Egyptian god with the head of a falcon / MON 11-4-24 / Noggin, in slang / Dónde está la library?," for example / Make a loud exploding noise / Marlboro offering, informally / British punk rocker with the hit "Rebel Yell"

Constructor: Colin Adams

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (solved Downs-only)

THEME: FASHION FORWARD (52A: Following the latest style trends ... or a hint to the starts of 16-, 26- and 42-Across) — the "forward" (or front) part of each theme answer is an element of "fashion" (i.e. something you might wear):

Theme answers:

• WATCH CAREFULLY (16A: Keep a close eye on)
• BELT OUT A SONG (26A: Perform karaoke with passion, say)
• "SUIT YOURSELF!" (42A: "Fine, ignore my advice!")

Word of the Day: BILLY IDOL (32D: British punk rocker with the hit "Rebel Yell") —

William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English and American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the US. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".

Idol began his music career in late 1976 as a guitarist in the punk rock band Chelsea. However, he soon left the group. With his former bandmate Tony James, Idol formed Generation X. With Idol as lead singer, the band achieved success in the United Kingdom and released three studio albums on Chrysalis Records, then disbanded. In 1981, Idol moved to New York City to pursue his solo career in collaboration with guitarist Steve Stevens. His debut studio album, Billy Idol (1982), was a commercial success. With music videos for singles "Dancing with Myself" and "White Wedding" Idol soon became a staple of the newly established MTV.

Idol's second studio album, Rebel Yell (1983), was a major commercial success, featuring hit singles "Rebel Yell" and "Eyes Without a Face". The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of two million copies in the US. (wikipedia)

• • •

[My Sunday]

Despite a long day yesterday (~5 hours of driving back and forth to Rochester) and a relatively late night last night, neither I nor my cats seem to have adjusted to the time change yet. I was hoping simply being very tired would push my body through that extra hour of sleep, but nope, stupid body functions like stupid clockwork, so up 2:45AM (!?) instead of the usual 3:45. I actually lay there for a while just to try to acclimate the increasingly demanding cats to the "later" feeding time. I tried to explain "spring forward, fall back" to them, but they just continued walking all over me and pawing anything that would make noise (windowpanes are a favorite). I usually solve the Monday puzzle on Sunday night, so it was weird to try solving "Downs-only" first thing in the morning. I wondered if my brain would be less ... sharp (!) ... somehow. I tend to think better in the morning (which is why I wake up and write rather than stay up and write), but it also feels like I think ... slower. And yet today's Downs-only experience was quite like any other, despite the daunting twin 9s that greeted me right out of the gate. The longer the answer, the harder it is (generally) to get without any crosses, so twin 9s, yeesh. But POWERED UP went right in and SPANGLISH wasn't far behind, and those answers got me the front ends of the first two themers, which was all I needed to get significant traction. It took a little work to get the W/NW settled, but once I did, everything flowed pretty easily from there. Finished cleanly and ironically, with TRUE NORTH down south. 

My only comment on the theme is that it's offering a pretty ragtag set of "fashion" items. Two of them are accessories, one of them a full SUIT, but they don't ... add up to anything. They don't seem to go together as a set, beyond being parts of the very very very general category of "fashion." Where's SKIRT THE ISSUE, SCARF DOWN, CAP OFF, TIE THE KNOT, HEELS ... OF BREAD? SOCKS ON THE JAW? Seems like a lot of "fashion items with homonyms" were left on the table. The WATCH, BELT, SUIT set seems arbitrary, is what I'm saying. Yes, you could definitely wear all those together, but you'd still be only partially dressed. I like the revealer, I like the concept, but themer set felt thin and insufficiently coherent. Still, this was fun to solve. The long Downs in the NW and SE really elevate the fun factor, and the grid is generally clean overall, so no groans or winces or disappointed head-shakes today.

It took me several readings of 2D: Dónde está la library?," for example for me to realize that the question switched languages. I kept trying to think of the Spanish word for "question," which I was pretty sure was just "question," or some near equivalent (cuestión?). Real "d'oh" (as opposed to "OHO!") moment when I finally actually saw "library" sitting there, all out of place. "Library" got me SPANGLISH immediately. And then it was like falling dominoes. I could see the first word of the first long Across was gonna be WATCH, and WATCH not only got me the (much-needed) "H" for HORUS (17D: Egyptian god with the head of a falcon), but it also helped me infer BELT once I had the "-ELT" (WATCH and BELT seemed like potential theme elements, and they were), and inferring that "B" was vital in getting "GO BOOM," which I hadn't been able to get at first pass (19D: Make a loud exploding noise). Having WATCH and BELT in place definitely helped me get SUIT later on, as well as FASHION, and the back ends of almost all of the themers were easy to infer from their fronts. Well, WATCH wasn't terribly helpful on its own, but getting the first few letters in CAREFULLY was a cinch. My post-NW screw-ups were minor. I stupidly misspelled SUNNI (as SUNII) (?) (38D: Largest branch of Islam), which left me with ALIGI at 49A, which made me think "that's gotta be ALIBI..." So dumb. I also kinda wanted ODDITY (rather than ODD ONE) at 43D: Strange case. And I'm less familiar with TRUE NORTH than I am with DUE NORTH, so there was some slight puzzlement and hesitation there, but TRUE really wouldn't be denied, and that was that.

[50A: Shakespeare's "Much ___ About Nothing"]

A few notes:

• 30A: Ferret-like mammal with prized fur (MINK) — it's just a ferret-like mammal. No need to turn it into fur. I know it's a "fashion"-themed puzzle, but there's no reason to lean into animal cruelty if you don't have to. I know it's Monday, and you wanna make it real easy, but still, boo to fur.
• 15A: ___ Bunny, Bugs's love interest in "Space Jam" (LOLA) — some Mondays I'm really happy I didn't have to read the Across clues. I was too old for Space Jam and LOLA Bunny means absolutely nothing to me. I did, however, hear "LOLA" in the car ride on the way home from Rochester yesterday, that was cool. Here's another musical LOLA:

• 54D: Noggin, in slang (NOB) — "Noggin" in slang is ... "Noggin." The clue should just be [Noggin]. Also, who (still) says "Noggin"? Or NOB, for that matter? Is that British?  (looks like yes, it is, but in a different context: NOB (n.)  "one in a superior position in life" (merriam-webster dot com). There are a million (give/take) ways you could've filled that tiny portion of the grid (true south). I'd've scrubbed it free of NOB. Something about the word ... just don't like the look of it.

A note for classical music fans in the KC and NYC areas: Yunchan Lim's performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations at the Eastman School in Rochester yesterday was really beautiful. I'm so glad we made the hike up to see him. After winning the Van Cliburn Competition at age 18 two years ago (the youngest person ever to win), Lim has become something of a rock star. The audience was so much younger than I'm used to seeing at classical concerts. There's a music school there, so maybe the youthfulness of the crowd isn't that surprising, but still, it was refreshing and inspiring to see a multi-generational turnout. Anyway, he's got three dates in KC and four in NYC at the end of this month, so if you live in or near those cities, treat yourself. I don't know what the program for those shows is going to be, but it hardly matters. Whatever he's playing, you're gonna want to hear it.

See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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