dude
We Didn't Know
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:24 (twelve years ago) link
yeah i think "saving all my love for you" is my favorite of the early ballads.
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:25 (twelve years ago) link
my actual shortlist:
Saving All My Love For YouHow Will I KnowGreatest Love of AllI'm Your Baby TonightI Have NothingIt's Not Right But It's Okay
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:26 (twelve years ago) link
no one's voting for "My Name is Not Susan"?
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:27 (twelve years ago) link
i like that song, but no
― horseshoe, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:27 (twelve years ago) link
My short list:
You Give Good LoveSaving All My Love For YouHow Will I KnowLove Will Save The DayI'm Every WomanExhale (Shoop Shoop)It's Not Right But It's Okay
You guys are also sleeping on "Love Will Save The Day"
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:29 (twelve years ago) link
every time I think of "Love Will Save The Day" I start actually humming "Love Will Lead You Back" and I am much happier
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:29 (twelve years ago) link
You're disappointing me today.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:33 (twelve years ago) link
aww "So Emotional" is a good one: "ain't it shockin what..............love can do!" love that pause
voted "How Will I Know", cuz you know about these things.
― Euler, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:44 (twelve years ago) link
Saving All My LoveHow Will I Know
so torn!!!
But I need to rep for "All At Once"... my grandma died right around that time & my little sister and I used to bawl over that damn song
I love that whole first album, tbh
― Janet Snakehole (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:48 (twelve years ago) link
her first album is really her best
― I spend a lot of time thinking about apricots (DJP), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:50 (twelve years ago) link
I'd like to hear a band like the Jesus Lizard fronted by a singer like Whitney Houston.
― Euler, Sunday, May 20, 2007 3:59 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark
― Euler, Monday, 13 February 2012 19:54 (twelve years ago) link
Rob Sheffield's twelve favorite Whitney songs.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 18 February 2012 17:49 (twelve years ago) link
"Million Dollar Bill" (2009)Whitney’s last shot was a return to the original Eighties game plan, except at this point, her vocals were too ravaged for either pop or soul.
Whitney’s last shot was a return to the original Eighties game plan, except at this point, her vocals were too ravaged for either pop or soul.
― Lee626, Saturday, 18 February 2012 18:10 (twelve years ago) link
For anyone not aware of this, her funeral service is all over the television right now.
― clemenza, Saturday, 18 February 2012 18:28 (twelve years ago) link
When I was in...probably sixth grade and listening to pop radio incessantly, I awoke to "Love Will Save The Day". The sun was just coming up and the light was slightly violet through the window and everything felt very calm and peaceful as the vibraphone came in and it really did feel like love might save the day. It's still one of my more idyllic childhood memories.
― SNEEZED GOING DOWN STEPS, PAIN WHEN PUTTING SOCKS ON (Deric W. Haircare), Saturday, 18 February 2012 19:56 (twelve years ago) link
I wish my radio station had played "Love Will Save the Day."
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 18 February 2012 20:00 (twelve years ago) link
yeah "my love is your love" has long been the whitney song of choice for people who don't actually like what whitney houston was all about.
I actually do like what Whitney was all about, and it's still my favorite of her singles. That song just puts me in a good place.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 18 February 2012 20:15 (twelve years ago) link
whitney....this was incredible... much (very very much) as i have always loved Whitney, 'I will always love you' is the one song of hers that I never really loved, certainly never felt, didn't appreciate - and also about the very single song i haven't listened to after she died.to suddenly hearing it now, after all those thousands? of times i heard it, and now feeling every little part of it. it was me, not Whitney, that hadn't gotten it. the most beautiful thing she's ever sung. beautiful.
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 18 February 2012 21:02 (twelve years ago) link
guess this belongs in the Whitney Houston R.I.P. thread
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 18 February 2012 21:48 (twelve years ago) link
I just heard My Love Is Your Love again for the first time in I don't know how long. Catchy as hell, that one!
