Whitney Houston

I have to admit, I was pretty angry when Whitney Houston died. Here's someone who, at one point, had the world at her fingertips, and just pissed it all away for a "bad boy" and some lame drugs. She was so extremely talented and gifted as a singer, and she blew so many chances that other people will never get (despite their talent and hard work). I have a hard time feeling sympathy for someone in that situation, which I guess is something I need to work on. It especially bothers me when people call something like that "tragic."  It's not tragic; it's what happens when you're an addict. It's the natural course of events. And to be honest, the Whitney Houston I liked has been dead for over 10 years. We had already lost her. So her recent death didn't seem that shocking to me.

However, the whole dying thing brought Whitney Houston to the forefront of my mind, and I was reminded of how much I liked her music growing up. So, last weekend, I used an iTunes giftcard my brother had given me to create my own personal Whitney Houston's Greatist Hits CD. I only had $15, so  I couldn't get every song of hers that I like, but here's my playlist:

1. I Will Always Love You
2. How Will I Know?
3. One Moment in Time
4. My Love is Your Love
5. Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)
6. I Wanna Dance With Somebody
7. Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
8. So Emotional
9. Didn't We Almost Have it All?
10. It's Not Right, But It's Okay (dance remix)
11. Greatest Love of All
12. Star Spangled Banner


Now, a few notes:

1. I Will Always Love You - Yes, I know Dolly Parton wrote and recorded this song first, but Whitney gave it life. This is simply one of the most stunning and strong vocal performances ever. Even if you don't like this song, or you don't like Whitney Houston, I don't know how you could listen to it without being amazed at her voice. Sometimes I sing along in my car and pretend to be as great as she was, and sometimes I just sit and listen to her sing. And other times I remember how much The Bodyguard was a big moment for her and Kevin Costner....and don't even get me started on how much I love Kevin Costner. Seriously, I LOVE Kevin Costner. I'll probably have write a blog post about him soon, too. Anyway,... shout out to all the middle school slow dances that were danced to this song in the early 90's!

I hope life treats you kind,
and I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
I wish you joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love. 

Isn't that a beautiful wish to make for all of mankind?

2. How Will I Know? I mean, it's just fun. Girlfriend can sing.

3. One Moment in Time - "I want one moment in time when I'm more than I thought I could be/ when all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me..." Me too, Whitney, me too.

4. My Love is Your Love - This is probably my favorite one on the CD right now. Sometimes it seems like a gospel and sometimes it seems like a love song, but when I sing it, I'm definitely singing it to Jesus.

If tomorrow is Judgement Day  
And I'm standing on the front line  
And the Lord asks me what I did with my life  
I will say, "I spent it with You."

What a wonderful thing to be able to say you spent your life with Jesus. I hope I can truthfully say that at the end of my life.

Your love is my love  
And my love is Your love  
It would take an eternity to break us  
And the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us

Your love is my love: Given my depraved human nature, I know that any love or goodness in me is an out-flowing of Christ's love and goodness. It comes from Him - not me. Anything I have that's good, I have because He has given it to me, including the ability to even love at all.  In return, I hope that my love is His love - that I can love the things He loves: kindness, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, etc.  And, I hope I can learn to extend these things to people like Whitney in order to overcome my own initial reactions of anger and judgment.  I also think the last two lines of the chorus are profound. Nothing can keep us from the love of Christ, nothing can "break" it, and the even the gates of hell couldn't "hold" Him. 

5. Exhale -  It's kind of fun to sing Shoo-be-doo over and over again, because it sounds like Scooby Doo. Sometimes you'll laugh / Sometimes you'll cry /Life never tells us, the when's or why's. So true.

6. I Wanna Dance with Somebody - This was my favorite Whitney Houston song growing up. I still remember jamming to it as a kid.

7. Where Do Broken Hearts Go? Yeah, okay, it's a cheesy ballad, just like #3, #9, and #11 on this mix, but who cares? I just like listening to her voice.

8. So Emotional - This one is kind of funny because it seems like young Whitney's little attempt at being slightly sexy/edgy. And there's this one feline guitar howl that reminds me of Janet Jackson's "Black Cat."

9. Didn't We Almost Have it All?  Whitney really did, at one point, almost have it all. Please kids, take this as lesson #9,902 of why you shouldn't do drugs. Or date Bobby Brown. 

10. It's Not Right, But It's Okay  - I LOVE girl power "kiss my ass" anthems!! Go Whitney!!!! And this remix is so fun. It just makes me happy and sassy.

11. Greatest Love of All - I completely disagree with the premise of this song (see Romans 5:8 and John 15:13), but - once again - her voice is just so undeniable. No matter what they take from me, they can't take away my dignity. Very true. It seems we can do that to ourselves, though. :(

12. Star Spangled Banner - I don't think it's an overstatement to say this is the best performance I've ever heard of our National Anthem. If this doesn't make you proud to be an American, then you must have a heart made of ice. There are only three songs I insist on listening to every Fourth of July: Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA, Martina McBride's Independence Day, and Whitney's version of our National Anthem.  Red, white, and blue forever!!!!!

So, in summary, I think that she was an amazing vocalist who lost herself along the way. I think drugs are evil and that people should "JUST SAY NO!" I wish she would have kept herself together and given us more great music, but so it goes. I'm just going to appreciate the music she did leave us with, and probably re-watch Kevin Costner's The Bodyguard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soon! And, I'll keep listening to Whitney on my way to work in the mornings, and keep pretending I can sing.  I hope you enjoy her signature song, below! (I LOVE the part around 3:13 where she opens her eyes! Gives me chills every time!)