It is Gila’s turn to occupy the Thursday slot this week, with a real tour-de-force of a themed puzzle.
This puzzle must have taken Gila an age to compile, and I hope that it was at least as much fun to set as it was to solve. References to all things musical ran through almost all of the clues and a great many of the solutions, and although I didn’t recognise all the bands that were alluded to in the puzzle, for example those at 11, this did not stop me from arriving at the correct solutions. I always admire themed puzzles that do not exclude solvers who don’t happen to have a particular interest in the chosen theme.
My favourite clues today were 13A, for making me laugh out loud; 17 and the quite brilliant 4, both for surface reading; and 16, for the deceptive use of “cover”. Incidentally, my version of the puzzle has “records” in plural at 22, whereas surely “record” in singular would better suit both the grammar of the wordplay (deed=record) as well as the surface reading of the clue?
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 09/23 | DAMON ALBARN | Rock band with a normal lead singer
*(BAND + A NORMAL); “rock” is anagram indicator; the reference is to English singer-songwriter Damon Albarn (1968-), lead singer of Blur |
| 10 | GRACELAND | Musician’s house is wicked and large, with lavish surroundings
[ACE (=wicked, brill) + L (=large, of sizes)] in GRAND (=lavish); the reference is to the home of Elvis |
| 11 | STAIRWELL | The place to see Steps supporting Another Level?
Cryptic definition: the references are not to the bands but to features of a building! |
| 12 | OBOES | Nothing fits in-between a lot of very large instruments
O (=nothing) in OBES<e> (=very large; “a lot of” means only last letter is dropped) |
| 13 | TRUMPET | The noise coming from an elephant‘s backside, outwardly offensive
RUMP (=backside) in TET (=offensive, i.e. during the Vietnam War) |
| 15 | RESTAGE | After break time, put on another concert
REST (=break) + AGE (=time) |
| 17 | ADELE | Singer led drunkenly into A&E
*(LED) in A + E; “drunkenly” is anagram indicator; the reference is to English singer-songwriter Adele (1988-) |
| 18 | LAP | Album sleeves are going round
A (=are, i.e. measure of land) in LP (=album, i.e. long-playing record) |
| 22 | ADAMANT | Hard 80s pop star
ADAM ANT (=80s pop star, from UK, 1954-) |
| 25 | DELETED | Allowed record boxes to be removed
LET (=allowed) in DEED (record, i.e. legal document) |
| 26 | DUBAI | Make a recording with leads from audio input port
DUB (=make a recording) + A<udio> I<nput> (“leads from” means first letters only are used) |
| 27 | KANYE WEST | Rapper from Kenya blowing up with extraordinary set
*(KENYA) + W (=with) + *(SET); “blowing up” and “extraordinary” are both anagram indicators; the reference is to US rapper Kanye West (1977-) |
| 30 | AIR GUITAR | An unreal performance by Strummer?
Cryptic definition: Strummer is to be read not as a reference to Joe Strummer of The Clash but to someone strumming a pretend guitar, hence “unreal performance” |
| Down | ||
| 01 | ADOS | Hoo-has resulting from the rise of pop …
SODA (=pop, i.e. soft drink); “the rise of” indicates vertical reversal |
| 02 | IMMATURE | … it’s music marketed at teens primarily, occasionally hurried and juvenile
I<t’s> M<usic> M<arketed> A<t> T<eens> (“primarily” means first letters only) + <h>U<r>R<i>E<d> (“occasionally” here means alternate letters only) |
| 03 | ONER | Single – the first from Revolver – is something unlike anything else
ONE (=single) + R<evolver> (“the first from” means first letter only); a oner is a unique person or thing |
| 04 | AGRESTAL | Wild Rolling Stone with a lager!
