Whitney Houston's funeral: An uplifting 'home going' from New Hope

It bears noting up top the odd juxtaposition of watching Whitney Houston’s funeral on television stations called E! Entertainment and Black Entertainment Television, as though the loss of a singular voice is indeed an entertainment, something to watch with morning coffee. Houston, however, was an entertainer, and her images have permeated television both in good times and in bad since her rise in the mid 1980s, so there’s a certain symmetry at work.

But that’s the cynical view of the broadcast of Houston’s “home going,” a private church service streamed on the Internet from the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., the same church where her family belonged and where a young Whitney learned to sing.

And any cynicism was obliterated with the very first images of the inside of New Hope, where a choir 100 strong of men clad in black, women in white, hands clapping, lifted their arms to the sky, sang hymns to their Lord and provided a farewell filled with the same emotional spirit that their departed friend offered to the world. 

FULL COVERAGE: Whitney Houston | 1963-2012

In those faces weren’t mere fans, but a congregation who sang the words in glorious harmony, “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.” The voices commanded that you believe them, and in the process, at least for outsiders, illustrated in pure harmony the world that gave birth to Whitney Houston’s voice, even as it affirmed that the same spirit will continue to ring for generations to come in Newark.

 The older of these faces know Whitney’s mom Cissy Houston, had watched the daughter grow up in the church. You could see on their faces the knowledge that some of them blossomed right alongside Whitney, where she became an inspiration when her voice transcended church walls and became the world’s. The younger of them saw in her the possible, as well as the truth that the roots of the church, like the voices that inhabit it, are part of a continuum that began long before Whitney was born and will continue long after her untimely death.

Or, in the words of one speaker, “We spend our years as a tale that is told.”

PHOTOS: Whitney Houston, 1963-2012

Over the next four hours, friends, colleagues, and relatives including Houston's cousin Dionne Warwick, her pastor, her dear friends BeBe and CeCe Winans, her costar in “The Bodyguard,” Kevin Costner, and the man, Clive Davis, who signed her to his record label and helped guide her throughout her career, praised the woman.

Singer Alicia Keys called Whitney her angel as she told stories of her not only serving as an inspiration growing up, but a constant cheerleader for many young singers looking for support. The Rev. Kim Burrell sang a moving interpretation on "A Change is Gonna Come," and R. Kelly, wearing sunglasses and in his most solemn voice, sang a rendition of "Look to You." Stevie Wonder reworked his song, "Ribbon in the Sky" for her.

Keys said it most simply during her expression of grief: “It’s so obvious how she’s crept into everyone’s heart."

But, honestly, none conveyed the life of Whitney Houston like that choir standing behind the chrome casket, the collective voice that rose from so many individuals simultaneously to become unity personified. It's one that brought together not only the spirit of everyone watching at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, but touched the ears of everyone streaming worldwide online, those watching it on an entertainment outlets and replaying it on YouTube. That singular song rising from the choir contained generational multitudes, and was more life affirming than the greatest sermon; passed down from mother and father to son and daughter, it connects the young and old, the black and the white, the rich and the poor -- and, as proven on Saturday morning, the living and the dead. 

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Photo: People watch from a distance as the hearse with Whitney Houston's casket drives away Saturday after her funeral at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press

 

Review: Ryan Adams at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Halfway through Ryan Adams’ solo acoustic set at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday night, the shaggy-haired singer looked up from the crowd as he was tuning his instrument and made a confession: “I know I’m paranoid, but sometimes when I play the guitar it seems like hundreds of people are watching me.” 

Though he was joking, Adams’ devil-may-care attitude and between-song mumbles did suggest that we -- meaning the audience in the 2,200-seat, sold-out hall -- were just passersbys who’d stumbled across a dude playing music in his backyard. 

Adams, 37, walked onto Disney Hall’s stage as though he’d just gotten off the bus in his crumpled jeans and faded jean jacket. Flanked by an upright piano on one side and a music stand and microphone on the other, the North Carolina-born Angeleno picked up his guitar (striped red, white and blue like the instruments on “Hee-Haw”) and declared his intent:  “Let’s all get sad together,” he said before guiding us through the melancholy journey of “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” from his now-classic 2000 country rock album “Heartbreaker.”

