Pitchfork

It appears that yesterday was red-letter day for acclaimed record producer Phil Spector. First came the announcement that his strings and various other post-production embellishments would be stripped from the forthcoming reissue of The Beatles' Let It Be, and then he was arrested on charges of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a woman at his $1.1 million estate in Alhambra, California. Heaven, he needs a hug.

The woman has been named as 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson, whose long-standing association with filmmaker Roger Corman earned her roles in such films as Deathstalker, Blind Date, and Barbarian Queen. She also carried bit parts in Amazon Women on the Moon and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Clarkson was found in the foyer of the home, and pronounced dead at the scene. Her relationship with Spector is as yet unknown.

When authorities arrived around 5:00 a.m. PST at Phil's mansion, which has been referred to by virtually every publication and news channel as "castle-like," Spector was reportedly inside-- perhaps equipping his jewel-encrusted breast plate and battle garb before setting out on a magical puking quest to conquer The Dark One, Glyn Johns-- and taken into police custody before being freed on a $1 million bond last night. At press time, the 62-year old Spector is apparently the only suspect.

Spector has since sought legal assistance from former O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro, who has agreed to defend him in a court appearance later this month, at which Spector will be formally charged with first-degree murder. One of Spector's close friends, attorney Marvin Mitchelson, told CNN that Spector lived alone, and didn't have a girlfriend. In recent days, Mitchelson and Spector had reportedly been at work on a movie about Spector's life. "His mental state has been great," said Mitchelson, "very rational, very together."

As previously reported by Pitchfork, Spector had also been working recently with fourth-generation Britpop emulators Starsailor, his first production in over twenty years. Starsailor vocalist James Walsh was quoted in November as being "honored" to work with Spector, though there's no word as to how the band feels about working with an alleged murderer, or if Spector's credit in the liner notes will be downgraded to reflect this change in profession.

This isn't the first time Spector's been accused of having his glock cocked-- during the 1979 recording of The Ramones' End of the Century, Spector is said to have pulled a gun on Dee Dee Ramone. Ramone apparently avoided death in that circumstance, but was eventually found dead last summer, perhaps lending credence to intriguing new theories offered by Final Destination 2. As yet, there have been no reports of Spector threatening members of Starsailor at their recording sessions, but one thing's for sure: Phil's gonna be a hot commodity in hip-hop after this all blows over. Dude be straight thuggin'.