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The insipid melody blaring from Mister Softee ice "cream" trucks has Inwood up in arms. City officials say that so far this year there have been 205 complaints about ice cream trucks in the Community Board 12 district, which includes Inwood. One area by Inwood Hill Park is going particularly mental; a resident tells the Daily News, "It reverberates into the building and sounds like someone is in your apartment with their car stereo blasting. It's almost vindictive." New York City noise code bans the playing of jingles while a food vending vehicle is stationary, but the rule seems to be generally laughed off by the truck drivers.The DEP has sent inspectors to Inwood, and this week police told a community meeting they're looking into it. Another resident says the driver of the truck is simply merciless: "He will say he's going to turn it off, and when you walk away, five or 10 minutes later it's back on. It's the repetition as well as the melody itself. Even with the windows shut and your TV on, you can hear it." For more on the Mister Softee Jingle, here are the lyrics, sheet music, and an mp3.
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not exactly NY news, but it's one more reason to hate hamas terrorists and the fascists in their mid
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Mr Softee is a NY institution. FUCK them AND their complaints!
The city officially has no major problems when the citizenry have nothing better to complain about than Mister Softee.
Isn't this the truth?
They are all over our neighborhood all the time. But they don't play the music when stationary. The children crawling all over the place usually give it away.
incorrect. that jingle is as annoying as a construction noise, and while it may seem small, all it takes is one person to go past their breaking point and slash the guy's tires or take a baseball bat to his windows. then it gets ugly. That's why you have noise ordinances in the first place, and enforce them. to keep our crowded urban environment livable, and prevent vigilantism.
Are you serious? As bad as construction noise? I can near construction a few blocks away on a higher floor at my office. I live at street level, and the truck goes by (even at 10:30 pm!) and it's just not that loud. And it lasts for the few minutes at best it takes to get down the block.
They have to go slow in order to stop for people.
Or maybe people should just act civil instead of slashing tires like savages. I guess that's too novel of a notion though.
Oh, and that's not why there are noise ordinances. From your faulty logic, there should be a law against everything that might make someone snap.
"OMG, if I see another skyscraper I'm going to snap. Oh, 34th street, let's take a left and oh... ESB in sight... it's killin' time!!!"
Or complain about the complainers...
Apart of the f**king tune, they're out there at 10 or 11 pm! The problem is that they (at least the one in Inwood) doesn't care about the rules that much. He drives at a snail pace, so he's "not" stationary, but it takes him a loooooong time to drive up a block.
And who eats that shit anyway?
I feel like the only reason anyone would bear ill will against an ice cream truck would be if their parents never bought them ice cream from one when they were a child.
Why would anyone complain? The sound of the jingle blasting from the streets is the official sign of Spring/Summer and warmer weather.
The annoying jingle is nothing compared to the disgusting exhaust thoise trucks spew out. When you walk behind or near the truck its like taking a tour of a coal mine. All for what? chemically tasting disgusting ice cream. Mr. Softee must be stopped...
Yeah the diesel exhaust is the worst part, but the annoying jingle is enough to drive you insane when the truck sits at the same corner for entire afternoons.
I wish babyhitler were driving the truck so I could blow it up and take out 2 birds...
Ice cream trucks good, endless blaring of jingle bad.
they just need to add more tunes to their repertoire. maybe some light classical like 'die forelle,' maybe chopin's nocturnes in the evening.
I would totally go for that.
Good point. A change of music would be nice. It does not bother me. It's just not that loud.
Pavlovian conditioning makes me hungry for the sweet goo when I hear THAT jingle. Classical music won't do it for any real New Yorker.
They should play R.Kelly.
Get a group of your neighbors together and give the driver 3 warnings in a written document stating the offense. Call 311 each time you do it. Document each one - take pictures, video, recordings, put it all up on a website and let people know. If the city still doesn't pay attention, grab some baseball bats and go smash the truck up.
i think you might as well skip to the last step, because i can already tell you how the first couple are going to go.
