# Whitney Houston 1963-2012



## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

shocking news from our pop music genre this morning. I never really carefully dig into Whitney music, but from what I understand, she was one of the brightest female pop star in our lifetime. r.i.p.

http://news.yahoo.com/whitney-houston-superstar-records-films-dies-005927033.html


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

don't do drugs, kids


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

RIP, far too young to die. & she is survived by a child too, I think. Very sad. She also did some good films, _The Bodyguard _& _Waiting to Exhale_.

I hope cynical people will not come here and pull her down for her drug use. It would make me angry, just as it did with the late Amy Winehouse. Funny how some people who admire the likes of Sibelius, who was an alcoholic, feel the need to pull down rock stars who die of illegal drugs. Just cos they're illegal doesn't make any difference folks, both can kill you in the end. Old Sibelius was just lucky, but Mussorgsky was not. So let's put our boots into him, hey?...


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Very sad indeed. 

Although I never was a fan, I found her much more tolerable than the other two
power ballad queens Mariah and Celine. But no matter what I or anyone else think
about her music, there's no denying that she was a huge talent. Beneath the
glossy exterior of her records there was some real soul hidden in her somewhere
which occasionally got out on certain tracks. I could have imagined her coming
up with an absolute knock out of a soul album working with the right producer
and backing musicians. I can't say that about either Carey or Dion.

Anyway, RIP Whitney.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Houston was never to my taste, but undoubtedly she was an incredibly talented performer. If anything, I feel sorry for her. She had so much going for her: the right connections ( Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin), an incredible voice, sex appeal... and a young daughter. She lost it all as a result of being around the wrong people (especially her ex-husband) and drug abuse. To state the obvious: that she was destroyed by drugs is not an attempt to tear her down. Indeed, it would seem rather absurd to avoid the issue. Nor do I see any hypocrisy. I have never found that Mussorgsky's alcoholism was a topic avoided. Most acknowledge that it resulted in the destruction of an incredible talent... leaving endless projects unfinished. I don't recall anyone avoiding the fact that drug and alcohol use destroyed Coleridge, De Quincy, Baudelaire, Edgar Allen Poe, Dylan Thomas, etc... Rather than an attempt to tear down the reputations of any musician or popular cultural figure because of their drug use, I think it is legitimate to point out just how destructive drugs and alcohol can be and to question the manner in which popular culture glamorizes these... often marketing such a lifestyle at the young and impressionable... often in the form of celebrities.

RIP Whitney


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I think you summed it up well here -



StlukesguildOhio said:


> Houston was never to my taste, but undoubtedly she was an incredibly talented performer. If anything, I feel sorry for her. She had so much going for her: the right connections ( Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin), an incredible voice, sex appeal... and a young daughter. She lost it all as a result of being around the wrong people (especially her ex-husband) and drug abuse....


However, with what you said here -



StlukesguildOhio said:


> ...To state the obvious: that she was destroyed by drugs is not an attempt to tear her down. Indeed, it would seem rather absurd to avoid the issue. Nor do I see any hypocrisy. I have never found that Mussorgsky's alcoholism was a topic avoided. Most acknowledge that it resulted in the destruction of an incredible talent... leaving endless projects unfinished...


I was referring to various people playing the blame game on the Amy Winehouse thread last year, when she died. Ironically, autopsy and coroner's investigation later found that Ms. Winehouse did not die from drug overdose, but from cumulative poisoning/toxicity in her liver (or body generally, I think?) from alcohol. A legal drug.

I remember on that thread, some fans of Sibelius pulled Ms. Winehouse down. Now that's hypocrisy. Totally. I won't labour the point but some people need to get out there a bit, away from their sheltered enclaves. Or just talk to people around them about things more significant than the weather or house prices. I've come across people in a number of areas in my life affected by drugs - legal and illegal. There is the real side, the human side. Not the "I'll sit on my high horse and judge and be a hypocrite" side.

Anyway, I'm glad the tributes, including yours, have been positive on this thread. Maybe due to my rant on my first post above. If people knew how hard it is to see someone go through these addictions, and in some cases lose a loved one to it, maybe they would shut their mouth...


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Sid James said:


> RIP, far too young to die. & she is survived by a child too, I think. Very sad. She also did some good films, _The Bodyguard _& _Waiting to Exhale_.
> 
> I hope cynical people will not come here and pull her down for her drug use. It would make me angry, just as it did with the late Amy Winehouse. Funny how some people who admire the likes of Sibelius, who was an alcoholic, feel the need to pull down rock stars who die of illegal drugs..


I'm willing to give one more slack because one was a genius composer and the other is a manufactured celebrity. Sorry if that's not PC.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

She was very good at what she did - popular songs and acting. No doubt she moved a lot of her fans. I think she will be well remembered for decades to come.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

regressivetransphobe said:


> I'm willing to give one more slack because one was a genius composer and the other is a manufactured celebrity...


...according to you, according to your values, which you own. I don't own them, many people wouldn't care for one or the other. Or both. It's a diverse world, you know.

I respect both of them. I don't respect smart aleks boiling things down to rubbish false dichotomies.



> ...Sorry if that's not PC.


Nothing to do with PC, buddy. Funny how whenever I talk common sense, in real life and here, I get the PC **** thrown in my face. I'm not PC. I don't follow any limiting ideology, which that is. Don't label me and stop putting your words into my mouth....


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

Sid James said:


> I'm not PC










trying to relieve the tension


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Well, PC or not, manufactured or not, as Harpsichordconcerto said - she was very good at what she did. Much better than most of us will ever be at what we do, I'm sure.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

regressivetransphobe said:


> I'm willing to give one more slack because one was a genius composer and the other is a manufactured celebrity. Sorry if that's not PC.


Ha! That statement has nothing to do with being or not being PC. It's just an open admission of prejudices so ingrained in you that you're only willing to have some human compassion for someone whose career you approve of. How shallow.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

A performer who could come up with performances like this and enthuse her audience to this degree definitely is deserving of some respect...


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Bump.
She's the *only* female pop star I can stand.

Whitney Houston is one of those rare artists who's best live performances are better than the studio recording of the same song.

live: 




studio:


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