We've made no secret of our deep-rooted hatred of the insipid Mister Softee truck theme song, which drives us to distraction every summer. But as intolerable as it is for us, we've sometimes wondered how the people driving the trucks can stand it. Well, CNN recently spent the day riding around with one of the operators in Brooklyn, and now we know how they stand it: They completely lose their minds. Driver Nike Olasokan says, "I love it. It's one of the best music I've ever heard in my life. I hear it every day and I still love it." more ›

Earlier this year we chatted with Dr. Zizmor, the "subway dermatologist," about the television ads he ran prior to taking his campaign underground and off-screen. Now he's gone and combined the two! Warning, this jingle will get stuck in your head. more ›

With summer almost upon us, the scourge of the ubiquitous ice cream truck jingle is back to torment New York again. But instead of letting it drive them barking mad, one group of concerned citizens in Brooklyn is taking action against the incessant, insipid jingles reverberating on all sides of McCarren Park. They've put up signs decrying the noise pollution, and formed a Yahoo Group to share and document their noise complaint calls to 311 and the local precinct. To us, they're heroes standing up for mankind's basic right to enjoy the park without resorting to military-style executions. But Miss Heather at New York Shitty, which spotted the group's signage over the weekend, speculates that the campaign is being run by arriviste condo dwellers who ought to just "get over it." And Roy Edroso at the Voice sardonically wonders whether they'll also "protest the crack of softball bats, the sizzling of outdoor grillers, and peals of childish laughter." We suspect these two have never been treated to a non-stop Kool Man "Pop Goes the Weasel" marathon outside their apartments. It is as maddening as it is illegal, and even the non-condo Inwood crowd agrees. more ›

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. more ›