*(ST (=stone, i.e. measure of weight) + A LAGER); “rolling” is anagram indicator; agrestal means growing wild, uncultivated |
| 05/31 | TAYLOR SWIFT | A pop singer is quick to follow fashion, we’re told
Homophone of “(to) tailor” (=fashion) + SWIFT (=quick); the reference is to American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (1989-) |
| 06 | REMORSEFUL | Plaintive intro to requiem fuels more tears
R<equiem> (“intro to” means first letter only) + *(FUELS MORE); “tears (=rips)” is anagram indicator |
| 07/20 | PALOMA FAITH | Eccentric singer knocking back a second drink with conviction
PALOMA (A + MO (=second, as in in a mo) + LAP (=drink); “knocking back” indicates reversal) + FAITH (=conviction, belief); the reference is to English singer-songwriter Paloma Faith (1981-) |
| 08 | ODES | Lyric poems found in the cases of old elegists
O<l>D E<legist>S; “cases of” means outside letters only are used |
| 13 | TRA-LA | Orchestral arrangements featuring some joyful notes
Hidden (“featuring”) in “orchesTRAL Arrangements” |
| 14 | PRECARIOUS | Transporting small piano with a courier is risky
*(S (=small, of sizes) + P (=piano, in music) + A COURIER); “transporting” is anagram indicator |
| 16 | EPHOD | Very early cover of record initially had Orbison’s disapproval
EP (=record, i.e. extended-play) + H<ad> O<rbison’s> D<isapproval> (“initially” means first letters only); an ephod is a linen surplice worn by Jewish priests in the Bible, hence “very early cover (=garment)”! |
| 19 | PEDANTRY | After mini-album is rejected and scrapped, have a go at focusing on the technical details
PE (EP=mini-album, i.e. extended-play record; “rejected” indicates reversal) + *(AND) + TRY (=have a go at); “scrapped” is anagram indicator |
| 21 | IN THE AIR | Imminent release from Phil Collins – out tonight!
IN THE AIR <tonight> (=release from Phil Collins, from 1981); “out tonight” means the word “tonight” is dropped |
| 24 | TAKE TO | Begin to like the sound of a second recording
Homophone (“the sound of”) of “Take Two” (=second recording, i.e. after Take One) |
| 26 | DEAF | Unable to hear sound fade out
*(FADE); “out” is anagram indicator |
| 28 | EASE | Disco biscuits reportedly alleviate pain
Homophone (“reportedly”) of “Es” (=disco biscuits, i.e. Ecstasy tablets) |
| 29 | TITS | Songbirds being somewhat dulcet, it seems
Hidden (“somewhat”) in “dulceT IT Seem” |
Very much in my comfort zone so quite a quick grid-fill but no less enjoyable for that. Great clues for AIR GUITAR and a beautifully constructed anagram surface for DAMON ALBARN
thanks to Gila and RR
Damon Albarn was too obscure for me, but I managed to work him out in the end from the anagram. A bit of a slog for someone not too familiar with pop music.
Despite your intro, I think this is next to impossible for solvers without an interest in the theme. I was OK with it, except for DAMON ALBARN, so I had to wait until I had all the crossers, make an informed guess from the anagram fodder and then google. So, an enjoyable solve for me but possibly not for others. Didn’t know EPHOD or AGRESTAL (did know ‘agrestic’) but both were easy to get. Thanks to S&B.
A quick (for me) gridfill here too, which made for an extremely high enjoyment/time ratio.
A=are again! It didn’t catch me out for quite as long today.
I met two unfamiliar words in EPHOD and AGRESTAL.
Lots of smiles today. TRUMPET made me laugh, as did the singers getting up to drunken antics (PALOMA FAITH and ADELE). I also liked the TITS.
Many thanks to Gila and RatkojaRiku.
Thanks Gila for a kind of puzzle that must have taken more time to compile than to solve it.
[I know this actually from experience]
Very enjoyable and, like for Julius, very much in my comfort zone.
RR (and thanks for the comprehensive blog), you say:
I always admire themed puzzles that do not exclude solvers who don’t happen to have a particular interest in the chosen theme.
Not sure that was the case today (see Hovis’ first line) with entries like eg Kanye West, Damon Albarn and Paloma Faith.
Is Paloma Faith really eccentric?
And did you know that Blur, Damon Albarn’s band, had a song on their 1995 album The Great Escape called ‘Dan Abnormal’ …. ?
I messed up the NW a bit by entering ‘staircase’ at 11ac, making it impossible to find something reasonable for 4d.
I also had to think deeply about how to parse OBOES (12ac), being focused on OS meaning ‘very large’ which it wasn’t.
I am not sure an EP is a ‘mini-album’ (19d), more an extended single (often with 4 tracks instead of 2).
In those (early) days of vinyl, there was something in-between a single (7 inch) and an LP (12 inch): a 10 inch kind of mini-lp.
Nice puzzle.
Definitely not in my comfort zone, but finally got there with quite a bit of guessing along the way, both for theme related clues and for words such as AGRESTAL and EPHOD. Knowing next to nothing about the theme though was actually an advantage for STAIRWELL. I agree that TRUMPET was great and the inclusion of the name of the present incumbent of The White House made it even better.
Thanks to Gila and RR.
