Like it or not, ice-cream trucks provide the soundtrack to summer for city dwellers. Unfortunately, most trucks seem to play a single song over and over again. We talk to Brooklyn-based musician Michael Hearst about his plight to convince vendors to use songs from his new album Songs for Ice Cream Trucks. We also speak to an artist who's holding a competition for new riffs on an old tune.
"Songs for Ice Cream Trucks" web site
Ice Cream Headache Song Competition
Michael Hearst's ice cream cart video
One of the most memorable sounds from the many years I lived in Taiwan was the sound of "Turkey in the Straw" blaring electronically from trucks in the community. Imagine my parents' surprise when they visited me and commented on the ubiquitous ice cream truck and I corrected their falacious assumption and told them that it was the garbage truck. Residents came out with their trash when they heard the truck in the neighborhood.
Thanks for the memory.
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