Moonglow Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I ran across this article and found it interesting in a mindless reading sort of way. Will perhaps tell you more than you ever wanted to know about ice cream truck music. Actually not completely OT, toward the end they talk about an artist generating new ice cream truck music. My vote is for Pop Goes the Weasel. Enjoy (or not). Klonk Quote "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Didn't expect RZA to show up in that article. Very interesting! Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I haven't paid much attention, but what I recall is Music Box Dancer played in an endless loop - not on the list. But I live at the end of a dead-end street, so only hear ice cream trucks at the intersection when my windows are open - in other words, not that often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ockeghem Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I buy my ice cream at the grocery store, and my music/discs from stores or online sellers. I am not fast enough to catch the truck. Or perhaps I scare the drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davinwv Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 This was a fascinating read! Ours plays "The Entertainer" always, but I've heard some of the other songs while traveling in different places. I wonder if the choices are regional at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I haven't paid much attention, but what I recall is Music Box Dancer played in an endless loop - not on the list. The paper recycling truck that drove through my neighbourhood in Japan in the 80s had that. Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miden Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Greensleeves seems to be the popular choice down here Quote There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence... Time is the final arbiter for all things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I had to figure out the name of the song that's permanently embedded in my skull from childhood -- turns out it's just called "The Mr. Softee Jingle." Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I ran across this article and found it interesting in a mindless reading sort of way. Will perhaps tell you more than you ever wanted to know about ice cream truck music. Actually not completely OT, toward the end they talk about an artist generating new ice cream truck music. My vote is for Pop Goes the Weasel. Enjoy (or not). Klonk As a child, we heard Pop Goes The Weasel often in the summer months. I figured out that I could drive everybody around me insane by whistling everything right up to the "Pop" and then starting over. It is a form of mental torment that none can withstand or ignore. Ironically, I think I learned it because the other ice cream truck that came around sometimes had a record player that played Turkey in the Straw - except there was a scratch in the record that made it skip and start playing one phrase over and over again until the driver jostled it or went over a bump or something. So, I vote for Turkey in The Straw. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanczarek Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I don't see ice cream trucks where I live now. In the old neighborhood which is only five miles away ice cream trucks came around every day. One would always play "Fur Elise". Another played "The Entertainer" and another played "Home on the Range". Several years ago some local ice cream trucks were also selling cocaine until they got busted. I'm guessing they might have played "Mary Had a Little Lamb" which has the line "white as snow". Here in New Jersey during the pandemic ice cream trucks are considered essential businesses along with fast food restaurants and liquor stores so they are free to operate without the restrictions put on other businesses. The drivers do take precautions like wearing gloves and changing them after a cash transaction. Many now take credit cards and have Apps for tracking when they are getting close to your area. A selection of ice cream truck music: [video:youtube] Quote C3/122, M102A, Vox V301H, Farfisa Compact, Gibson G101, GEM P, RMI 300A, Piano Bass, Pianet , Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, Matrix 12, OB8, Korg MS20, Jupiter 6, Juno 60, PX-5S, Nord Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I had to figure out the name of the song that's permanently embedded in my skull from childhood -- turns out it's just called "The Mr. Softee Jingle." Mine too. Jingle suit Don't screw with Mr Softee. Quote 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboKeys Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Growing up in LA around 1960 i always heard this from the ice cream truck, so going somewhere else and hearing Pop Goes the Weasel or whatever always just seemed, well, wrong. I've always wondered, and maybe someone can identify it - is this just some song that i don't know, or something specific to ice cream trucks ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Music Bird Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I always thought the music was mostly 8 bit square waves, triangle waves, and white noise, so basically NES music. I remember hearing 'Turkey In The Straw" and some NES sounding stuff. Quote Yamaha MX49, Casio SK1/WK-7600, Korg Minilogue, Alesis SR-16, Casio CT-X3000, FL Studio, many VSTs, percussion, woodwinds, strings, and sound effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elif Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Around these parts, for years, it's always been Turkey in the Straw, but just the A section. Over and over and over - waiting for the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Great article, brings back a lot of memories. Little Brown Jug and Pop Goes the Weasel were the most popular in various neighborhoods of my youth, and those were for companies other than Good Humor. In my earliest years I recall the Good Humor truck making frequent passes, but can't recall the tune they played. Wasn't there a scary ice-cream truck driver in a Stephen King novel or short story? If not, it seems like there ought to be . There were days when certain trucks and their music seemed downright creepy to me. Quote 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Some suggestions for more modern melodies. Ice cream man....obvious. Man in a box Tutti Frutti Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Just not Ice Cream Paint Job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
232006 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Greensleeves seems to be the popular choice down here As here in the UK - remember it way back in the 1960s as a kid - damn giving away my age now.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 The most common tune round here is "some indistinct cacophony gain-staged to clip the amp, and then played through waterproof horns optimised for vocals that *really* colour the sound". Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 The last ice cream truck I saw and heard about a month or so ago so ago was playing Christmas music and the sound was warbly. I was expecting to see Freddy Krueger driving the truck. Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 The ice cream truck for my neighborhood usually plays stuff that I don't recognize. My great nephew was sitting on my porch one day when it went by and he recognized music and told me which Harry Potter film it was from. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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