Dem
51
GOP
49
We erred last week, and neglected to put a song in the title of the item about Dianne Feinstein's passing. It was supposed to be "The Great Gig in the Sky," so at least we squeezed it in eventually.
The first hint we gave about last week's theme was: "You you have have to to think think about about it it to to solve solve it it." On Saturday, we added: "[I]f you are turning yesterday's songs over in your head, it's instructive that two of them come from the same album." Here, now, the solution courtesy of reader F.Y. in Ann Arbor, MI:
The original vinyl record that featured the song is at least a double double album album; a triple triple triple in one case:This was a toughie, and last week's completely stumped me. Both clues were necessary here, and even then, the solution was rather elusive, until something clicked.
- "The Punk and the Godfather," by The Who, Quadrophenia
- "Turd on the Run," by Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street
- "F You (An ode to no one)," by Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
(this is the triple).- "Pharaoh's Dance," by Miles Davis, Bitches Brew
- "Blackbird" and "Martha My Dear," by The Beatles, both from The Beatles a.k.a. The White Album
- "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II," by Pink Floyd, The Wall
- "Houses of the Holy," by Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti
- "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine," by Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde
We would say "I was stumped until it clicked" is the mark of a properly crafted puzzle. Doable, but not too easy.
Here are the first 10 readers to respond with the correct answer:
In short, it was a good week for Cheshire, CT.
We get a fair bit of e-mail, of course, and we've heard a few different things about this little experiment. Quite a few folks have written in to say they really like it, and it's a nice way to end the week. We are glad to hear that; it also gives us a little extra challenge that we enjoy, sort of like the preacher in Leap of Faith who makes bets that he can work incongruous phrases like "aluminum siding" into his sermons.
We also hear from folks who like the concept, but who don't have the musical interests, or the musical tastes, necessary to puzzle out the themes. They suggest broadening the concept. We see merit in making things more accessible/inclusive, and so that is actually what we did this week. The headlines do have a commonality, but it's not musical. Our guess is that identifying the commonality is about a 5 of 10 in terms of difficulty. As to a hint, all we can say for now is that we hope this puzzle's not a dud.
And finally, we hear from some folks who think the idea is stupid. We think those folks are in the minority (especially judging by the ratio of e-mails), and we also tend to take the view that if many people like it, and some people do not, the not-likers can just ignore that material. That said, we are open to learning we are in error here.
In view of this, we are considering three potential courses of action, particularly if support for one of them is overwhelming. Those three courses are: (1) stick with the songs, (2) broaden the focus (songs would sometimes still show up, of course), or (3) kill the bit. If you are up for sharing your opinion, a survey is here. If you want to take a guess at this week's non-musical commonality among the headlines, then send your message here. (Z)