The Phil Spector Trial: We Watch Court TV So You Don't Have To (08/01)

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY? Following a four-day break, the defense was in rapid-fire mode during the morning session, with three witnesses taking the stand before the lunch break. The jury first heard from DNA expert Mark Scott Taylor, a former actor on Quincy, M.E., who talked about blood spots at the crime scene, then a House Of Blues lawyer testified about Lana Clarkson's work schedule during the week of her death. LA County coroner Steven Dowell retook the stand to discuss Clarkson's tooth fragments that were collected into evidence. All in all, the testimony was so dull that Spector probably tapped into his Blackberry to see who the Dodgers acquired at the trade deadline.

IS THIS GOOD OR BAD FOR SPECTOR? Neither. None of the witnesses had intriguing enough testimony to tip the scales in either direction.

HAIR & WARDROBE UPDATE: Spector came to court with his wig dyed a darker shade of brown, while wearing an insanity plea-worthy suit.

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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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