Music Business Blog by Jason Feinberg

Yeah, Sopranos is going to hijack the blog for a few days. If you haven’t read my post below, click here to read it first.

So I have watched the finale 6 times now, the final scene probably 10. So much more to talk about. My first entry was focused on the big stuff that we all are discussing, but now I am ready to think about some of the other elements of the episode. And those things also add more meaning to the big things, so…

First of all, to the people that are pissed off and are saying Chase sucks and he couldn’t think of an ending, or that he was lazy, or he’s a hack, or hates his fans…. Once your shock subsides from the loss of this monumental series, you’ll calm down and come back to reality. If any of those things were true, we wouldn’t have the 85 prior episodes that have been some of the most amazing hours of our lives. I cannot fathom re-evaluating my opinions backwards just because I didn’t connect with the ending (as so many people seem to be doing). Nothing about this show has been conventional – why would one expect the final moment to be any different?

The song that this show ends on each week is as much a part of that episode as any other scene. There’s always a point we’re meant to be left with. In this case, the final song was not chosen omnipotently but by Tony himself. This has great importance. All (top-notch) scoring aside, the lyrics represent where we find Tony. The exact same place we always tend to sooner or later. What we see as tense and ambiguous is merely the state Tony lives in even when things are calm.

Essentially Tony has started clean in his universe. Not to say all is well – that’s part of the message here too. But the world goes on, affected marginally at most. People rarely change who they are at their core.

And, in the world he can’t escape, there are rarely heroic endings. Proven time and time again in this very episode. We can be fairly certain that someday Tony will get murdered. Or go to jail. Or flip. Or flee. Or go down in a sinking Stugots (that’s his boat if you don’t know).

People are far too hung up on closure. Although if you need that in your television, we received plenty of it in the first 55 minutes. Sil, Janice, Junior, Paulie, Phil… And I didn’t want Tony shot, I didn’t want him going to jail, I didn’t want him on the run. This is all missing the message of the show from day one. People – including families and Families – regardless of their role in society, if they work hard, do what they do well, and find some luck on the way, they tend to survive.

Side Note – Watch the Henry Rollins Show on IFC. Nothing to do with the Sopranos except being innovative television and Rollins is droppin’ science as raw as ever.

My $.02 about the Sopranos finale -

I am a die-hard Sopranos fan. I have all the DVD box sets. I have all the DVD box sets ripped to my second office computer with the 23" HD screen and instead of listening to music sometimes I just play episodes all day. I’ve seen (or heard) the entire series (Seasons 1 – 6A and 6B on the Tivo) at least 6 or 7 times.

So anyway, yeah, I’m a little invested.

I think it was, with only a few small exceptions, exactly how the show should have ended. As David Chase has said, people who have followed this show will understand how the last episode completely relates to the first episode (and is tied together by the 84 between).

What that really means is this – We were left off at the exact same place we always are – at any similar time in the cycles of the Soprano world. Tony and his little f family have overcome yet another set of enormous hurdles and, as most seasons tend to wrap up, they’re having a wonderful family dinner (laden, of course, with impending dark clouds). As Chase conveys so serenely via Journey:

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin’ anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time

Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

I was really happy with this being the final song. I wondered for quite a while what it would be, the music is always so carefully chosen in this show. I dig Journey – I was thrilled when my company did the online promo for Neal Schon’s 2005 “I On U” CD. It was a great choice both lyrically (including working hard to get my Phil) and in message.

But back to what I was saying. There are two major issues to comprehend. The first (aka everything but the last five minutes of the show) concerns wrapping up the stories we are currently in the middle of. Turns out they aren’t Earth-shattering incidents for Tony and I’m fine with that. Instead, everything (immediate) ended up solved. As always. The big F Family has suffered some major damage, but it has survived. Tony has an impending indictment, but as his lawyer tells him, trials are there to be won. And if we had season 7, that would just be normal fare – indictments, a trial (or not), intimidating witnesses and jurors, dealing with Carlo, new crew, new comares…

His family is also in the same shape as always. AJ has been saved by his parents and Meadow is off doing her own thing. It makes perfect sense, but more importantly, it works. Same as the Family if there were a Season 7 – AJ is very close to the mob (working for Little Carmine and then transitioning into a club financed by Tony) and Meadow will be married to a son of one of Tony’s (Family) employees. Oh and they’ll both be working for a law firm involved in cases that certainly mingle in Tony’s business interests. Plenty of “normal” story lines…

So the second issue – the last 5 minutes. I’ll get right to the point on this one. As noted before, if you really think about and process the message David Chase has been crafting since Season 1, you realize that this ending makes perfect sense. I can’t deny it’s a little jarring, but I like being splashed in the face with cold water and forced to think every now and again. And come on, how else could this have really ended that would be in the spirit of the series? Forget every cliche, as we know this isn’t DC’s style. No big shootouts, nothing that required any suspension of disbelief above the normal amount you might need. That, to me, would have been disappointing. Instead we get a glimpse into Tony’s constant experience – the same experience he has had in one capacity or another every single day since the beginning of the show. Every single person could be a gunman, the FBI, a friend, a foe, or just an absolute stranger with no agenda relating to the story.

