Akihiko Matsumoto -- Ding Dong

I was out all day yesterday since I had a couple of group outings downtown: one with some fellow translators at the Duke of York pub in the Annex, and then later in the evening with some old and new friends on Yonge St. for good ol' Korean fare. In between food onslaughts, I did a lot of walking which included a traipse through Kensington Market just across Chinatown. I was surprised to see a Krispy Kreme at one corner (thought the franchise was run out of town years ago), and then I came across a convenience store of sorts called Ding Dong.

The place has gotten onto print since it sells a lot of Japanese dagashi including sweets such as sake-flavoured Kit-Kat and all sorts of Pocky. However, considering the heat and humidity yesterday, I was very ready for some emergency libation in the form of Calpis (stop giggling) or as it's known here, Calpico. I went for the strawberry variety at $3.58 CDN. Nope, not cheap but heck, I love the stuff and it's not everyday now that I can get it.

The name of that shop reminded me of that one track on the soundtrack of "Odoru Dai Sosasen"（踊る大捜査線）, the comedy-drama of the intrigue that goes on within the annals of a local police station in Tokyo. As I mentioned in the article for the original soundtrack, composer Akihiko Matsumoto（松本晃彦）came up with this playful earworm that combines some light technopop with the music of a mariachi trumpet. Not surprisingly, it was used for the more humourous scenes in the show.

It's too bad, though, that I couldn't find the version of "Ding Dong" used in the first movie for "Odoru Dai Sosasen", since Matsumoto then brings out the full force of a Rio Carnival. Lots of fun, that one.