Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Self-titled album of 1969

Constructor: David Quarfoot

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: none

Word of the Day: PASEOS (55A: Scenic walks) — n., pl., -os.

A slow, easy stroll or walk outdoors.
The street, series of streets, or walkway along which such a walk is taken.
In bullfighting, the formal procession into the ring of the players, including the matadors, banderilleros, and horses, that occurs just before the first bull is fought.

[Spanish, from pasear, to take a stroll, frequentative of pasar, to go, pass. See pase.]

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Very quick write-up today — it is super-early in the morning, and any second, my wife (sleeping downstairs with two stray dogs ... literally, dogs: a bassett hound and a Jack Russell terrier) is going to get up which means dogs are going to get up which means Mayhem. My wife has to get ready for work (daughter and I are off), so I will have to be on Mayhem patrol. One stray likes to mark his territory, if you know what I mean, and the other is a doll but has the shrillest bark in dog world and for some reason wants nothing more than to rip the face off my chocolate lab. So ... should be interesting. And how's this for coincidence: Just yesterday morning, while teaching "The Third Man" in my Crime Fiction class, I recommended another crime movie set in a defeated post-war city — Akira Kurosawa's "Stray Dog."

Nice to see the great David Quarfoot back in action. This is a very good, toughish puzzle, though it doesn't Quite feel up to DQ standards (which were through the roof, in case you weren't with the blog a couple years back when DQ was knocking them out regularly). JCCHASEZ is beyond the pale for me (1D: 'N Sync member). NSYNC is famous, but that dude ... yikes. Needed Every Single Cross. Nice touch, though, that NW corner starts JCC in one direction and JRR in the other. Also needed a lot of help on EBOLI (27A: "Don Carlos" princess) — ECOLI and EBLOA I know, but this one, aargh, no — and the wickedly clued ROOMMATE (2D: Joint letter?). If you "let" an apt. with someone else, you are a "ROOMMATE." I liked this clue almost as much as I liked 46A: Letter greeting never read by its intended recipient ("Dear Santa"), despite its disillusioning message.

Bullets:

1A: Composer of a famous ring cycle (J.R.R. Tolkien) — well, you know it's not WAGNER (too obvious for a Friday 1A), so you move to the next most likely name. And it's right. Weird.
15A: Musician with the 1939 hit "Jumpin' at the Woodside" (Count Basie) — needed some crosses, but the name is very familiar. Had much more trouble, actually, with another old music clue. Was certain that 33D: Self-titled album of 1969 was ARLO (it was ELLA).

[sometimes I forget how Unbelievable her voice is]

28A: They're usually worn over petticoats (saris) — since "petticoats" can't possibly be the right / native term here, I say 'boo.'
30A: All-time strikeout leader's nickname (Mr. October) — more October baseball stuff (see Wednesday's puzzle). I have a new book by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson ("Mr. October") that's basically just conversations about the game. Totally Riveting. Bob Gibson is my favorite pitcher of all time. Reggie ... I grew up Hating him (Dodger fan in my youth).
38A: Shakespeare follower (-ana) — wanted it, but somehow thought the final "E" went to "I" in SHAKESPEARIANA.
44A: Maker of the LZR Racer suit (Speedo) — knew it instantly, for no good reason, though first impulse was to write in SPANDEX.
52A: Big name in kitchenware (Ekco) — holy moly. Must be the only -KC- "word" out there. Not sure I've seen it in puzzles before. Seems like it would be ... useful.
59A: "Te _____ Corazón," 2006 Prince song ("Amo") — easy to guess. This puzzle has lots of clues with years in them. This one, the ELLA one, 24D: It fell in 2001 (Mir), and 8D: 1968 Vanessa Redgrave title role (Isadora).
61A: Musician called America's Tuning Fork (Pete Seeger) — that Really does not sound like a compliment.
65A: One whose oils may be graded (art student) — tehee, good one.
67A: Result of a hurricane warning, maybe (mass exodus) — Love this answer.
7D: Big blast (kaboom) — I had KEGGER here, and thus considered TAU (?) for 4D: Producer of a 7-Down (TNT).
10D: "Homer and _____ Hail Mary Pass" ("The Simpsons" episode) ("Ned's") — sooooo much better than [_____ Atomic Dustbin].
48D: A 747 has two of these (aisles) — wanted AILERONS, but only because a. I learned that word from crosswords, and b. I actually heard the word used last night on the (really good) new comedy "Modern Family."