Letters to the Editor
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Another Music Joke noted
I watched the rerun of the last episode last night. When AJ's suv was burning and Dylan was singing IT'S ALRIGHT MA, I'M ONLY BLEEDING, they were standing in the ditch and the fire was getting hotter, and stuff was melting, and the music started to slow down, and the last words out of the cd player were "While one who sings with his tongue on fire..............." and stopped.
good one.
Also, I sort of noticed the first time, but did for sure the second time, the cafe was filled with look-alikes. one guy looked like Tony, someone looked like Carm. the girl in the booth with the boyfriend looked like Meadow. someone walked in that looked like Christopher. just my imagination? I'm not too sure.
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All of you who are absolutely positive that Tony is shot & killed at the end
Please, do us all a favor. Never serve on a jury in a criminal trial. Especially mine. You'll probably vote for conviction based on the color of the defendant's shirt. You know that killers always blue, right??
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journey's end
You're right, Clockwork Smurf. I was twisting things around unfairly because I was a little aggravated at Perry for his apparent attitude that The Sopranos is another jewel in his rock crown.
The point remains though, that Chase wanted the song, and if all the assurance Perry needed was to be told no Soprano would take a bullet during the song, then Chase knew he could give that guarantee without sacrificing any of his artistic intentions. It's just the sort of slippery deal Tony himself would make :)
I admit I'm a hostile witness, because up until now if I heard Journey on the radio I couldn't hit "search" fast enough. But after watching the last scene several times, the song has earned a lot of cred for me. It's pretty much perfect. I almost get a lump in my throat when Carmela walks through that door with those first piano chords.
Nevertheless, I haven't changed my opinion that it's a middlebrow rock anthem. That's another thing that makes it so perfect. The Soprano family members and crew are not known for their exquisite taste. On the contrary, from Carmela's nouveau riche interior decorating to Paulie's monstrosity of an Espresso machine, the pervading flavor is vulgar and crude. A.J.'s underage girlfriend has classier taste in music than Tony does.
When Scorsese wants to underscore his drama with operatic rock bravado, he uses The Rolling Stones. Tony punches up Journey. ...Whoa! Hey! I'm just sayin'!
Steve Perry ought to be proud Chase chose his music -- and grateful. Now, forever linked to this scene, that song has been elevated to a realm of momentous impact that it never before possessed.
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Not quite buying the dream theory, sunny miller, but it's an interesting slant. I want to believe that Chase is above such stuff, but there is that talking fish... :)
As for Tony ever being exposed to Yeats, in season 5 Dr. Melfi tells Tony, "The center cannot hold. The falcon cannot hear the falconer."
But it's obvious that the meaning sails right over his head.
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namepeace: ooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuww
"People are simply complaining about being misled."
Implying that people expect to be "led".
OK - this is getting really "Meta" here.. :)
Really interesting conversations. The subject of the relationship of art to the person who perceives the art is endlessly fascinating.
One final analagous example of my argument, like or lump it.
Say you're watching a concert pianist playing his own composition.
All of a sudden the pianist hits a note that you simply did not like.
You could have a number of responses:
1 - I did not like that note.
2 - He should not have played that note.
3 - He should not have played that note, therefore he does not respect me.
Doesn't 3 seem a little silly. But wait. Things are never this simple. I'm sure some people felt completely cheated by John Cages 4'33". And, frankly, I probably would have too.
Umm... So I guess I'm a hippocrit.
I guess we can't really nail down exactly what art means to us, and that's probably a good thing.
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lookalikes
Pertnear
I thought I was seeing the lookalike thing too. Thanks for helping me believe I'm not losin' it.
The waitress is the first one I noticed. Big girl, big hair -- dead ringer for Janice.
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youre right, rollerboyz
I forgot to mention the Janice lookalike. I saw her also.
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alternate universe
The lookalikes are no joke. They make me think of The Bizzaro World Sopranos, or an Alternate Universe Sopranos -- a glimpse at what sort of mundane life they would have led without the mob connections.
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But what could Chase have possibly been saying?
It just doesn't make sense that those people were specifically chosen as "lookalikes" to past characters on the show. I mean, a David Scatino lookalike?!? David Scatino was played by Robert Patrick, who has always been known by me & my friends as "Terminator 2". He was a brief character who played a part in only a handful of episodes, at the beginning of the series. Any attempt to incorporate him into the show's final episode as some sort of symbol of things larger would just not make sense. Anyone who can come up with a theory about that that holds any water will be the first. It's a coincidence, that's all.
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One part of the "jokier" or "clubbier" aspects of TV shows and David Chase in particular is the blatant use of the "perks" ...
the "shout-outs" but also the reappearance of small characters/actors which add to their resume but MORE IMPORTANTLY provide them likely with residual payments ... which is what many a starving mid-life actor lives on ...
In addition, there's product placement for, what certainly appears to me to be, the sheer naked venality of it (ha ha ha) etc.
It's part of what I love about Law and Order casts (and juries) -- all sorts of theatre faces in need of a role to renew their SAG card ... not to mention the happy prospect of residuals for larger players (the returning judges, defense counsels, etc.) And that does not include whatever deals are made for DVD sales, etc.
It's magnificant to spread the wealth and let one hand wash the other (swag and product placement-wise)...
There's gold in them those hills and there's serious income as well for (some) of the musicians/music houses in the songs that are chosen. Imagine the I-tube downloads ...
I will re-watch the final sequence wrt to the look-alikes -- love the concept....