I am firmly planted in the belief that Tony was not killed in that scene – once again we have to go to David Chase’s overall message for the show. This is not a show about the mob – it is a show about an American family that is just like us in every way except the “superstar” quality that makes for an interesting story (the mob element). But first and foremost, we are supposed to see a bigger picture of American life through the experiences of Tony and his family/Family. And if nothing else, this show has continually demonstrated that life will always go on, whether you (the viewer) are in it or not. That everything we’ve seen for the past 8 years has been the standard in this type of life.

To sum it up – I think the last scene was there simply to, through the use of unbearable tension via genius editing and sound design, show us what every “standard” day is like for the Sopranos. Leave us realizing that the universe doesn’t just start and end, but all stories continue, simply modified based on day-to-day events. And the cut to black – that’s the audience getting whacked – not Tony. Listen to the music, to the lyrics. Think about Chase’s feelings on the voyeur culture we live in (and the show relies on). Consider everything Melfi represents. Think about the show’s message about the relationship between Tony and the world around him. If this were simply a mob show, yes, I could see that interpreted as Tony being killed. But to simply reduce this story to a shoot-em-up is a major disservice to everyone involved (including the viewer).

I think a large chunk of viewers haven’t thought about it from this angle – they instead simply want to be spoon-fed a tidy wrap-up. I think there’s a misconception that there was a beginning and a middle and therefore should have been an end to the story. This isn’t remotely accurate – we simply landed one day in the life of a mobster. We saw an eventful chunk of his life, and then after seeing a simple (albeit uber-tense) scene of family dinner, we lose this view. Just like Bobby suggested and we were reminded of at the end of the penultimate episode – you never see it coming, and then it’s just over. Tony wasn’t whacked, we were. I don’t think this was Chase saying fuck you, I think this was Chase ending this in the exact manner that the 85 previous episodes lead up to – life goes on for some regardless of the trials and tribulations they face.

Wow, not until I wrote this entry did I really comprehend it’s over. Bummer. I am left feeling a little depressed, as if I am now being denied a view into their lives. Right this moment something is going on – maybe an issue with asbestos, maybe an indictment, maybe Tony is walking down the driveway to get his paper. We’re now eternally cast out, but at least we have the good times to remember. Hell, even AJ comprehends (and suggests) that!

Oh – as far as those small exceptions keeping this episode from perfection – the only thing I am really bummed we didn’t see is Tony firing that ridiculous machine gun. Of course that would have been a little too Scarface, but what a visual!

So there you have it. I’ve only watched the episode three times so after I watch it a few more I might add to this or have some new ideas, I’ll create a new post if worthwhile.

Start the countdown to Bill Maher’s return and the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm…

For those of you working (or looking to work) in some capacity in the music industry, always have a music-related business card. Doesn’t matter if you are an unemployed musician, in a working band, or employed somewhere irrelevant. Have a business card that represents what you want to do (within reason), and spend the money to make them impressive (design and printing).
Here’s why, as simple as it can get.

Very nice business cards = 33 cents each.
1000 of these = $330.
Client (gig, etc) hiring you = at least $330

If you get one job from 1000 cards you have paid for the cards. And in reality, every card you hand out has value – company awareness is a very valuable asset. Now you just have to find 1000 relevant people to hand them out to. I’d say the odds are still very high in your favor if you only give out 100…

Here’s an idea. Use Myspace responsibly.

I get 10-20 “comments” per day on my myspace page from bands trying to push their music. This in itself isn’t the problem – I work in the music biz and am in a position to work with a lot of bands so it makes sense that they find me. The problem is that these bands rarely use this tool smartly. Instead of a few lines about what they’re up to and maybe a small image, most bands have some enormous picture and an essay on their band. As I have all comments set to be approved before they are posted, I deny every single comment that is wider than my normal layout or so long it will “own” the page. This is MY page, not your personal advertising center.

Having said that – any bands out there – DEFINITELY leave comments on other’s pages to promote your band – but do it in a polite, effective way. It’s better to leave three small comments over 6 weeks than to get one (or likely zero) huge comments that people get annoyed by.