311 for complaints is comical.
change of music would be welcomed. at least get rid of the "Hello?!" part.
That's not Mr Softee, that's Cool Man.
Better Lyric
la la - Give me a dollar I'll rip you off My name is Mister Softee - la la la
That Mr Softee almost drove me mad last summer. The guy would park on the corner opposite my apartment and play the tune over and over and over.
Those of you making stupid comments about people having nothing better to do etc should try spending a few months with the tune being continuously piped into your apartments.
Yes! I hate them so much...hours and hours of that tired song, which only sounds louder on a narrow, brick-building-lined street. The first truck came on February 8 this year. February 8.
Welcome to the city. It's noisy here! I would suggest some fans, earplugs, moving somewhere quiet, doing something about it. Lot of proactive options rather than complaining. Complaining gets you nowhere except with the same problem and an nasty attitude.
What about those people who suffer trough tourists? Traffic? Construction? Street fairs? And those kids at the park? And on and on and on. Should we ban all noise all together?
Most of us don't get to sit at home all day listening though.
oh STFU
i love how these "Welcome to the city. It's noisy here!" type comments probably come from Ohio born posers
"Ohio born posers" who are still up all night on Sparks and coke. When you crash and want to sleep all day, you'll know what we're talking about!
hit the nail right on the head. they also turn out to be the most rude, while saying that all NY'ers are that way. BS - they just want a license to be a jerk
The jingle works. A number of years ago my wife and I were siting around our apartment on a hot summer day, she heard it, and headed right out to get a cone.
Mister Softee -- also known as Meals on Wheels for Junkies.
Wow, New Yorkers complaining about something ridiculous. Go figure.
I once complained about this about 13 years ago, and the person at the other end of the phone thought I was nuts for complaining. Glad to see that noise pollution is getting a little more credibility.
I guess i was a trailblazer.
Its an annoying sound when played over and over again at loud volumes at late hours. These complaints are valid.
You know what else is an annoying sound played over and over again?
there is a simple solution to this. http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/920921
complaints aside, i always wondered about the poor soul inside the truck being brainwashed with that sugary jingle on a loop.
are they just bat-shit crazy after a while or what?
I find it hard to beleive the dude that says the jingle is so loud that it "reverberates into the building and sounds like someone is in your apartment with their car stereo blasting". WHAT?! I live Mr Softee country (brooklyn) and have never experienced that kind of volume.
Thanks for the sheet music. I can't wait to drive my neighbors even crazier!!!
I find it hard to beleive the dude that says the jingle is so loud that it "reverberates into the building and sounds like someone is in your apartment with their car stereo blasting". WHAT?! I live Mr Softee country (brooklyn) and have never experienced that kind of volume.
Thanks for the sheet music. I can't wait to drive my neighbors even crazier!!!
Every spring someone complains. Happens like clockwork once it's warm enough to open the windows. And there's often a fight between drivers over turf. On the yummier side, here's a wicked cool article about the history of Ice Cream truck music:
http://esopusmag.com/files/ARCHIVE_FLASH/4/SOFTSERVE/
The Mister Softee guy who patrolled our nabe (Eastern Qns) for several years was one of the biggest jerks I've ever met. I work at home several days a week, and the constant blaring of the jingle drove me apeshit on a regular basis. All of my neighbors were about ready to slash his tires by about April of each year, too. He'd sit near our building with the motor running and the music blaring for upwards of an hour, several times a day. All of that exhaust made our home smell like the boarding lanes of Port Authority.
All of the neighbors took turns calling 311 on the guy. We called in so many complaints that his manager came out to our nabe and tried to intimidate us. It was surreal.
Well, flash forward to a weekend a few years ago. The hubby and I came home from a day out to discover that undercover cops had been casing this guy for ages.
He was selling all sorts of fun things in little packets in the bottoms of those cones.
The music? It was a signal to one of his accomplices/suppliers way up the street.
The cops who busted him gave his ice cream away to all of the kids in the area before his truck was towed away to the impound lot. Our neighbors all got victory cones.
