So what does Steven Van Zandt think about the ending of "The Sopranos"?

Van Zandt's here to talk about VH1 Classic's upcoming "Seven Ages of Rock," along with Mark Goodman (who got his start at Philly's WMMR), but he's not terribly surprised that someone might be interested in his former life as Silvio Dante.

"He was in a coma -- what does he know?" quipped Goodman.

"Right from the start, David Chase broke every rule in the book, and everyone loved him for it," Van Zandt said, adding that Chase had "refused to play the Hollywood game of fraudulent closure."

"I thought it was brilliant," he said of Chase's cut-to-black finale.

Van Zandt, of course, had a life before Silvio, and it's the part of that life that intersects with Bruce Springsteen's that "Seven Ages of Rock" will likely be exploring.

So do the Boss and the guy who wrote about that other boss have anything in common?

"Just seeing New Jersey become fashionable twice in a lifetime was surprising enough," Van Zandt said.

And yes, he said, the two do share a trait or two, including an insistence on doing things their way.

"Whenever I sort of falter, and think I should compromise a bit, I look at those guys and they're just straight up," said Van Zandt.