Monday, May 14, 2007 1 U The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Bobby Bac and captain Paulie with ominous overtones that he could off them on a passing whim if he wanted to. Tony used to be loved, but now he's mostly feared. And you can feel that something bad is coming. That something bad? It would appear to be his nephew Christo- pher. Once groomed by Tony to replace him someday, their rela- tionship changed when Chris's girl- friend started talking to the FBI. He was forced to choose between love and family. After Chris's decision left his fiance rotting in the ground, he turned to drugs and alcohol to drown the pain. Although it hap- pened years ago, it's obviously still a very raw subject and recently it seems Chris might just go off the rails enough to exact revenge on "Big T" - or even worse, start talk- ingto the Feds himself Whatever happens, fans are r * aafraid the end won't be satisfying enough. With the show's best plot- lines of "The Sopranos" coming in hit the early seasons, it seems the writ- ers have been stretching to fill the Courtesy of HBO scripts with bizarre plotlines such as homosexual love trysts, horrify- ingly conceived movie projects and slow to emerge it's hard to tell they hallucinatory coma dreams. Only even happened at all. recently has the show begun to get Tony Soprano used to be a lot back to its roots. We can only hope happier, that's for sure. Despite his this carries into the series finale. initial psychiatric appointment Whether you've grown old to fix his panic attacks, his life with "The Sopranos" for the last extorting cash, placing bets and seven years, or purged through bashing in heads. But in the seven it in ten days on DVD, you'll be years since, Tony has become holding your breath for the next intensely distrustful of everyone three weeks..It might be death or around him. Rats seemed to pour prison or a nice family dinner, but out of his crew. whatever Tony Soprano's ultimate This season he flexed his mus- fate may be, it's been a great time cle toward his brother-in-law watching him get there. Mv R E N Check The Filter weekly for Paul at michigandaily.com Tassi on new episodes of "The Sopranoes." Fuhgetaboutit. By PAUL TASSI Tony's still boss, most of the major Daily Arts Writer players are still alive and well and mostcproblems are solved by a bullet Are there really only two epi- in the eye followed by a trip down sodes left until the series finale of to the shore. Has "The Sopranos" "The Sopranos"? How far we've just been "jerking us off" all this come. Or have we? time? The simple answer is no. In a recent episode, Tony (James "The Sopranos" will always live Gandolfini) sat down with his psy- on as one of the best dramas on chiatrist of seven years and laid television, not only because of its it all out on the table. "I thought insights into the Jersey Mafioso, about it, and I'm done. This, what but because of how painstakingly we do here, let's be honest, it's just it has crafted its characters over a jerk off. Nothing gets solved." On the years. While the supporting first glance, Tony would appear to characters maybe fixtures, though be right. incredibly well-done fixtures, the How far are we from where transformations undergone by the we started seven years ago? Has foreground characters have taken anything really changed? I mean, years to develop, and have been so MUSIC COUNT DOWN ovinyls at PJ's By MATT KIVEL DailyArti Writer Forget musicology courses at the University. If you want a real education in all things vinyl, stop by FJ's Records at 617 Fackard and talk to the owners. They are audiophiles of the highest order and will gleefully inundate you with a lifetime's worth of musical minutia and illuminating anec- dotes. Their shelves are packed with off-beat gems and classic records, so there is no need to endlessly sift through Leif Gar- rett and Osmond Family compi- lations - as is the norm at most vinyl shops. Listed below are five wonderful albums that are now in stock at PJ's, as recommended by wiseman/musical oracle/PJ's owner, Marc Taras. 1. Carla Bley Escalator over the dill Early magnum opus with lyr- ics by beat-poet, Faul Haines. The triple LP boasts an amazing range of personnel: Gato Barbieri, Char- lie Haden, John McLaughlin, Linda Ronstadt, Jack Bruce, Don Cherry, etc. A wild-ride riot! 2. Earl Van Dyke TheEairl of Funk Soul piano grooves from The Funk Brothers legendary key- boardist. 3. Less McCann and Eddie Harris Swioo Movement A soul/jazz classic, recorded live at Montreaux in 1969. 4. John Mayall Bock to rhe Roots A reunion of sorts with the Bluesbreakers All Stars, featur- ing guitarists Rric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Harvey Handel. Don "Sugarcane" Harris guests on violin. S. Alice Cooper Love ir ro Death The title says it all. An early Cooper classic featuring "I'm Eighteen." 0 4 4 4 4