Constructor:Peter A. Collins
Relative difficulty:Easy
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THEME:"SWANSWAN HUMMINGBIRD"— Hurrah. We're all free now ... what noisy cats are we ...
Theme answers:
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Happy Halloween, everyone! This puzzle ... was not scary. It was actually quite delightful, largely because of its recalling several songs that I quite enjoy. I was just talking about Talking Heads "True Stories" earlier today with my wife while narrating the history of my fandom, lamenting that they're never gonna get back together and tour, etc., and bam, here's the single off that album (which is also, with "BYE BYE BLACKBIRD"—never heard of it—probably the least known song-song of the bunch-bunch). Mom game me a "True Stories" movie poster the day she dropped me off at college in 1987 (yes, the album "True Stories" was also a movie "True Stories"). Also related to my freshman year of college: "RED, RED WINE," which could be heard coming out of every other dorm room window in the fall of '87 (along with the rest of their 1983 album "Labour of Love"—not sure why That album should've been So popular on campuses four years on, but it was on mine). Before the college years were over, I would be subjected to the catchy trauma that is "ICE, ICE BABY." And then there's Marvin, who transcends space and time. So, yeah, the theme songs really hit me where I live.
Fill is OK, not good, not horrible, definitely not terribly MODERN / AGE (lotsa usual suspects: ELOI, ODEONS, ERMA, etc.). FRENETIC and MEN'S CLUB gave the puzzle some nice life, kept it from being too BLAH. I got down into record solving time territory, which I *think* is like 2:26, but I had a few tiny hiccups and ended up at 2:33. I often choke at the very end, when I've destroyed a puzzle and am Well Aware my time is going to be great. My fingers get all clumsy and my eyes don't read the clues right. Not clutch. So at the end I blanked on 71A: Word with finger or America (MIDDLE) and had to toggle around and come at it from crosses. Also had trouble earlier with "BYE BYE BLACKBIRD," which I came at from the back end, via KOPF, which I also didn't know (though I guess I "know" it as the last part of "dumKOPF," which I have heard). Two cross-references also slightly impeded my forward momentum, but only slightly. OK, time for dinner, then possibly the final game of the World Series.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Easy
Theme answers:
- "RED, RED WINE"
- "MERCY, MERCY ME"
- "BYE BYE, BLACKBIRD"
- "WILD, WILD LIFE"
- "ICE, ICE, BABY"
"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926, followed by Nick Lucas and Gene Austin the same year. (wikipedia)
• • •
[John Goodman, comin' atcha!]
Fill is OK, not good, not horrible, definitely not terribly MODERN / AGE (lotsa usual suspects: ELOI, ODEONS, ERMA, etc.). FRENETIC and MEN'S CLUB gave the puzzle some nice life, kept it from being too BLAH. I got down into record solving time territory, which I *think* is like 2:26, but I had a few tiny hiccups and ended up at 2:33. I often choke at the very end, when I've destroyed a puzzle and am Well Aware my time is going to be great. My fingers get all clumsy and my eyes don't read the clues right. Not clutch. So at the end I blanked on 71A: Word with finger or America (MIDDLE) and had to toggle around and come at it from crosses. Also had trouble earlier with "BYE BYE BLACKBIRD," which I came at from the back end, via KOPF, which I also didn't know (though I guess I "know" it as the last part of "dumKOPF," which I have heard). Two cross-references also slightly impeded my forward momentum, but only slightly. OK, time for dinner, then possibly the final game of the World Series.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]