A song in which Adams roams the country “building newsprint boats I race to sewer mains,” on record “Carolina” features a full band and Emmylou Harris on backing vocals. At Disney, with its cathedral-like space surrounding him and lighting that cast the singer in blood red, his voice drifted out from center stage like a ripple, little augmentation necessary. 

Throughout a 17-year career that started with his first band, Whiskeytown, Adams has carved a determined path; while many of his would-be songwriting peers in  the “alternative country” movement from which he rose went on to either write structurally complex and intricately arranged albums or painted themselves into a (twang-heavy) corner, Adams has pared his writing to the bone. He has become a Raymond Carver-esque perfectionist whose lyrics so precisely capture emotions that adornments seem unnecessarily gauche, like painting flames on a drag racer. 

Adams is a songwriter who’s presumptuous in the best sense of the word: He understands that roots music, or whatever you call it -- the kind that stretches from Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly through Dylan, the Flying Burrito Bros., X, Lucinda Williams and Uncle Tupelo -- remains a living, breathing thing. The songwriter has full confidence that writing, say, an ode to Carolina, or ashes, or fire, though it’s been done thousands of times before, can still make a universal impact, can still expand the conversation, can become a new standard. 

Adams was funny between songs, if a little too mumbly, and throughout the evening he dotted his banter with either verbal or musical references to, among other things, Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” AC/DC (the distance down Sunset Boulevard to the beach from his house is two full AC/DC albums), and the starship Enterprise.

This was a dark and lonely night, though, and Adams, self-aware almost to a fault, acknowledged as much throughout the show; he suggested at one point a drinking game based on the appearance of the word “rain” in his lyrics -- we all would have been hammered by the night’s end. So slow was the pace that he conveyed remorse for all the weepers even as he delivered them absolutely unapologetically.

Also unapologetic was the strange opening "act," a Mark Twain impersonation by actor Val Kilmer that was such a weird nonsequitur that it's really hard to figure out what to make of it. The actor walked onstage unintroduced, so buried beneath white Twain hair, bushy mustache and white suit, few if anyone in the crowd knew who this was (but it certainly wasn't Hal Holbrook).

The actor did a Twain-type monologue that touched on Los Angeles, the oddness of Rudyard Kipling's first name, "Negro spirituals," Twain's editor William Dean Howells, and, in one of many anachronistic references, Louis Armstrong (who wasn't famous in Twain's lifetime), among others. If there was a point to his monologue other than to convey something surreal, it certainly wasn't made clear. 

That was up to Adams.

Whether singing in the lovely "Invisible Riverside," "I wanna lay my head forever on your shoulder," or acknowledging that "I'm fractured from the fall and I wanna go home" in "Two," Adams delivered his emotions in a way that deftly walked the line that separates universal truth and cliche, seldom lapsing into a predictable path while implicitly acknowledging that even though all stories have been told before, that doesn't mean they've been told by someone like him. 

Ditto the choice of cover songs: Oasis' "Wonderwall," delivered as a sad lament, and, even more oddly convincing, Ronnie James Dio's metal classic, "Holy Diver." Only Adams could pull this stuff off without it dripping with irony. But in both cases, the solid conviction that's at the heart of Adams' best work eclipsed any notion that this was a stunt. It's Adams' most admirable trait.

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-- Randall Roberts

Photo: Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams in his Hollywood music studio in front of a pair of Fairchild 660 compressor limiters originally used by the Beatles. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times. 

Whitney Houston's funeral: Friends, family, stars will honor singer

Whitney Houston's funeral is invitation-only and attendance will be limited to family and friends, but Saturday's services are set to be seen around the world: They will stream online and be shown on a number of TV networks.

Houston's funeral is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Pacific at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. -- the late pop titan's childhood church.

Among those attending are Houston’s ex-husband, Bobby Brown (the father of her only child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown), her “Bodyguard” co-star Kevin Costner, cousin Dionne Warwick, Ray J, Brandy, Alicia Keys, Tyler Perry and CeCe Winans, Bobbi Kristina's godmother.

PHOTOS: Whitney Houston, 1963-2012

Houston’s godmother, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder are expected to sing tributes, and her longtime mentor and producer, Clive Davis, will speak.

Houston died Feb. 11 in Beverly Hills at age 48. Her body arrived in New Jersey late Monday. She will be buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, N.J., where her father was interred, according to her death certificate.

Although the singer's family canceled plans for a large public memorial, Houston's publicist later announced that the service for family and friends will be made available for television and Web streaming.

