other ephemera

From today’s New York Times:

Phil Spector, the mastermind behind hit songs like “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “The Long and Winding Road” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” went on trial on Wednesday on charges that he shot to death a struggling actress.

We don’t know about you folks, but we’re pretty certain that adding cheesy string arrangements and a choir to one of the great rock songs of all time behind the back of the person who wrote, sang and played piano on said song does not make you the “mastermind” behind said song. In fact, it makes you the person responsible for butchering said song (along with John Lennon, who proved definitively that he was not born to be a bass player).