Don't Stop Believin

June 17, 2007 10:59 PM

Not a Journey fan? This tool over at Stereogum allows you to re-score the final scene of The Sopranos with any MP3 you can either find online or host online yourself.
posted by jonson (45 comments total)

Possible spoiler alert? I can't tell cos I don't want my favourite series spoiled and haven't dug into it too much - but this post and this post seem to have fairly obvious references to it (whatever "it" is).
posted by strawberryviagra at 11:20 PM on June 17, 2007

Nice little page and "tool" at your second link. Or change the string to suit other types of searches, such as...
intitle:index.of +”last modified” +”parent directory” +(mpg|wmv|mov|avi) +"sopranos" -htm -html -php -asp
posted by sluglicker at 11:30 PM on June 17, 2007

Possible spoiler alert?

Well...

This tool over at Stereogum allows you to re-score the final scene of The Sopranos

... yeah I'd say it's safe to assume that might spoil it a bit.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 11:32 PM on June 17, 2007

Um, who doesn't love Journey? This so called "tool" is USELESS!
posted by louche mustachio at 11:42 PM on June 17, 2007

At his moment, I am not sure whether Meredith Wilson's "Chicken Fat" song, as sung by Robert Preston, was a terrible choice or inspired.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:46 PM on June 17, 2007

The ending of The Sopranos is brilliant, especially with the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme.
posted by dhammond at 12:33 AM on June 18, 2007

Hey - I can't fucking read. Who'd have thought.
posted by strawberryviagra at 12:58 AM on June 18, 2007

Possible spoiler alert?

I don't think the filmic equivalent of "Choose Your Own Adventure" can be spoiled.

(I liked the ending btw. It was a hell of a lot more imaginative than the last three seasons combined.)
posted by bardic at 1:09 AM on June 18, 2007

I'd never seen the show, but if I ever do, it's end will always be associated with Spoon's "The Underdog". Which ends with a gunshot. Heh.
posted by delmoi at 1:25 AM on June 18, 2007

Great.
posted by strawberryviagra at 2:02 AM on June 18, 2007

And Also the Trees' "Gone, Like the Swallows": still cheesy.

Invader Zim theme: Not bad, but still not having the right effect.

Instrumental dub remix of Wall Of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio": Getting there, but still a way to go...

Clock DVA's "The Secret Life of the Big Black Suit/Big Black Suit Walks On": PERFECT!
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:18 AM on June 18, 2007

And just about anything from The Young Gods seems to work in a pinch.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:20 AM on June 18, 2007

I bet Hillary is going to pick her campaign theme song based on this.
posted by DenOfSizer at 4:29 AM on June 18, 2007

Possible spoiler alert?

Hey, if you don't already know that The sopranos ended with a big spontaneous dance number set to "Any Way You Want It", it's your own fault.

That was awesome when Ted Knight beat the shit out of Tony with a golf club.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:40 AM on June 18, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

Personally I think that the choice of including Journey's "Don't Stop Beli

.
posted by drinkcoffee at 4:42 AM on June 18, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Spoler alert?

If you've managed to remain unspoiled after a week of intense internet complaining about the finale of that television show, then I'm truly impressed. And the ostriches with their head in the sand are envious.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:03 AM on June 18, 2007

Bob Harris, (television writer/Jeopardy champ) has a good analysis of the final scene.
Did you know that Chase directed only the first and last episodes?
posted by Flashman at 5:07 AM on June 18, 2007 [5 favorites has favorites]

I never watched the dang show, but in the past week I've been saturated with every nuance of that final scene. How can you remain so unaware of it?
posted by yeti at 6:08 AM on June 18, 2007

Wow, Flashman, that's a brilliant and fascinating link.
posted by mediareport at 6:28 AM on June 18, 2007

I liked the ending btw. It was a hell of a lot more imaginative than the last three seasons combined.

The last season in particular wasted a lot of time on tertiary characters, tangential subplots, and symbolism that didn't go anywhere (the Burroughs poem in the season opener), including a tubby kid taking a shit in the gym shower and stepping in it. The ending might have been less irritating if it hadn't followed an entire season of meaningless meandering.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:41 AM on June 18, 2007

"In the Highways" off of the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack works pretty well.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:42 AM on June 18, 2007

What about "Ooooh whatcha say... that it's all for the best?", OC style?
posted by anthill at 6:48 AM on June 18, 2007

Yeah, I thought the onion rings thing was really weird too.
posted by delmoi at 7:14 AM on June 18, 2007

yakety sax
posted by Dave Faris at 7:56 AM on June 18, 2007

Thanks, mediareport. Unless you're being sarcastic... was it already posted somewhere? I was actually thinking of FPPing it, blithely thinking that there hadn't even been a Sopranos-related FPP... until I saw that there had, in fact been such a happening.
Well regardless, I thought Mr Harris tied it all together very convincingly.
& yeah kirkaracha, while I did actually enjoy the subplots and meanderings - it's the Sopranos - I was pissed off at how much they had to cram into the last two or three episodes - by the pacing of the rest of the show that should have been half a season's worth of plot.
posted by Flashman at 8:14 AM on June 18, 2007

