Five Sopranos fan accounts to follow right now
From razor-sharp memes about Kanye's Donda and Tony Soprano crying to SOPHIE, here's some seriously fun stuff to tide you over until The Many Saints of Newark comes out on 22nd September.
Culture
Words: Jade Wickes
Let’s face it, there’s never a bad time to re-watch The Sopranos, otherwise known as one of television’s great cultural cornerstones. Whether you got your fill over lockdown, had the digital box-set gathering dust on your must-watch list for years or think of yourself as a proper fan, it’s safe to say that all of us can relate to Tony and his gang of gumars and wise guys’ woes – minus all the whacking.
Brought to us by the legendary David Chase, and even though the first episode aired all the way back in 1999, lots of the issues brought up in the show feel just as pertinent now as they did then. The need for therapy? Check. Existential crises? Check. The importance of a fresh set of acrylics? Definitely check.
As we prepare for Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark to be released on 22nd September, we dug deep to find all the best social media fan accounts to follow in the run-up. The late, great James Gandolfini, who plays Tony, lives on in TikTok videos and memes galore. Get your fill below – fun facts, hot get-ups and gabagool songs guaranteed.
This one is a no-brainer. From chronicling Carmela’s distinctive diamante lapels to Gloria’s big coat energy and Adriana’s various skimpy animal-print looks, @sopranosstyle has posted enough material to keep your outfit-inspo mood board filled all winter. In some ways, The Sopranos foreshadowed 2021’s return to maximalism and high glamour… Right? Let us not gloss over the menswear, either. Paulie’s questionable sleeveless undershirt and Puma tracksuit combo are a sight for sore eyes (but we love him anyway), while Bobby Bacala and Furio’s downright questionable shirts haven’t exactly stood the test of time. If this account is your kind of thing, also check out @hotnails.tv, a page dedicated to archiving telly’s most iconic manicures – and it goes without saying that The Sopranos is the patron saint of impeccable mani’s.
As the self-professed CEO of Sopranos memes, this account brings the best of pop culture together with the best of The Sopranos. Its admin has collated a dizzying array of memes (see: “Did it hurt? When the ducks left?”), some of which poke fun at hot topics, such as Kanye’s new Donda album, which Christopher Moltisanti didn’t have much time for. There are bootleg adverts (Johnny Sack’s “Pragmatist Light” cigarettes, anyone?) and starter packs thrown in there for good measure, too. As it turns out, there really is a Sopranos one-liner for everything that happens in the real world.
Who doesn’t love a good “No Context” account? This one follows suit from the hugely successful @nocontextlouistheroux page, cherrypicking various Sopranos quotes for your scrolling pleasure. The best thing about these screen-grabs is that they often depict something totally mundane that viewers wouldn’t necessarily pick up on while watching. Carmela’s contemptful “That verbal diarrhea” quote or Uncle Junior’s benign request to have enchiladas for dinner might seem peripheral to The Sopranos’ main storyline, but they play a big part in making the characters we love, well, themselves.
To get your Sopranos-slash-TikTok fix, look no further than TheSopranosTok, which posts the most memorable 30-second snippets from random episodes, as well as short interviews with the cast about their respective characters. We get to watch Vito versus his arch-nemesis Finn, Livia Soprano’s “He was a saint!” monologues, and slightly puzzling Game of Thrones and Sopranos crossover videos. The account boasts 1.5 million likes and counting, though, so there’s clearly a market for that kind of thing.
Pretty self-explanatory, really: a Twitter account that posts videos of Tony Soprano crying to our favourite songs, as submitted by fellow users. It’s never a good feeling to see the Boss crying… Except when it’s to the dulcet tones of It’s Okay to Cry by SOPHIE, or worse, the heinous Imagine video that Gal Gadot et al posted at the start of the pandemic. Shudder. The original clip of Tony crying in his car took place in season four, where he unexpectedly starts weeping to The Chi-Lites’ Oh Girl. Relatable!
Honourable mention: @slimthickgabagool
Although this account isn’t totally dedicated to The Sopranos, it deserves to be on this list for the username alone. Gabi, who runs the page, has made a name for herself since she started singing original, Sopranos-themed songs to the tune of Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles. Genius.
