 TO KNOW HIM IS TO BE UNABLE TO DECIDE IF HE MURDERED SOMEBODY OR NOT: THOUGHTS ON THE PHIL SPECTOR MISTRIAL
Harvey Philip Spector is bouncing off the walls, batshit fucking crazy and has been for decades. In fact, he's more famous for his antics with misogyny and firearms than he is for some of the truly brilliant records that he's made. And those records are among the most brilliant ever made. He single-handedly created the "Wall of Sound" and revolutionized the way popular music is created.
Considered eccentric at best, Spector declared that he was going to be a millionaire by the time he was twenty. And by God, he actually did it. Despite having no background in music to speak of, he wrote and produced the standard "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by the Teddy Bears in 1950. In 1963, Spector wrote and produced what might be the finest record of all time, "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes." Other than myself, "Be My Baby" has some pretty obsessive fans, including Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, who listened to the song over and over for months while writing and recording his masterpiece , Pet Sounds.
Even if you have no idea who Phil Spector is, you've been in awe of his music. Do you like the Beatles? Phil produced Let It Be, several of John Lennon's solo albums - including Imagine - and George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. Enjoy the Rolling Stones? Phil recorded them as well. Chances are that at least ten of your favorite songs of all time were written and/or produced by Phil Spector. For fifteen years, Spector was almost incapable of making a record that sold under a million copies. He's far and away the most influential producer in the history of music.
 Unfortunately, Phil practically invented mental illness. He was paranoid and goofy in ways that make the aforementioned Brian Wilson and, more recently, Britney Spears seems reasonable by way of comparison. The stories of Phil's spousal assault on the Ronettes' Ronnie Spector and incredibly foolish gunplay with the rest of humanity are as lengendary as his music is.
Having brandished firearms in the presence of John Lennon, Leonard Cohen and the Ramones, Phil Spector was accident waiting to happen.
On February 3, 2003, that accident finally happened and B-movie actress Lana Clarkson lay dead in the foyer of his home. Nine months later, Harvey Phillip Spector was indicted for the second-degree murder of Ms. Clarkson.
Spector's trial began four years after Ms. Clarkson's death and was a five month long study in, among other things, how bizarre a single human being can be and just how many wigs Phil Spector actually own. The ever changing hairstyles of a 67-year-old man on trial for murdering another human being were testimony to how truly weird Phil Spector is. And in the end, that trial accomplished precisely nothing. The jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared yesterday.Several in the media and blogosphere are running around suggesting that Los Angeles juries are incapable of convicting a celebrity. That position is somewhat undermined by the fact that very few people outside of the modern music industry actually knew who Phil Spector is. It also ignores the very real possiblity that perhaps Spector was overcharged by the District Attorney's office. As both Spector's biography and the trial transcipt shows, there are very few people in the greater Los Angeles area that Phil Spector hasn't pulled a gun on at one time or another. He's engaged in this nonsense for pretty nearly foty years now. Why would he wait until now to kill someone, and why Lana Clarkson? Since his defense was that Clarkson committed suicide with his gun, that's a question that Spector obviously couldn't pose, but that doesn't make it a question not worth asking.
 Last week, the jury came back to indicate that they were deadlocked. Judge Fidler responded them by changing the jury instructions in a way that practically demanded that Spector be convicted. Yet they still couldn't reach a verdict.
It couldn't be more obvious that Phil Spector is guilty of something. His reckless stupidity alone makes a compelling case for culpability, and I suspect that this will be taken care of in the civil courts. But murder is something else entirely. That's about as serious as you can get. At 67, Phil Spector would spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
When they jury came back last week, they indicated that they were more than willing to convict Spector of involuntary manslaughter. The judge and the prosecution both refused to consider this and instead they ended up with nothing. That a reasonable resolution to this case was refused is not the fault of the jury. This isn't O.J, where the jury was determined to acquit regardless of the facts.
Instead, Phil Spector remains free. The D.A has indicated that he will re-try Phil Spector, but it could take years before the publicity from the first trial fades enough for him to get a fair trial. And it is important to remember that the crime is already nearly four years old. Memories fade and evidence deteriorates, particularly in murder trials.
The District Attorney's office should offer Spector a plea bargain on a single count of involuntary manslaughter and be done with it. Even if that deal isn't accepted, a conviction is almost certain. But given what happened yesterday, a second degree murder conviction is even more unlikely than it was before.
It's time to get the story over with.
Easy Listening Recommendation of the Day: Happiness is a Warm Gun By: The Beatles From: The Beatles (The White Album)
PermalinkLabels: Celebrity Skin, I Fought The Law, I Hate Music
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