Shook the Spot

"The Doorbell Encore (Team 9 remix)," Killers versus Jay-Z
"Witness the Curtains Closing," Arctic Monkeys versus Roots Manuva

THE SOPRANOS — SEASON 6, EPISODE 1 . . . "MEMBERS ONLY" . . . SPOILERS

We've got some solid chatter going on over Sunday night's premiere. MommaVoz, superstar Shook commenter and resident spoken-word expert, identified the opening track as William S. "The S ain't for Smith" Burroughs reading "Seven Souls" from his novel, The Western Lands. The full excerpt is here, but according to MommaVoz, we heard . . .

The ancient Egyptians postulated seven souls, Top soul, and the first to leave at the moment of death, is Ren, the Secret Name. This corresponds to my Director, He directs the film of your life from conception to death. The Secret Name is the title of your film. When you die, that's where Ren came in.

Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power, Light The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons.

Number three is Khu, the Guardian Angel. He, she, or it is third man out . . .

Number four is Ba, the heart, often treacherous . . .

Number five is Ka, the Double . . . The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead . . .

Number six is Khaibit, the Shadow, Memory, your whole past conditioning from this and other lives.

Number seven is Sekhu, the Remains.

Slate says, "Very cool, not quite comprehensible." Come on. For a television show with more symbolism than a Roman Catholic wedding, "Seven Souls" is paydirt. It should be noted . . . Burroughs accidentally shot and killed his wife, Joan Vollmer, in 1951 while trying his hand at William Tell in a bar in Mexico City. Shooting a relative? Craaaaaazy.

In a 1988 review of The Western Lands for the Times, Jonathan Baumbach wrote . . .

I don't know how literally we are meant to take Mr. Burroughs's obsessive metaphysics, which includes the Egyptian concept of each man having seven souls, though I don't think it matters. Getting to the Western Lands is the burden of the novel, but the events of the trip are more interesting than the mythology that informs it.

''Desperation,'' one of Mr. Burroughs's voices tells us, ''is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape.''

Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape. Hear that, Gene Montecorvo? Speaking of which, can we get a running list of family members who have spoken to the Feds? (Are any canaries still alive?)

Big Pussy
Jimmy Altieri
Jack Massarone
Adrianna La Cerva
Ray Curto
Gene Montecorvo
[Corrections thanks to MommaVoz and Wikipedia!]

What was the meaning of Ray Curto's heart attack in the FBI agent's car? (Also, did they move his body to avoid exposing Curto as a mole?) How much info did they get on Tony, et al. before he croaked? And is any of it good if Curto can't, in his own words, "back it up in court"? (Side note . . . might Curto have been a key witness against Johnny Sack?)

Finally, there was a lot of talk in the comments (and over e-mail) about how Tony's bullet in the gut was so strongly foreshadowed. This is what we've spotted so far . . .

— Tony digging holes in Junior's backyard at his uncle's request. (When the neighbor saw the two of them, did Tony say something about moles?)
— Tony to AJ (paraphrase): "I don't care how close you are, in the end your friends are gonna let you down. Family. They're the only ones you can depend on."
— Dr. Melfi bringing up, after such a long time without mentioning it, the attempt by Tony's mother to kill her son with Junior's assistance.
— Tony and Carmella hitting up their new favorite sushi joint, swimming awfully close to the fishes. (What was the name of the restaurant?)

Hustle hard on the block . . .

 #  hustle hard on the block (3) 11:12 AM