Dinkatty-dinkatty, Dink-da-dink, Da-dink, Da-dink, Daaah Dink-Dink!

Many have lived for years in our own little bubbles of hate for the urban menace that is Mr. Softee. Every summer’s harbinger of loathing and malice is that rinky dinky ice cream truck with its endless high frequency droning, insipid ditty.

Yes, let’s be fair, it’s the tune we hate, not the truck itself, though the two are inseparable. One doesn’t encounter the truck without being assaulted by the Mr. Softee jingle…echoing down the boulevard, around corners, through alleyways, into the darkest recesses of your heart. The tune can penetrated your very dreams. There’s not a soul alive over 15 who doesn’t hold that jingle in utter contempt. For years we’ve referred to the bastard Mr. Softee as the neighborhood terrorist. I’ve even written the company hate mail.

Enter the like-minded but more motivated Jeffrey Lopez and Lauren Rosati, who have inaugurated a project they’ve called, “Ice Cream Headache”, and here’s where the people come in: You send an email to info@suite405.com with the subject line, “ICE”, and in return they send you an audio file of the original jingle; you are free to reinterpret it any which way you choose so long as it does not exceed five minutes in length. The deadline for submissions is April 30th.

Later, the duo will themselves be driving a Mr. Softee truck through each of the five boroughs, playing the audio samples and distributing CDs and free ice cream, finally ending in Williamsburg, where live performances of some sort will ensue.

As per the samples submitted, they note the following:

the noisier and muddier the better–this is a brain freeze after all.

Chime Spree [TimeOut.com]

Ice Cream Headache [suite405.com]