Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024, Dylan Schiff

 OPUS

J.S. Bach - "Dorian" Toccata (no Fugue), Opus #538

This puzzle was "on my wavelength", and it takes us on a musical journey.  Two 15-letter spanners, two 10-letter, and one centered 11-letter theme answers, each starting with a synonym for "song", and revealed in the, well, reveal. ALAS, we're missing "ditty" - but that's a 51D.

17. *Rainforest Cafe, for one: THEME RESTAURANT - I did not know about this place; the closest one to me now is in New Jersey - the Wiki; the décor seems too overbearing for dining, IMHO

23. *Depiction of integers at regular intervals: NUMBER LINE

34. *Imperial reign of China ended by Kublai Khan: SONG DYNASTY

44. *Florence Henderson sitcom role: CAROL BRADY - "NOEL" could be a theme answer, too

"The Brady Bunch"

And the reveal

50. Starts looking at things differently, as demonstrated by the first words of the answers to the starred clues?: CHANGES ONES TUNE - and I get the pleasure of looking for "compositions" that match some puzzle answers; I'll try to be diverse....

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Greenlights: OKs

4. Dish that may or may not contain beans: CHILI - my chili contains red & black beans

9. Time at a job: STINT - I am hoping that my "stint" with the Pipe Organ company is my last career

14. Feline pet: CAT

Meow

15. Brief mission?: RECONnaissance - Frawnche~!

16. Wobbly craft: CANOE

20. Portion out: ALLOT

21. Deciduous tree with oblong leaves: ELM

22. God, to Rastafarians: JAH - the first word of this "ode"

The Outernationalist - Thievery Corporation

Ambient Electronica, my preferred music genre now that I am "older"

27. Guacamole fruit: LIME

28. "__ Te Ching": Laotzu text: TAO

29. Casual contraction: AIN'T - and the first word of this "ballad", too

 

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

30. Direct elsewhere: REFER

31. Like a zebra: MANED - if you hear the thunder of hoofs....

 

he's sporting a "Mohawk" mane

33. Big fans: BUFFS

36. "Summer of My German Soldier" novelist Greene: BETTE - needed perps for this author

37. Shrewd: CAGEY - some obscure Blue Öyster Cult for your ears

 

Cagey Cretins from the Secret Treaties Album

38. Breeze (through): WALTZ - more music, this clue/answer hinting that one "rolled" through ( in 3/4 time~? )

39. Wax counterpart: WANE

 

There's a Solar Eclipse Monday, 8Apr

40. Grab a chair: SIT

43. The 411: INFO

47. Situation Room gp.: NSC - no clue; I tried NSA first

48. Spicy tuna roll tuna: AHI - becoming a crossword staple

49. Totally buy: EAT UP - I don't eat up sushi

55. Unsettling: EERIE

56. Unexpected ending: TWIST - as found in this "melody"

Hole in the Sky - Black Sabbath

57. Single-stranded genetic molecule: RNA

58. Specs dished in a gossip sesh: DEETS - Text/Gen Z-speak for a 'session' and the 'details'

59. Zipper alternative: SNAPS

60. Noggin: NOB


DOWN:

1. One-eighth of a circle: OCTANT - overthought this; I was trying to come up with a clever pizza slice reference

2. Ingredient in a white or black Russian: KAHLUA - plus vodka, and milk makes it 'white'

3. Sailor's patron: ST. ELMO - there was a "coming-of-age" movie "St. Elmo's Fire" during my high school years, but I cringe at the "see 24D." of similar films in the decade - I was more "Raiders of the Lost Ark" & "Ghostbusters" kind of fan

4. "Zorba the Greek" island: CRETE - it's all Greek to me - perps

5. She/__ pronouns: HER

She's A Lady - Tom Jones

6. Curling surface: ICE - I'd like to try this "sport"

7. __ Angeles Sparks: LOS - of the WNBA

8. Aim: INTENT

9. Bathtub buildup: SCUM

10. Roofer's sealant: TAR

11. Right away: IN A JIFFY

12. Total randos: NO-NAMES - heard in this Glam "rocker"

 

Wild Side, Mötley Crüe - Lyric at 2:36, after the spinning drum cage stunt

13. Tie: TETHER - this looked weird in the 'down'; I had "TET_E" from perps

18. Horde: MOB

19. Bass beer: ALE

24. Gamut: RANGE

25. Served up a whopper: LIED

26. Race-sanctioning body since 1994: INDYCAR - this did not make sense until I cut and pasted the clue into Google, and got the Wiki; I was wondering if it referred to the race car's 'open wheel' body style at first

27. Southpaw: LEFTY - I am one - we have several at the Pipe Organ company; "Sinister" types make up about 17% of the population, and let me tell you, it's really frustrating to see how much of the world "assumes" everyone is right-handed, e.g. all vending machines, ever

See~? You'll look at them differently from now on....

30. Bit of deception: RUSE

31. Words on a family banner: MOTTO

32. Animated film with talking bugs: ANTZ - I thought "A Bugs Life" was better

33. Bialy kin: BAGEL

34. Practices for personal well-being: SELF-CARE

35. Prefix with tech: NANO

36. Wailing spirit of Irish folklore: BANSHEE - there's Siouxie and the Banshees, and another band called Banshee as well - not a fan of either, TBH

38. Showed vicarious embarrassment, in a way: WINCED

39. Midriffs: WAISTS

40. Body with notable rings: SATURN - oh, right, the, um, planet

A midriff with a ring

41. "Search me": "I DUNNO"

42. Universal blood recipient's designation: TYPE AB

44. Jost's "Weekend Update" co-host: CHE - Saturday Night Live members Colin and Michael

45. Outperforms: BESTS - Not beAts, the first "S" being my last fill

46. Snitch: RAT - we already had an 80's Hair Band, but how can I pass this up~?

Round and Round - Ratt -  AND -  Milton Berle

48. Long time: AGES

51. Minor quibble: NIT

52. Hold title to: OWN

53. Actress/director Vardalos: NIA - all "Greek" to me here, too; her IMDb

54. Psychic's letters: ESP

Splynter