David,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Certainly there is no argument from me that artists and performers deserve our attention, love, respect, and honoring. I too remember songs from The Bodyguard and have always known Whitney to be talented. No doubt there. I also have many musical and artistic idols who I personally would not like to lose. My point with Whitney is more that she was not in our minds and in our hearts because of her music up until she died. She had become more known for her drug abuse and silly reality show with Bobby Brown than her voice in recent years and showed no signs of doing anything truly and currently meaningful with respect to her music. From a fan perspective, it seemed like we suddenly showed compassion for someone who hadn’t been a part of us for quite awhile– sort of like the estranged father who wants to be part of his child’s life after not talking to him for 10 years. It just didn’t feel genuine to me. It’s like we were all Whitney “front-runners:” no where to be found while she was here on this earth and then suddenly packing the church acting like she was our closest friend when she’s gone.

Believe me, when Paul McCartney dies, I will certainly feel a loss and that’s because he’s so present in my life as a fan and present in the business that made him famous.

Alex