FULL COVERAGE: Whitney Houston's death

BET and sister network Centric will cover the funeral during its special "Live: The Homegoing of Whitney Houston,” starting at 8:30 a.m. Pacific. The network will also air “BET Remembers Whitney,” a one-hour special honoring the singer, after the live coverage ends. On the special, BET News correspondent Bevy Smith interviews Houston’s industry friends and colleagues, including gospel singer Kim Burrell; Kelly Price, who shared Houston’s last public performance; Faith Evans; Ledisi; and India Arie.

 E! announced it will broadcast live and online without interruptions from inside the church, and CNN will broadcast and stream the event on its website beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific. The CNN special “Whitney Houston: Life, Death, Music” will be anchored by Piers Morgan, Soledad O'Brien and Don Lemon.

Fans can also watch Fox News, HLN and MSNBC for live coverage. Our television blog, Show Tracker, has a complete rundown of the listings. And you can follow The Times' coverage here.

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Photo: Whitney Houston bows her head at the 2009 American Music Awards. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press

'The Secret World of Arrietty' has a fairytale in its music

American audiences will first hear the music of French composer Cécile Corbel in "The Secret World of Arrietty," the latest fairy tale from Studio Ghibli. Yet the story of how Japan's revered animation house plucked the harpist from near-obscurity is one ripe for motion-picture folklore itself. 

Corbel packed her music with a letter and mailed the package on an inter-continental journey to Ghibli headquarters and awaited a response that she knew likely wouldn't come. "I wrote a letter to the head producers over there and I was not expecting much," said Corbel, who spoke to Pop & Hiss via a translator. The artist has released multiple albums in her native country, and said she was drawn to the works of Studio Ghibli -- "Ponyo" and "Howl's Moving Castle," among them -- for the way in which they blend ecological themes with fanciful storytelling that pulls from ancient, mythical beliefs.  

"I sent them my latest album as a sort of a fan thing," she said. "I never thought I'd be working for the studio. I truly expected nothing in return."

What's more, the composer continued to be surprised at how the music remained untouched as the film was released around the globe. "The Secret World of Arrietty" opens in the U.S. Friday, brought to these shores courtesy of Walt Disney Studios. The latter added a song from Bridgit Mendler, the Disney Channel star who is the U.S. voice of Arrietty, but the new song appears in the credits and doesn't supplant any of Corbel's more delicate, airy work.

"We talked about Bridgit resinging one of the songs but we ultimately decided that wasn't that good of an idea," said veteran producer Frank Marshall, who also had a production credit on the English-language edition of "Ponyo." "Cécile's songs are so unique and we wanted to keep the film as it was. We've done two of these now and we've very respectful of what Ghibli has created. Our job is to tweak it a bit for the North American audience, but the music is so universal that it works wonderfully in the film."

Corbel's harp work draws on Celtic and folk traditions, and it gives "The Secret World of Arrietty," the directorial debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi, a far more subtle backdrop than the traditional orchestral score. It's also very exact and tiny, reflecting the world of the film, which is based on “The Borrowers,” Mary Norton’s 1952 children’s book about the minuscule people who live in the nooks and crannies of big people's homes.

"When I first saw the movie I was kind of surprised," Marshall said of the music. "It's so unusual for the movie. It's not Japanese instruments, yet it completely works because this world that we're watching could be anywhere."

Michael Jackson's estate files suit against his former manager

Michael Jackson’s estate filed suit against his former manager Friday, demanding the return of millions of dollars and accusing him of duping the pop star into an extraordinarily generous compensation package in the years before his death.

The suit asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to void agreements that gave Tohme R. Tohme a 15% cut of Jackson’s pay as well as a $35,000-a-month salary and a cut of the sale of the Neverland Ranch.

Tohme, who the suit claims had no background in the entertainment industry, helped negotiate the terms of Jackson’s final doomed comeback attempt, a series of London concerts. After Jackson’s 2009 death, he filed a claim against his estate, saying he was owed at least $2.3 million.

Estate lawyers wrote that it was Tohme who owed Jackson money and asked he be ordered to turn over records of his management of the singer’s affairs.

Tohme declined to comment beyond saying that he was filing his own suit against the estate.

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Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin to perform at Whitney Houston funeral

Whitney Houton’s funeral service Saturday will be graced by some major star power as friends and family pay tribute to the late singer. Iconic voices Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are slated to perform at Houston's memorial service in Newark, N.J., a representative for the singer's family told Reuters on Thursday.

