Navy Blue singer Renay / WED. 5-19-10 / "The Gondoliers" girl / Bibliophile's suffix / Mr. who squints / Northern terminus of U.S. 1 / Cybermemo

Constructor: Robert A. Doll

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: 2010 Guinness world records — that's it.


Word of the Day: DIANE Renay (65A: "Navy Blue" singer Renay) —

Diane Renay (b. July 13, 1945; born Renee Diane Kushner) is an American pop singer, best known for her 1964 hit song, "Navy Blue." [...] Renay's only other single release to crack the national Billboard chart was "Kiss Me Sailor," which reached number 29 later in 1964. Subsequent singles, including "Growin' Up Too Fast," "Watch Out Sally," "It's In Your Hands," and "Happy Birthday Broken Heart," were hits in certain local markets such as Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Miami [!?!?!], but failed to break nationally. Renay moved to the Fontana label in 1969 and attempted a comeback with covers of "Yesterday" and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," but these also failed to chart. She did not record again until the early 1980s. // She remains active as a performer today and recently released Diane Renay Sings Some Things Old and Some Things New, a double-CD compilation album of her work (including many previously unreleased tracks) from the 1960s through the 1990s. (wikipedia)

[Forget her, go back to the organist — he's fabulous]

• • •

Well this week is off to a thud. Didn't care for this at all. Random 2010 records. Boring. Who cares? Not me. Non-theme fill—yawn, bordering on lazy. SLEWS of bad stuff (SLEWS? Seriously?) (64A: A whole bunch). Stale stuff everywhere. I don't get the appeal of this one at all. Wow, that's a heavy pumpkin. Wow, that's a long mustache. Wow, those are two really fat guys on motorcycles! (this is the enduring image of the Guinness Book of World Records for me). And then there's out-of-left-field proper nouns like TESSA (24D: "The Gondoliers" girl) ("The Gondoliers" = Gilbert & Sullivan opera, btw) and the oddly-clued DIANE (never heard the song in question). Even with theme answers that required many crosses to guess (HIGH DIVE? Again, random), I did this in just a shade over four. But then I'm someone who can go OMERTA to ERGOT with no crosses (this is not a talent—it's a tic).


Theme answers:

• 17A: 2010 Guinness world record at 1,689 lbs. (HEAVIEST PUMPKIN)
  
• 29A: 2010 Guinness world record at 11 ft. 6 in. (LONGEST MUSTACHE)
  
• 39A: 2010 Guinness world record at 72 lbs. 9 oz. (LARGEST MEATBALL) — how is "LARGEST" different from "HEAVIEST" in this instance, exactly?
  
• 57A: 2010 Guinness world record at 115 ft. (HIGHEST HIGH DIVE)
  

If ENA sends an ENOTE to ENO, and EBERT flies EL AL to ARG., how long do I have to wait before Rose ROYCE puts me out of my misery with their funky ode to the wet working man (and woman) (15A: Rose ___, group with the 1977 #1 hit "Car Wash")? Answer: not long at all.

[It's a movie theme song to boot!]


[This is the version to play loud, right now — full version, great sound, hot guitars. Wish all disco was this good. Dance!]

Bullets:

• 16A: Bibliophile's suffix (-ANA) — Like this much better as part of "Santa ANA" or as a woman's name. Examples of this suffix include AMERICANA, SHAKESPERIANA, et ceterana.
  
• 21A: Cybermemo (E-NOTE) — I used to think E-CASH was my least favorite of the recent E-coinages. Today's encounter with E-NOTE has me thinking twice about how I award my E-DEMERITs (10D: Class clown's "reward," often). I would do everything humanly possible to keep the loathsome E-NOTE out of any puzzle I was constructing.
  
• 25A: 1975 Pulitzer-winning critic (EBERT) — Dude is a Twitter hero and blogging phenom. More popular (beloved, actually) now than ever, I think. Who can forget his long-running friendship/rivalry with E-ERNIE? I mean Siskel.
  
• 61A: Mr. who squints (MAGOO) — He can't see well. Comedy!

["Terpsichorean endeavors!" — OK, that was funny]

• 30D: "I Am ... ___ Fierce," #1 Beyoncé album ("SASHA") — whoa, how did I know this!? Must be ferociously "in the air" for me to know it. This album had the much played, much parodied "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" on it. On it. On it. Here is the newish, astonishing, freaky, morbid, Tarantinoesque Beyoncé video, "Telephone," featuring Lady Gaga. Whoops, sorry—got that backwards. It's a Lady Gaga video featuring Beyoncé.
  

• 47D: Northern terminus of U.S. 1 (MAINE) — yeah, it's up there. Never been. John MAINE is a pitcher for the N.Y. Mets. I feel that bit of info may be important to you someday.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]