[there's no such thing as spoilers in this thread, right? 'Cause I'm gonna talk about the Sopranos in-depth right here]

I am pretty ambivilent about the last episode, and the last scene. In my mind the episode where Tony killed Christopher would have made a fitting last episode. To me, it summed up the arc of the series -- in the first season Tony is crippled with the fear of losing his family, and in that episode he murders someone who is like a son to him because, well, he can. And is overjoyed about it -- he thinks the universe blesses him for it. To me, that's a nice character arc. But with the actual final episode, Chase seemed so afraid of sending a "message" that in the end he made what I consider a weak choice. (but the scene, up until that moment, was beautiful, and I think the Journey song was an inspired choice).
posted by Bookhouse at 8:54 AM on June 18, 2007

That yackety sax was great, Dave.
posted by Kwine at 9:04 AM on June 18, 2007

as a fan of the sopranos (still on season 1, as it happens) and the guy that made that little flash toy, i have to say i don't think it spoils anything. the fact that they could pull off something that could be talked about w/o actually ruining the end for everyone who hasn't seen the series is what i like best about it.
posted by paul_smatatoes at 9:11 AM on June 18, 2007

also, yay stereogum tag
posted by paul_smatatoes at 9:12 AM on June 18, 2007

I thought Mr Harris tied it all together very convincingly.

I agree completely, and he's a pretty funny writer, too. Thanks again, mainly for the additional evidence when I try to convince people that the finale was pitch-perfect, and one of the best scenes on television in years.

As much as I cringe at the thought of such a horrible thing happening in front of Tony's family and want to cling to some faint hope that the show didn't end badly for the lovable murderous thug, I knew better. And after reading Harris' analysis it's even more clear that Chase did everything but show us the blood. And really, it's a fitting end in so many ways - particularly Carmela (my favorite character) getting confronted directly with the reality she'd been rationalizing away for years. *shivers*
posted by mediareport at 9:20 AM on June 18, 2007

@anthill- someone posted the URL for that Imogen Heap "Ooooh whatcha say" song ("Hide and Seek") in the comments on the post so you can try it out yourself.
posted by paul_smatatoes at 9:20 AM on June 18, 2007

Okay, I just read Mr. Harris's post, and that's quite an argument. I do wonder what David Chase thought the reaction would be to the finale, though. Were his millions of fans supposed to get all that, or are we supposed to slowly awaken to it just now?

Huh.
posted by Bookhouse at 9:39 AM on June 18, 2007

Damn, that's one meticulous deconstruction in that Harris link. I was in the who-knows-and-it-doesn't-matter camp on whether Tony got whacked, but he convinced me. Tony sleeps with the fishes.

I do wonder what David Chase thought the reaction would be to the finale, though. Were his millions of fans supposed to get all that, or are we supposed to slowly awaken to it just now?

I think, actually, that something like this was at least his hope. You cut to dead air that hard at the end of a show widely hailed as among the finest pieces of TV drama ever assembled, that's you elbowing your audience hard in the ribs to look closely at what just happened. Chase knew how maybe of us had it on PVRs. He knew we could watch it ten times in the half hour after it happened. Fucking brilliant move if you ask me. Inspired use of a new medium, in a sense.

Also, as I mentioned in a previous thread, to me it doesn't particularly matter whether Tony's dead or not, because he's been rendered existentially meaningless. I've rewatched the ending five times, and "Don't Stop Believing" has so thoroughly invaded my consciousness that I added it to heavy rotation on the ole iPod. Mainly because it now immediately conjures up images from that closing sequence, and those four minutes comprise maybe the greatest music video ever made. It's an MTV update of an Edward Hopper tableau, scored by a band doing kind of a pale imitation of a Springsteen ballad. I'm haunted by it. I think Chase - already guaranteed a place in the Hall of Fame - knocked that last pitch past the cheap seats. The final scene is itself a stand-alone masterpiece.
posted by gompa at 10:05 AM on June 18, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

. . . how many of us had it on PVRs.

Dammit, now I'm miffled.
posted by gompa at 10:09 AM on June 18, 2007

That yackety sax was great, Dave.

If only there was a way to display the video at 48 frames a second.
posted by Dave Faris at 10:32 AM on June 18, 2007

[SPOILERS]


For the Members Only-guy interpretation to work someone we've never seen before killed Tony in a restaurant he's never been to before (on the show). Since we haven't seen him before, there's no reason for him to kill Tony, and there isn't anyone in the story with a motive. He just made peace with the New York crew.

Also, why would the guy sit down at the counter for a while then go into the bathroom before killing Tony? In The Godfather Michael had to because he was searched and the gun was in the bathroom. No one searched the guy at the counter. Why wouldn't he just walk into the diner and shoot Tony like the guys who just walked into the toy store and killed Bobby, or the guys who just walked into the apartment and killed the gooma and her father, or the guy who just walked up to Phil Leotardo in the parking lot and killed him, etc. The show has definitely established time and time again that there's no dawdling when it comes to whacking someone, you just walk up and shoot them.

