July's Dreamy, Creamy Ice Cream Playlist

Seven scoopable songs about ice cream and "ice cream"

Songs that reference ice cream usually go one of two ways: Sweet or dirty.

Waffle cones, hot fudge sundaes, and milkshakes with two straws can evoke heart-warming memories of summer vacation, first dates, and the Ziggy Piggy scene in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Think Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers’ “Ice Cream Man” or Louis Prima’s “Banana Split for My Baby.”

Then there’s the other side of the spectrum, the songwriters who know the simple act of eating an ice cream cone is inherently sexy — the licking, biting, dripping, etc.

Raekwon’s “Ice Cream,” for example, compares different flavors to different women as he raps about getting “all up in [their] guts.” Subtle.

There are thousands — maybe millions! — of ice cream-inspired tunes and this playlist is by no means comprehensive. Dairy queen Lana Del Rey has no fewer than seven songs that make mention of ice cream — “Venice Bitch,” “Salvatore,” “Black Bathing Suit,” “Carmen,” “Dynamite,” “All My Smiles,” and “My Song 57” — and I didn’t include any of them! I don’t listen to much LDR, tbh.

This is just a small collection of a few ice-cold favorites to help you stay cool during the record-breaking heat waves that are stretching across the country.

Be safe out there, friends. Wear sunscreen. Drink water. Eat Drumsticks.

Delta 5, “Mind Your Own Business”

“Can I have a taste of your ice cream?/Can I lick the crumbs from your table?/Can I interfere in your crisis?/No, mind your own business.”

This song is so much more than an Apple commercial.

Delta 5 were only around for a few years — and they released just one full-length record — but the band left a powerful impact in their short time. They formed in Leeds in the ‘70s, coming up alongside bands like Gang of Four and Mekons, and made a name for themselves performing at rallies to support abortion rights and several Rock Against Racism concerts.

In his book In the Fascist Bathroom: Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992, Greil Marcus writes:

The members of Delta 5 don’t go out alone at night in Leeds, Bethan [Peters, Delta 5’s bassist] explained, “because we might be followed and beaten up.” It has happened before. One evening, eight British Movement men, having recognized Ros [Allen, Delta 5’s second bassist] as a “Communist witch,” trailed the five from a bar and attacked them. Gigs are commonly invaded, and sometimes broken up, by Sieg Heil-ing thugs; one night Bethan found herself grabbing one erstwhile fascist by the hair and slamming his head against the stage.”

So yeah, this catchy tune with a rubbery, funky bassline and fun-to-shout monotone lyrics? It’s so much more than an Apple commercial.

Sadly, Delta 5 cofounder Julz Sale died last year so turn it up extra loud and have yourself a dance party in her honor.

Noname, “Diddy Bop”

“Run, run, run, mama say come home before the streetlights do/Ice cream on my front porch in my new FUBU and my A1s too/Watching my happy block my whole neighborhood hit the diddy bop.”

In her nostalgia-drenched track “Diddy Bop,” Noname recalls her favorite childhood memories from summertimes in Chicago — B2K, barbecues, K-Swiss shoes, sneaking $20 out of her mom’s purse, and, of course, eating ice cream on a hot summer day.

Shonen Knife, “Ice Cream City”

“Let's go to see/The soft serve king/I'm gonna tell him everything/He is melting with happiness.”

It’s a whole song about a city of ice cream where you can eat your favorite food “from night to the dawn”!

Also: Does anyone else hear a little lo-fi nod to “Material Girl”? Madonna released the song in 1984 and Shonen Knife’s track followed in 1986 and it’s almost like they wrote their version about how much they prefer caramel stripes and double-decker cones over dresses and cash. Same.