Thursday, October 4, 2007

Media overkill with Phil Spector

Have you ever noticed how sometimes journalists engage in overkill? I can think of two examples. During Arthur Miller’s death and in the years prior to it, reporters always seemed the need to insert that the playwright was once married to Marilyn Monroe. Never mind that two of his plays—Death of a Salesman and The Crucible—are considered classics in American literature. Yes, I know Ms. Monroe was beautiful, but come on.

Our current example lies in music producer Phil Spector, who will be retried for second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. Reporters just can’t resist constantly inserting that Spector invented the recording technique called “the wall of sound” in every article. I had no idea before what this is, but ok, I get it now. Please stop reminding me about Spencer’s nifty invention.

That being said, Spector is said to be looking for his third legal team. According to the Associated Press, the first team resigned and the second one was fired. I’m not an attorney, but I suspect this isn’t the greatest news for Spector.

Spector, whose first murder trial ended with a hung jury in a 10-2 deadlock (10 in favor of convicting him), probably yearns for the day when all he had to worry about was using the wall of sound to make great music. As a non-musical person, I have to wonder…does the wall of sound bear any resemblance to the Great Wall of China?

Prosecutor Alan Jackson (no, not that Alan Jackson of country music stardom) recently confirmed that Spencer will be retried, and lead defense attorney Roger Rosen announced he won’t return for Spector’s sequel. And for the time being, one defense attorney, Christopher Plourd, said he would remain as Spector’s attorney.

You’ll remember that the 67-year-old Spencer, who invented the Wall of Sound, is alleged by prosecutors to have forced a gun into 40-year-old Clarkson’s mouth at his mansion in 2003 and made her pull the trigger. They had met earlier that evening and then had gone back to his home.

Prosecutors allege that Spector is notorious for using firearms to threaten women when they either try to leave or when they ask stupid questions like, “How is a crazy man like you so rich? Is it just your Wall of Sound technique? How does that work anyway?”

The Wall of Sound’s attorneys contended that Clarkson was depressed by financial and professional problems and that the fatal gunshot was either a suicide or a tragic accident.

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