Invitations also went out to the singer’s ex-husband Bobby Brown, her “The Bodyguard” costar Kevin Costner and Oprah Winfrey, among others. Houston’s longtime producer, Clive Davis, who held an annual pre-Grammy party at which Whitney was supposed to perform last Saturday before she died, will speak at the funeral.

Houston’s publicist, Kristen Foster, confirmed that Donnie McClurkin, Tyler Perry, Kim Burrell, Rickey Minor, Alicia Keys, Cece Winans -- who is godmother to Houston's child Bobbi Kristina -- and Houston’s cousin, Dionne Warwick, will be part of the funeral program.

FULL COVERAGE: Whitney Houston dies at 48

The noon service will be held at New Hope Baptist Church, which Houston attended and sang in while growing up. Newark police said streets would be shut down for six square blocks around the church. In an attempt to avoid a dangerous influx of people flocking to the area, the private service will streamed online and broadcast on network television.

Police have issued subpoenas for Houston’s medical records after the discovery of prescription drugs in the Beverly Hilton Hotel suite where Houston was found dead Saturday at age 48. An autopsy has been conducted, but the Los Angeles County coroner's office has not released details.

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Photo: Stevie Wonder with Aretha Franklin last month at a BET Honors 2012 dinner in Washington. Credit: Kris Connor / Getty Images

Skrillex releases 'Bangarang' video

If you're a menacing-looking adult and you happen to find yourself inside a Skrillex video, you can count on getting your comeuppance at the hands of some mighty disenfranchised and angry youth. In Skrillex's world — or at least in his videos — the kids are taking control.

That was the lesson of Skrillex's "First of the Year (Equinox)" clip (from the "More Monsters and Sprites EP), and it's a theme the young L.A. electronica producer returned to for the video to "Bangarang," the title track to his latest e.p. The song starts with a twitchy guitar sample and promptly dives into Skrillex's inimitable face-punching bass drops — a suitable backdrop for this tale of pre-teen delinquency.

The theme of youth empowered by crime or at least n'er-do-welling might not be much of an innovation, but Skrillex is riding high after a sweep of the major dance Grammys awards and a string of beyond-sold-out New York and Los Angeles shows, so we can't exactly blame for for sticking with what's clearly working.

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Dave Grohl clarifies Grammy rant, loves Kraftwerk, Deadmau5

Citing his consumption of "two Crown Royals," Foo Fighters singer and guitarist Dave Grohl has clarified the Grammy acceptance speech of Sunday in which he seemed to go off on musicians who made music on computers. 

Standing before the mic and in front of his peers on Sunday, Grohl said the following: "To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what's important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that's the most important thing for people to do... It's not about being perfect, it's not about sounding absolutely correct, it's not about what goes on in a computer. It's about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head]."

The resulting reaction both on Twitter and in reviews of the show took Grohl to task, pointing out that not only was his response heavy-handed, but that he and his band not an hour later took the stage with electronic artist Deadmau5 in an electro-infused rock jam.

Grohl on Friday released a statement clarifying his remarks, and it's quite the piece of writing. We're reprinting it in its entirety below (with a few cuss words excised and bad punctuation left in).

Oh, what a night we had last Sunday at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. The glitz! The Glamour! SEACREST! Where do I begin?? Chillin' with Lil' Wayne...meeting Cyndi Lauper's adorable mother...the complimentary blinking Coldplay bracelet.....much too much to recap. It's really is still a bit of a blur. But, if there's one thing that I remember VERY clearly, it was accepting the Grammy for Best Rock Performance...and then saying this:

[He quotes the speech above verbatim.] 

Not the Gettysburg Address, but hey......I'm a drummer, remember?

Well, me and my big mouth. Never has a 33 second acceptance rant evoked such caps-lock postboard rage as my lil' ode to analog recording has. OK....maybe Kanye has me on this one, but....Imma let you finish....just wanted to clarify something...

I love music. I love ALL kinds of music. From Kyuss to Kraftwerk, Pinetop Perkins to Prodigy, Dead Kennedys to Deadmau5.....I love music. Electronic or acoustic, it doesn't matter to me. The simple act of creating music is a beautiful gift that ALL human beings are blessed with. And the diversity of one musician's personality to the next is what makes music so exciting and.....human. 