We got a new Mister Softee guy just after this happened. I barely know the guy is here he's so quiet. I love this guy. I hate their ice cream, but we buy from him every once in a while just to express our gratitude.
Great anecdote!
Can you imagine the junkies buying their heroin standing in line with a bunch of kids?
Uh...yeah...uh, I'd like, man, I'd like...uh...huh? Oh yeah, I want uh, the poppy softserve on a waffle cone...yeaaaah.
I'm in favour of a quiet Mr. Softee. Seriously, that music sounds like the demented sound track to a movie about a murderous babysitter or something.
I guess some people are not happy no matter what. When I was a kid, everyone knew the ice cream truck was coming BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC, HELLO ... I still run out & buy it when it comes ... some people should just go & get a job, or better yet a F&%*IN LIFE!!
I drove all the way down to Mr. Softee Headquarters in Southern New Jersey, played CEO James Conway Jr. tracks from my album "Songs For Ice Cream Trucks," trying to convince him to get rid of that annoying song. He said he liked my songs, but that the Mr. Softee theme is their trademark. "People hear it and know it's Mr. Softee." How do you argue that? It's like trying to convince McDonalds to start using a giant letter B for their logo. -Michael Hearst http://www.songsforicecreamtrucks.com
Yeah, those MIDI files would sound great over the loudspeaker.
Probably the only time kids in certain neighborhoods hear a tune that's not rife with words like bitch, ho and muthafucka.
So turn down your stereo already.
So turn down your stereo already.
how can people be so hateful & angry. Its Ice cream for the kids. Its gotta be some New Utah resident. i can't imagine a old school NYorker complain. Send these peolpe back to Ohio
I know, right? No one who grew up in the city could ever complain about that jingle. In fact, I know of one guy who broke up a fight on the subway between two thugs by getting in between them and singing the Mr. Softee song with his own made-up lyrics. Cracked the whole car up. Try that with a bell, Ohioans.
The ones above making fun of the complaints should be more compassionate. Yes, it is a big, BIG deal to be constantly bothered by noise. So what, just because "it's NYC" doesn't mean you should put up with all sorts of noise and think that's normal. There's no need to keep blasting that music on and on if the truck is parked, that just adds to the stress with this unnecessary nuisance.
Oh my fucking god finally!!! I fucking hate that shit, bar none the worst thing about living in Bed Stuy.
I don't mind the truck, but in my neighborhood it's playing music until 2 or 3 AM! It's RIDICULOUS and maddening.
The truck in question is NOT A Mister Softee truck. The Daily News has made a mistake with this story. The truck belongs to a former franchisee who is infringing our trademarks. The authorized franchisee for this area is extremely curteous with respect to the music.
James Conway, VP
Mister Softee Inc.
It would seem that an injunctive order should be a no-brainer.
I love music Any kind of music I love music Just as long as it's grooving. Makes me laugh Makes me smile all the while Whenever I'm with you boy. Get it on get it on get it on yeahhhhhh. Oh oh oh oh I love music........ :)
Mr. Softee would be a lousy name for a porn star.
TO ALL OF YOU, CRAYING ABOUT THIS SIMPLE AND SWEET SITUATION. KILL YOUR SELF AND MAKE EVERYBODY ELSE A FAVOR. ENJOY LIFE, LIFE IS SHORT. THE MOST YOU COMPLAINT MORE MISERABLE YOUR LIFE IS!!!!!!!
OH PLEASE STOP THAT!!!!
ALL YOU PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT, WAY DON'T YOU KILL YOUR SELF AND MAKE EVERYBOBY ELSE LIFE HAPPY, ENJOY YOUR LIFE, LIFE IS SHORT. COMPLAINTS MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE MISERABLE. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL NEXT TIME U LISTEN TO THE MUSIC GO OUTSIDE AND BUY AN ICE CREAM TO MAKE YOUR LIFE PLEASANT AND SWEET .