To echo WordPlodder, definitely not in our comfort zone, but we finally got there with quite a bit of guessing, checking in Chambers (AGRESTAL, AIR GUITAR) and a final google for PALOMA FAITH. Favourites were those that could be solved without too much knowledge of the theme – including IMMATURE, PRECARIOUS, PEDANTRY and the brilliant TRUMPET.
Thanks, Gila and RatkojaRiku.
I think it is more difficult to include a theme in the clues as well as the answers, so this is quite an effort. I knew the arises except for blur’s lead singer, who I guessed and googled. Like others, I didn’t know Agrestal and ephod, but I also made life hard by entering Staircase – which works, doesn’t it?
I particularly liked DUBAI, and of course also TRUMPET
Manny thanks Gila and RR
That was meant to be artists, not arises
I entered STAIRCASE at first too.
Thanks Gila, RatkojaRiku
I liked the whimsical TRA LA, and the Phil Collins one.
I spent a few seconds wondering how ‘with lavish surroundings’ could mean ‘containing a C’, trying to make GRACELAND from wicked(AND LARGE)* + C.
Agree with Hovis’s disagreement @3, as to required knowledge. On the other hand, they’re all much more familiar than EPHOD.
Loved it. Solvable (well, almost as I got done by 4 & 19d) with loads of nice surfaces, jokes and a well-worked theme to boot. Too many goodies to choose a fave so I’ll just say thanks to The Monster for the puzzle and to RR for a great blog.
Loved 30 when I got it, good un Ali
But agrestal. Really? Seriously, daily paper? Ali that isn’t on for a daily.
Hmm, sorry Ali, insoluble without help. This is meant to be a weekday puzzle and as such Eimi is at fault. Soluble without aids for someone on the commute? Not a prayer. A good one for the weekend, today? No.
Ah, I dunno about that, Flash @15 – I think Thursdays are the hard day in the Indy as well as Saturdays. And we do have mobile devices now so the commute is liable to be Wi-Fi’d. 🙂
In fairness AGRESTAL was the only plausible anagram once you had the crossers, and it sounds like it means wild so I didn’t have a problem with it.
I confess I groaned when I saw it was a pop one but surprisingly I knew all the singers except PALOMA FAITH and that was easily gettable from the clue. It’s to Gila’s credit that this was a fun solve even for someone with as little knowledge of pop as me!
Shame there was no Seinfeld connection though 🙂
Not my cup of tea, but in the end there were only two I couldn’t get and one of those, 4dn, I actually considered what turned out to be the right answer and then dismissed it as not being a word. Couldn’t be bothered to reach for the dictionary to check. Couldn’t get 21dn, didn’t know the Phil Collins.
However, I did actually see the opera Dr Dee by 9/23. I didn’t like it.
Hi all,
Many thanks to RR for the excellent blog and to all who’ve taken the time to drop by and comment. This is the most (non-Inquisitor!) comments I’ve had, and they are all always very much appreciated.
I’m glad this seems to have gone down pretty well overall.
Compiling it was definitely a bit of a slog at times. I had variously written clues for the named musicians and thought it would be an interesting and fun challenge – and, in turn, hopefully a fun solve – to try to get some kind of music reference into every clue and/or answer.
I appreciate that solvers might not be familiar with all the names – though they’re all alive, musically active and, in many cases, hardly shy of publicity – so I hope the crossing letters (and clues) helped in that regard. I did also try to have a fair range of musical genres and references to artists from across the decades in the clues. And, unlike everywhere else these days, there was no Ed Sheeran.
Picking up on a few comments above:
@Sil – yep, you’ve totally rumbled me on the Damon clue, which was, ahem, inspired by his Mr. Mojo Risin’-style anagram in that song! I did wonder too if the ‘eccentric’ tag was inappropriate for Paloma Faith – but a quick Google revealed that she’s quoted as saying (positively) that “it’s celebrated in British culture to be eccentric”, so I think it’s all good.
@flash – I’m guessing you live much nearer your office than I do mine! Apologies for spoiling your commute. AGRESTAL (and EPHOD) were admittedly far from ideal words, but the thematic entries did put some constraints on the grid fill. Maybe one day I’ll manage to get a workable grid for my ‘perfectly-normal-dictionary-words-that-are-also-bands/artists’ puzzle. I have, sadly, started a list.
And, as has been pointed out here and on Twitter, both STAIRCASE and MEZZANINE would I’m sure be perfectly good answers for the Steps clue!
Many thanks again to all for commenting.
Cheers
Ali
Late to the party as usual.
Despite our age, we had heard of all the artists. We appreciate how long this must have taken to compile. Thanks Gila, the solve was worth the effort you put in!
Thanks RR for the blog.