That's exactly what I was referring to. The "human element". That thing that happens when a song speeds up slightly, or a vocal goes a little sharp. That thing that makes people sound like PEOPLE. Somewhere along the line those things became "bad" things, and with the great advances in digital recording technology over the years they became easily "fixed". The end result? I my humble opinion.....a lot of music that sounds perfect, but lacks personality. The one thing that makes music so exciting in the first place.

And, unfortunately, some of these great advances have taken the focus off of the actual craft of performance. Look, I am not Yngwie Malmsteen. I am not John Bonham. Hell...I'm not even Josh Groban, for that matter. But I try really ... hard so that I don't have to rely on anything but my hands and my heart to play a song. I do the best that I possibly can within my limitations, and accept that it sounds like me. Because that's what I think is most important. It should be real, right? Everybody wants something real.

I don't know how to do what Skrillex does (though I ... love it) but I do know that the reason he is so loved is because he sounds like Skrillex, and that's badass. We have a different process and a different set of tools, but the "craft" is equally as important, I'm sure. I mean.....if it were that easy, anyone could do it, right? (See what I did there?)

So, don't give me two Crown Royals and then ask me to make a speech at your wedding, because I might just bust into the advantages of recording to 2 inch tape. 

Now, I think I have to go scream at some kids to get off my lawn. 

Stay frosty.     

Davemau5

 Thanks for the clarification, Mr. Grohl. All's forgiven here. 

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Photo: Dave Grohl accepts the Grammy during the 54th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

The California Honeydrops take busking act onstage at the Mint

The California Honeydrops aren’t exactly the kind of busking band you can ignore in a subway tunnel. Though from Oakland, their Southern-fried jazz is so authentic that commuters may wonder whether they've somehow been transported to the Big Easy when they hear the band in BART's subway tunnels. For the last four years, the street musicians have thrived on creating a Mardi Gras-style party in BART stations.

 “When you’re playing on the street or in the subway, it’s like popping a song on the radio from out of nowhere, taking people by surprise,” said frontman and trumpeter Lech Wierzynski. “It’s the purest way to interact with the public.”

A few weeks ahead of their March European tour, the five-piece band of seasoned street players will play the Mint on Saturday, brandinshing a distinct blend of historic New Orleans culture and blue-eyed soul. Over the years, they’ve had plenty of YouTube documentation of their ability to play anywhere, anytime — especially rush hour.

Taking a look at videos of the band’s polished street performances, it's clear their Bay Area roots take a back seat to the jumping rhythms of Dixieland jazz. The sound, flush with brass, bass, melodica and tub bass, is meant to inspire your best second-line dance moves — a stylish form of strutting and dancing among New Orleans natives during block parties, parades, even funerals.

The Honeydrops' ability to get people into their act is something that directly translates into their nightclub shows, where they usually spend more time offstage than on.

“When we play, we’re always down on the dance floor and letting loose and dancing with people,” Wierzynski said. “And whatever state or country we play, everyone has their own little bit of culture they put into it, adding a little bit of what they do. When we tour, it’s all part of the endless challenge of finding out who the next crowd is gonna be.”

Check out the videos of their famous busking performances below:

Pop & Hiss premiere: Yacht's 'Shangri-La' video

Our fair town has been compared to plenty of less-than-complimentary things in pop songs, from a cake left out in the rain to a fantasy world of celluoid heroes and villains. But someone calling it an undisputed heaven on Earth might be a new one, and for that we'd like to thank the transplanted post-punk duo Yacht for the compliment.

The duo of Jona Bechtolt (a Portland, Ore., transplant) and Claire L. Evans (a veteran of L.A. noise punks Weirdo/Begeirdo) has a new video for its sylvan single "Shangri-La," the title track of Yacht's most recent album on DFA Records. Maybe their set at the Hollywood Bowl a while back gave them new inspiration to explain to skeptics why they'd want to live here. The tune's surprisingly Beatles-y chorus of "If I can't go to heaven, let me go to L.A." gets a tableau of soft-focus, SoCal-utopian imagery (backyard oranges, Elysian Park tai-chi, beach party fireworks).

The fact that we can watch this in February and think, "Oh yeah, I really should hit the beach this weekend," is reason enough that Yacht's  assessment of L.A. isn't too far off the mark.

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-- August Brown

Photo: Alin Dragulin / Girlie Action