I’m always amazed at how much people still care about Whitney Houston.  It goes beyond the fact that I’ve never really been into her music.  It’s the fact that I’m not sure anyone’s really that into her music.  Her voice?  Yes.  Her music?  Not quite.
I mentioned on Facebook and Twitter that I don’t think Whitney’s music has endured.  Someone asked what “endured” meant, which was something I had to think about.  For one, I may not be the best judge of that; after all, I never liked her that much in the first place.  Second, what measures do we have for the longevity of music?  Playlists on the old folks’ stations?  The opinions of music critics (like me, kinda sorta)?  How do you measure that?
Good question.  Not sure if I can.  I can, however, say what I meant.
There is no definitive Whitney Houston album.  There isn’t even one I’ve heard someone refer to as a classic.  I’ve never been around cats making beats and heard them break out the Whitney looking for samples, vocal or instrumental.  Even her biggest hit, “I Will Always Love You,” got mighty stale the second it went off the charts.
When’s the last time you went to someone’s house and heard someone just playing Whitney Houston while they vacuumed?  Who just wants to hear “So Emotional” right now?
Yet, when Whitney’s on Oprah, the world tunes in.
The truth is that Whitney’s an icon of an era, not so much of music.  Whitney’s sales numbers indicated how far reaching her appeal was.  Again, I don’t purport to understand it.  Stellar as her voice was, there’s somebody at every church that can say the same thing.  Maybe this is the genius of Clive Davis, even though Clive’s real gift was finding geniuses like Carlos Santana and Sly Stone, not interpreters like Whitney.
I really don’t know.  But the truth is that Whitney is far more interesting in 2009 talking about getting high than she is as a musician.  Don’t believe me?  Would you rather listen to her debut record or hear more stories about her and Bobby?
No, her music hasn’t endured.  At least not as far as I can tell.
What’s interesting, though, is the personal attachment people clearly have with Whitney.  It throws me off because people normally get that way because they feel a heartfelt connection to an artist, a connection they found in his or her music.
I can’t see how that’s the case with Whitney.  Or am I missing something?
Her music hasn’t endured.  I was born in 1980, so her heyday isn’t really mine.  Maybe she’s not for me to get.  However, Al Green’s heyday wasn’t mine, but I know I’m Still in Love With You track-for-track.
But you all feel something toward Whitney.  Guess she’s a part of your childhoods.  It’s really not for me to judge, and I don’t care enough to really dissect it.  I just don’t think it’s because of music.  She’s an icon of her time, and that’s fine.
But compare her to another icon of his time and tell me this — has her music held up as well as Frank Sinatra’s?
She’s great.  Her voice is incredible.  But your kids probably don’t know a Whitney song, making it so interesting that so many of you love her so much.