Phil Spector Dies

[danfrank]

In the new Scorsese docuseries on Fran Lebowitz (“Pretend it’s a City,” on Netflix, well worth watching unless you’re one of those who can’t stand Lebowitz), she makes the case that one should be able to appreciate great artistry no matter how heinous the personal behaviors of the artist. She uses the example of James Levine.That would of course also apply to Spector, whose impact on popular music was enormous and cannot be denied. The girl group era was a bit before my time but I’ve always loved those songs and can imagine how fresh they must have sounded at a time when popular music was still pretty bland and syrup-y.

Well, I'd say that murder heightens the debate here, a bit. When OJ dies, I doubt the obits will lead with what a great running back he was.

Of course, Lebowitz (in the two episodes I've watched so far) thinks athletes don't reach the pantheon of artists, so maybe that's not an issue for her.

I’m not saying I agree with Lebowitz here. I’m not all that great at compartmentalizing and tend to view the whole person with complicated parts. I can’t hear a Michael Jackson song when it comes on the radio without thinking, “how awful that he was a serial child molester.” Fortunately I wasn’t a big fan to begin with. Likewise when I hear Spector’s name I think, “extremely troubled guy who changed music.”

[Big Magilla]

He was a troubled man, unable to function outside of a recording studio. As his ex-wife, Ronnie Spector said, "He was a brilliant producer, but a lousy husband."

His defense team claimed that the woman he was convicted of murdering actually committed suicide. He allegedly had no memory of killing her. In any event, he died a horrible death. His troubled soul deserves to rest in peace.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news ... x-husband/

[Mister Tee]

In the new Scorsese docuseries on Fran Lebowitz (“Pretend it’s a City,” on Netflix, well worth watching unless you’re one of those who can’t stand Lebowitz), she makes the case that one should be able to appreciate great artistry no matter how heinous the personal behaviors of the artist. She uses the example of James Levine.That would of course also apply to Spector, whose impact on popular music was enormous and cannot be denied. The girl group era was a bit before my time but I’ve always loved those songs and can imagine how fresh they must have sounded at a time when popular music was still pretty bland and syrup-y.

Well, I'd say that murder heightens the debate here, a bit. When OJ dies, I doubt the obits will lead with what a great running back he was.

Of course, Lebowitz (in the two episodes I've watched so far) thinks athletes don't reach the pantheon of artists, so maybe that's not an issue for her.

[danfrank]

In the new Scorsese docuseries on Fran Lebowitz (“Pretend it’s a City,” on Netflix, well worth watching unless you’re one of those who can’t stand Lebowitz), she makes the case that one should be able to appreciate great artistry no matter how heinous the personal behaviors of the artist. She uses the example of James Levine.That would of course also apply to Spector, whose impact on popular music was enormous and cannot be denied. The girl group era was a bit before my time but I’ve always loved those songs and can imagine how fresh they must have sounded at a time when popular music was still pretty bland and syrup-y.

[HarryGoldfarb]

May he rest in peace... there’s no need to left this wish off.

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” Bryan Stevenson

[Mister Tee]

I know I'm among the oldest here, and, yeah, the guy murdered someone and abused women...but I can't believe no one else has posted on this yet. Spector's a difficult case for celebration -- I left off the standard "R.I.P." for a reason -- but it's impossible to deny the impact he had on pop music in the mid-20th century.

His string of hits with the Girl Groups (Crystals, Ronettes) were about the only reason to listen to the radio in the pre-British invasion 60s. His Wall of Sound trademark created some of the most memorable records of the era -- Ike and Tina's River Deep, Mountain High, and the Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody and You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling. (The latter was celebrated in both Top Gun and Stoppard's The Real Thing -- where the main character dismisses opera and says he thinks of this record as the height of musical accomplishment). His remixes on Let It Be were controversial -- they felt over-orchestrated to me, and the album was later un-remixed, at McCartney's insistence -- but he contributed to the best of the post-Beatles solo work, Imagine and All Things Must Pass, so the collaboration wasn't without its successes.

And then he (it appears) killed a young lady, and a lot came out about what a horror he was to wife Ronnie of the Ronettes. So, there's a lot to weigh, pro and con. But watch the opening of Mean Streets and hear Be My Baby kick things off, and tell me he doesn't deserve some kind of send-off.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/arts ... -dead.html