Beasts (and Burdon)
"Midrash" by Marcia Brott and George Barany (January 2014)
Greetings, music fans of a certain generation! A while back, we were brainstorming about classic rock groups or artists that were named after animals. Somehow, we were able to fit six of these into a 72-word grid with standard crossword symmetry. For a reveal, and for the title [n.b., a close runner-up for possible title was "Burdon of Proof"], we remembered Eric Burdon, front man for The Animals (and later for War) (Eric was recently in the news with respect to a concert in Israel).
We then batted around a number of ideas for cluing, and decided to use the names of [one of] their signature song(s). Below, we list the name of the group in capitals, with a wikipedia link, followed by the name of the song used in the clue, with the best YouTube link that we were able to find. Next [within brackets, and in no particular order] are an idiosyncratic selection of YouTube links to additional songs from the same group that we think you might enjoy.
SEAL: Kiss From a Rose [Crazy]
WHITESNAKE: Here I Go Again [Is This Love]
IRON_BUTTERFLY: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (17 minutes!—one of those songs that DJs put on when they want to take a bathroom break)
THREE_DOG_NIGHT: Mama Told Me Not to Come [One; Eli's Coming; Joy to the World; Old Fashioned Love Song; Liar; Never Been to Spain]
THE_ANIMALS: We've Gotta Get Out of This Place [House of the Rising Sun; reprise by a 65-year old Eric Burdon; Don't Let Me Be Understood; When I Was Young]
T._REX: Bang a Gong (Get it On)
Our final insight, with a lot of help from Nate Davidson, was to link to audio clips (from Spotify) for the on-line presentation of the puzzle.
Long live rock & roll! (and if you're in a dancing mood, click here or here).
If you want to tell others about this particular page, refer them to http://tinyurl.com/beastsmidrash
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