Members of the cast and crew of HBO's The Wire celebrated the series finale Sunday night in decidedly different, though equally fitting ways. Ten actors from the show, including Wendall Pierce (Det. "Bunk" Moreland) and Michael K. Williams (Omar Little), attended a special screening of the final episode held by Philadelphia's Mayor Michael Nutter, one of the series' biggest fans, according to an AP report. "I've learned a great deal," Nutter said of the show depicting his sister city to the south. "It gives a lot of insight into a lot of different people."

The series creator and writer, David Simon, chose to mark the finale at Washington, DC's 9:30 Club at a concert by the Pogues, a band that features prominently throughout the series and on its soundtrack ... and all the pieces matter. Also in attendance, independent of Simon, reports the Washington Post: Maryland Governor and former Baltimore mayor Martin O'Malley.

The ties between the show and its music run deep. HARP magazine's Randy Harward profiles another of the show's writers, George Pelecanos, and his long-running interest in seamlessly weaving music into his writing. It was an inclination he shared with Simon that was, for him, among the chief draws of the show.

The article traces the roots of the two separate soundtracks—the broad-ranging ... and all the pieces matter and Beyond Hamsterdam, which HARP calls "a locals-only smorgasbord of great tracks." Writes Harward:

Whereas ... and all the pieces matter summarizes five years in 35 tracks of music and dialogue (designed, as The Wire itself, to entertain as well as engender thought about real people and real-life strife), the hip-hop/soul/go-go disc Hamsterdam is a more visceral experience. "That's more of a party CD right there," says Pelecanos. "You can put that on and people get their heads up, and you [just let it play]."

To read the article, visit harpmagazine.com.