In addition to revealing that all the headlines contained song titles, we gave three hints last week. On Friday, it was an old-style McDonalds sign with "billions and billions served" at the bottom, as well as a somewhat inaccurate reference to the $64 billion question. On Saturday, it was a note to pay attention to the word that appeared 2-3 times in the hints (i.e., "billion"). On Sunday, we added: "Turn off your mind, relax and float down-stream."
And now, courtesy of reader T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts, the solution:
All of the songs referenced in this week's headlines have generated over a billion streaming plays on Spotify:"Here Comes the Sun" was the very first song to reach that milestone.
- That Didn't Take Long, Part I: When the Party's Over (Billie Eilish)
- That Didn't Take Long, Part II: Under Pressure (Queen & David Bowie)
- That Didn't Take Long, Part III: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (Shawn Mendes)
- I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles)
- This Week in Schadenfreude: Leave The Door Open (Silk Sonic)
- This Week in Freudenfreude: Rewrite The Stars (Zendaya and Zac Efron)
Indeed. And "Little Lion Man," by Mumford & Sons, has just joined the club. In any event, we told you the clue "Billions and Billions Served" was pretty good.
Here are the first 50 readers to get it:
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D.S. in Layton adds: "And speaking as an artist with a CD that is on Spotify, I can report that the artists of each of those songs received from Spotify almost a dollar in royalties."
This week's theme is in the Trivial Pursuit category Cosmology (from Trivial Pursuit: Dungeons & Dragons Ultimate Edition), and involves one word in some headlines, two words in others. The very first item/headline are not part of the puzzle. As to a hint, we are reminded of our Shakespeare: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves."
If you think you've got it, send an e-mail to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line "January 31 Headlines." (Z)