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 17 September 2012 22:05 (eleven years ago) link
wow for some reason i had no idea that "i have nothing" was titled "i have nothing," it was easily my favorite whitney hair salon jam when i was a kid
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Thursday, 20 August 2015 23:40 (eight years ago) link
I heard her Jermaine duet on quiet storm a few weeks ago.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 August 2015 23:53 (eight years ago) link
I Have Nothing has been on my Spotify playlist for the last five years or so.
― Hammer Smashed Bagels, Friday, 21 August 2015 00:08 (eight years ago) link
"I Have Nothing" is the squarest, greatest song of all time.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Friday, 21 August 2015 00:19 (eight years ago) link
Good thing Brad heard it at the beauty parlor, for the women would need hair implants after Whitney blasts the chorus.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 21 August 2015 00:33 (eight years ago) link
"I Have Nothing" is tres pretty and one of the two Whitney songs, along with "Exhale," that I continued to groove to even during those ill advised years of indie snobbery where I was obligated to regard Whitney as The Enemy.
― The New Gay Sadness (cryptosicko), Friday, 21 August 2015 00:58 (eight years ago) link
My top fifteen. Thanks for help, some dude.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 01:59 (six years ago) link
I don't really need to look very much furtherI don't want to have to go where you don't followI will hold it back again this passion insideI can't run from myself THERES NOWHERE TO HIIIIIIIIIIIDE YOUR LOVE! I'll RE MEM BER! FOR EV ER
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 03:50 (six years ago) link
we should do a legit ballot poll on Whitney so we can show Alfred all the ways he is misguided
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 03:52 (six years ago) link
This is a refrain he often hears.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 7 June 2017 04:03 (six years ago) link
Alfred: Wrong on Whitney, Wrong for America
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 04:06 (six years ago) link
giving me ALL THE RONG THAT I'LL EVER NEEEEEED
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 10:26 (six years ago) link
YOUR LOVE! I'll RE MEM BER! FOR EV ER
Don't make me clooooose--
*does shoo hand gesture*
--one more door!
― insidious assymetrical weapons (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 13:08 (six years ago) link
Greatest Love of All 0
Admittedly, Toni Erdmann wasn't out yet when this poll was done but ... damn.
― insidious assymetrical weapons (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 13:11 (six years ago) link
I'd have voted for her version.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 13:11 (six years ago) link
Sandra Hüller's?
― insidious assymetrical weapons (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 13:13 (six years ago) link
wtf alfred, no "i have nothing"?
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 13:14 (six years ago) link
*reads last few posts before the thread bump* ah
i guess i don't understand what more you could even want from whitney if "i have nothing" isnt yr pinnacle or at least top 5
there are other value judgements at play that i guess i dont fully understand?
or yr heart is a lump of coal, either or :)
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 18:32 (six years ago) link
now imagine Glenn Frey singing "I Have Nothing"
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 18:33 (six years ago) link
'It's Not Right But It's Okay' still rules.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 18:39 (six years ago) link
The album version, yes.
― insidious assymetrical weapons (Eric H.), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 18:41 (six years ago) link
Alfred revise your opinions4u on "I Have Nothing".
Or must I emerge in you there.
― Tim F, Wednesday, 7 June 2017 21:45 (six years ago) link
DONT WALK AWAY FROM MEEEEEEE
― Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 22:08 (six years ago) link
How's this for a poll: Cinematic covers of "The Greatest Love Of All"--Loren Dean in SAY ANYTHING VS. Sandra Hüller in TONI ERDMANN?
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 23:49 (six years ago) link
― Tim F, Wednesday, June 7, 2017
emerge away
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 7 June 2017 23:51 (six years ago) link
Her most depressing song.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 02:04 (six years ago) link
RONG
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 03:05 (six years ago) link
All this discussion about her worst single and no mention of One Moment In Time?
― Custard Cream, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 04:25 (six years ago) link
this thread is an abomination
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 05:31 (six years ago) link
...because "How Will I Know" wasn't a total sweep?
― iCloudius (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 05:46 (six years ago) link
NOW i mean
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 05:59 (six years ago) link