The problem with "you probably don’t even hear it when it happens" is that Bobby heard it coming and saw the guys who shot him. So did Sil.

The final camera shot wasn't from Tony's POV, it was a shot of Tony. Since the shot isn't from his POV, the end can't mean he's killed.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:51 AM on June 18, 2007

kirkaracha, how 'bout the two entire episodes when Tony lay in a coma, "dreaming" of himself - that was his POV, yet we saw him all the time, right? In fact, the entire series is riddled with dream sequences like that. Flashbacks, too.

This is fiction, storytelling, some (me included) would call it art - suggestion is the only standard of proof that need apply. Sure, there are logistical reasons why it wouldn't make sense for the guy to walk out of the bathroom, but tell me that when you saw that guy walk into the bathroom you weren't at least REMINDED of the Godfather scenario... that's all Chase needed to do.

Also, why does Tony's killer need to be someone we've seen before? I'd support the opposite - just as Tony himself flew over some guys from Italy to kill Phil, why wouldn't whoever wants Tony dead do something similar?
posted by fingers_of_fire at 11:20 AM on June 18, 2007

Also, why would the guy sit down at the counter for a while then go into the bathroom before killing Tony?

At the counter he's in Tony's line of sight. By going to the bathroom to take out the gun he's put himself out of Tony's vision.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:27 AM on June 18, 2007

Seven Alternate Sopranos endings

(the last one is the best)
posted by Bookhouse at 11:35 AM on June 18, 2007

There’s nothing that beats Slayer’s “Postmortem”:
“Do you want to die?! The waves of blood are rushing near, pounding at the walls of lies Turning off my sanity, reaching back into my mind Non-rising body from the grave showing new reality What I am, what I want, I'm only after death”

(...except for “Yakkity Sax” - shame you can’t reblock the scene and have the whole cast (along with busty scantily clad blondes) chasing Tony around.)
posted by Smedleyman at 12:01 PM on June 18, 2007

(And I don’t think there’s any question Chase set up a number of counterpointing themes - most certainly death, but also continuation, but as I’ve said - doesn’t matter, Tony, et.al are still stuck in themselves and that life such that there is still no real way out)
posted by Smedleyman at 12:18 PM on June 18, 2007

Two more theories:

1. Tony is still in the coma after getting shot in the first episode of this season, "Members Only," and he dies at the end of this episode. He's wearing a shirt that's very similar to the one he was wearing when Uncle Junior shot him, this screenshot from "Members Only" is almost identical to th opening shot of the final episode, and the guy in the jacket is a tipoff.

2. Meadow got whacked. The tension in the closing moments of the Sopranos finale was centered around Meadow. Can she find a parking space? Does she even know how to parallel park? Is she going to get hit by a bus? The last shot was looking at Tony from Meadow's point of view, and the screen going black and the sound cutting off were when she got whacked. It's like in III when Michael Corleone's daughter gets shot. David Chase has made repeated references to the Godfather movies, including the regrettable third movie with Silvio's frequent recitation of "just when I try to get out, they pull me back in." It's the final Godfather homage.

that was his POV, yet we saw him all the time, right?

But if he gets shot it's not a dream, it's a narrative. If the screen going black and the sound cutting off are supposed be his experience at the instant of getting shot, then the last thing we see onscreen has to be what he sees.

Also, why does Tony's killer need to be someone we've seen before? I'd support the opposite - just as Tony himself flew over some guys from Italy to kill Phil, why wouldn't whoever wants Tony dead do something similar?

Even though he called in people from Italy, you saw them onscreen before they shot Phil's gooma and her father (thinking he was Phil), and there was a clear chain of communication between Tony and them. This guy had never been in the show before and there was no plausible explanation for random guy to kill Tony. The war was over. There isn't anything in the show to have Members Only guy be the killer. If you want to make up your own explanation for him, fine, but there isn't anything definitive in the show.

I'd be more inclined to buy into he Tony-gets-whacked interpretation if the entire last season hadn't sucked so bad. Another example: in the last episode Butchie goes from being cartoonishly over-the-top evil he's been throughout the series to being the pragmatic voice of reason.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:50 PM on June 18, 2007

The ending of The Sopranos is brilliant, especially with the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme.

Absolutely - Especially when paired with the Seinfeld opening music at the beginning of the scene, too.
posted by Peter H at 1:53 PM on June 18, 2007

I'm surprised one of you hasn't spliced together several songs along with an alternate dialog track by now and posted a link to the mp3 here. I guess all of you cortex wannabes are just too busy doing whatever you cortex wannabes do.
posted by Dave Faris at 2:04 PM on June 18, 2007

a friend showed me one way to hack google searches, but your link is so much easier
posted by altman at 11:13 PM on June 18, 2007