audible frequency : 20 Hz to 20 kHz :

07/01/03 21:52 listen to the ice cream truck

yesterday the ice cream truck rolled down the street at 7 pm, as usual on hot summer days. the truck stopped on the street and gave ice cream to the children who had money. for a while the truck sat there, waiting for the children who were likely in their homes begging their parents for a few dollars. i watched for a moment, remembering how i used to plead for money to buy ice cream. always practical, i would buy the ice cream that contained some sort of gum so i would have a sweet reminder even after the ice cream was gone. this time i didn't want ice cream though, i have plenty in the freezer. i ran inside to get my minidisc recorder. by the time i returned, the ice cream truck had gone away.

after dark, just before 10 pm the ice cream truck came again. this time it parked in a different place down the street. no children came to buy ice cream. it was much too late for that. a few young men, the type you don't want to run into when you are alone in an alley, went up to the ice cream truck. an exchange of some sort took place, but no one was eating any ice cream. i stood on my porch for a moment, watching while appearing not to watch, wondering about the possibilites of getting shot by the ice cream man if i took a picture. i decided not to take a picture, but i did get a soundclip this time.

i'm thinking of moving.

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Comments

Well, I think that I've heard alot of ice cream trucks in my day, but not one that plays Joplin's "Entertainer". Far too sophisticated don't you think. The ones around here (Toronto) play this hypnotic ditty that reminds me of the Pied Pier of Hamlin -- you hear it once and it'll stick in your head for the rest of the day. Nice work.

Posted by: Ralph Berney at July 7, 2003 09:21 PM

almost all the ice cream trucks around here play the same song. there is one that has little hand clap percussion between verses in a sort of ravey bad techno way. sooner or later i plan to record it.

Posted by: alicia at July 8, 2003 09:53 AM

It's funny how the tune that the trucks play can be regional. The ice cream trucks in New York played something totally different. That sample reminds me of the one's that play in my childhood neighborhood in Oakland. But I remember hearing other songs in Chicago that were never played in Oakland. I remember once I was having trouble making a decision and the ice cream man told me to give him my money and then make a decision. It didn't feel right but I was young and he was old and I trusted his grinning with the ugly mustache. Later my wiser friend told me I was an idiot for doing what I did because then we were forced to get something. I never gave my money to the ice cream man like that again.

Posted by: Dude at July 14, 2003 11:51 PM

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