We All Scream
One of the great seasonal joys and annoyances of urban life is the ubiquitous tinkle of ice cream trucks. On May 20 The New York Times published a nice piece about ice cream vendors who tailor their sound for specific neighborhoods. They focused on a day in the life of wonderfully named Tommy Metropoulos, the thirty-two-year-old president of ice cream distributors A Selinger Enterprises.
Mr. Metropoulos sprang from his chair with surprising friskiness for a man of his stocky build, threw open the office door and marched up to the ice cream truck parked outside. Tapping his toe on the sidewalk to the upbeat Latin music resounding from the truck, he chatted in Spanish with the two Latino vendors while one of them poured Coca-Cola over a dish of ice cream for Mr. Metropoulos.Like many vendors who do business at this warehouse, these drivers have selected the music on their truck to fit their audience. "Almost all of the Bronx speaks Spanish," Mr. Metropoulos said. "It just makes sense. I'm not going to drive into a Spanish neighborhood blaring my father's Greek music."
Kudos to Mr. Metropoulos's cultural sensitivity. Here in multiculti Brooklyn, however, most of us identify the sound of summer with the instrumental Mr. Softee song, which turns out to have rarely heard lyrics: "The cream-i-est dream-i-est soft ice cream/ You get from Mis-ter Sof-tee./ For a re-fresh-ing de-light su-preme/ Look for Mis-ter Sof-tee..."
The Times went on to note that
Noise has long been a part of the ice cream business, beginning in the late 1800s with the street vendors' cry, 'I scream for ice cream!' According to Daniel Neely, a New York University ethnomusicologist who has studied the history of ice cream truck music, the essence of the music -- simple, circular melodies played by upper-register winds and tinny chimes -- has remained relatively stable over time.
Until now, that is. Michael Hearst of the band One Ring Zero has composed thirteen new Songs for Ice Cream Trucks, which can be sampled here and purchased on his website. Hearst's alternates range from the waltz-time "Popsicle Parade" and chiming "What's Your Favorite Flavor" to the wistful "Where Do Ice Cream Trucks Go in the Winter?" Hearst's music is the perfect antidote to the nostalgic monotony of ice cream vending vehicles. I'll certainly be cranking it up when the hundredth Mr. Softee truck of summer parks outside my front window.