They Write The Songs So You Don't Have To
◆ · By Sommersmith
Constructor's Note
If you're coming from Crosshare, this puzzle's theme likely won't mean much to you, but hopefully you'll still find it solvable and maybe even enjoyable, especially if you're musically inclined! A brief explanation and links are provided in the comments.
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1A
Fixes, as a competition
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Across
- 1AFixes, as a competition
- 5AGoogle Photos predecessor
- 11A___ Enterprise
- 14AWind instrument featured on R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming"
- 15ALike vinyl records and eight-track tapes
- 16AWhere a guitar's fingerboard meets its headstock
- 17A*Unmarked white van, e.g.?
- 19AGossip
- 20AAOL rival
- 21ATwerking muscles, scientifically
- 22ASNL alum and "Shrill" star Bryant
- 23AFish hidden in "People who know about fishing are not solving this puzzle"
- 25A*Jawbones
- 27AThey may be stronger than diamonds
- 30APersonal ad letters meaning "looking for"
- 31APrefix for "mobile" or "biographical"
- 32A"What's Love Got to Do with It" singer Turner
- 36ATo no ___
- 40A2023 songwriting competition that this puzzle's starred entries competed in
- 43A"Gymnopédies" composer Erik
- 44ACarrot, for many a snowman
- 45ALeading seller of anvils to cartoon coyotes
- 46ADrum ___
- 48AEaster flowers
- 50A*Megalodon, e.g.
- 56AWith 49-Down, my only request
- 57ADisclaimer on pre-owned audio equipment, often
- 58AOld Spanish coins
- 60ADr. Frankenstein's workplace
- 63AZebra-striped official
- 64A*Certain neon glow
- 66AMany a first responder, for short
- 67AIt's measured with outs, ironically
- 68ASurface ___
- 69AA month in Mexico?
- 70ALess reverberant, as a recording space
- 71AGroundbreaking '93 puzzle-adventure game
Down
- 1DGuest ___: many a home recording studio
- 2DMany early PCs
- 3DReally hammering away at those drums, perhaps
- 4DUpper house legislator, for short
- 5DElectric guitar pioneer Les
- 6D"To recap..."
- 7DMagna ___
- 8DMany a "Men in Black" character
- 9D"When you stopped loving me, ___ / Ain't it strange now we both see eye to eye?": James Hand lyric
- 10D27 at death, for some rock stars
- 11DUp to the point that
- 12D"Blue ___ Shoes": Elvis hit written by Carl Perkins
- 13DSticks around
- 18DShrek, e.g.
- 22DFirst and foremost
- 24DMany boy band members, to a classics major
- 26DLead-in to "the sign", in Ace of Base's "The Sign"
- 27DImpudence
- 28DLife stage in a cocoon
- 29DDisco ___: "The Simpsons" side character
- 33DWhere a bard might sing you a song for a few coppers while you share a pot of mutton stew with your fellow travelers
- 34D___ soul: genre for Erykah Badu
- 35DSmart follower?
- 37DLike backup singers, one might say
- 38D"I relate hard this meme"
- 39DCaustic cleaning compounds
- 41DShirts that may feature band logos
- 42D___ Aviv
- 47DSeat for a ruler or a drummer
- 49DSee 56-Across
- 50D"Laughin' at my sister 'cause she wants to form a ___" / "I'm just sayin', if you really loved me, you would share him" ("Hamilton" lyric)
- 51D1972 Bill Withers hit about a manipulative partner
- 52DPresents
- 53DInsurance subsidiary of CVS Health
- 54DQuick
- 55DOscar winner Kevin whose last name is an anagram of his first, if you write it in all caps and rotate one letter 45 degrees
- 59DOne putting the E in STEM: Abbr.
- 61DBrewpub offerings
- 62D"I'm on a ___": Lonely Island song with the lyric "Busting five knots, wind whipping out my coat"
- 64DBuried in the mix, e.g.
- 65DOver-the-top actor