The Phil Spector Trial: We Watch Court TV So You Don't Have To (05/13)

What Happened Yesterday: Dr. Louis Pena, the medical examiner who ruled Lana Clarkson's death a homicide, was back on the stand again, this time under cross-examination by the defense. Spector's lawyers attempted to poke holes in Pena's homicide theory, insisting that Pena is not a forensic expert. They also said that the forensic experts Pena did refer to in his testimony are now witnesses supporting the defense's suicide theory. The judge was forced to order multiple recesses due to the gruesome content of the testimony.

Is This Good or Bad For Phil: Good and bad. The defense scored points by showing Clarkson had no Spector DNA on her hands (an impossibility if she fought him off) and by getting Pena to admit he can't definitely prove who was holding the gun. But the defense is still straining to prove convincingly that Clarkson's death was a suicide.

Hair and Wardrobe Update: Spector wore a large-collared gray shirt under a sleek black suit jacket; his hair was still sculpted into that Day-Glo bob.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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