SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Something Corporate

There are SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centerspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Something Corporate

Constructors: Amie Walker & Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Amie & Amanda: We've both been Something Corporate fans for over twenty years and recently saw the band perform one night apart in our respective cities! This particular theme felt apt for a collaboration because the first time we chatted on social media was after Amie saw Andrew McMahon perform "Konstantine" at a 2022 solo show and then the first time we hung out in person Amanda played it on the piano. That song has the lyric "I always catch the clock it's 11:11 / and now you want to talk." Thanks for solving on this 11/11!

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• USERS (47D: People with LiveJournal accounts, once) LiveJournal was a popular blogging platform in the early 2000s. Although the social networking service is still available, it has fewer USERS than it did previously. In 2007, LiveJournal was sold to a Russian company, and its terms of service were updated to conform to Russian law.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• THELMA (13A: "___ & Louise") THELMA & Louise is a 1991 movie starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as the title characters. Okay, here's a test of your movie memory: which of them portrays THELMA? Congratulations if you remembered that Geena Davis portrays THELMA and Susan Sarandon portrays Louise.
• IS IT A GO? (16A: "We gonna do this?") and LET US (46A: We'd love to do it) I enjoy that these two answers seem to be having a conversation in the grid.
• THETA (27A: Letter after eta) The sixth, seventh, and eighth letters of the Greek alphabet are the rhyming letters zeta, eta, and THETA.
• EVA (30A: "Girls5___") I have previously written about the sitcom Girls5EVA.
• LIE (39A: It's not to be believed) This clue is cute.
• KEATS (41A: "Bright Star" poet John) John KEATS (1795-1821) gave his poem, "Bright Star," which describes a steadfast love, to his fiancée and muse, Fanny Brawne (1800-1865). You can read "Bright Star" on the Poetry Foundation website. The poem begins, "Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art –."
• ERAS (43A: Taylor Swift's "Red" and "folklore," e.g.) and SAW (23D: "I don't wanna look at anything else now that I ___ you") Once again Amie and Amanda have worked a couple of Taylor Swift references into their puzzle. (They never disappoint!) "I don't wanna look at anything else now that I SAW you," is a line from Taylor Swift's song, "Daylight," which is from her Lover ERA.
• SHE (50A: "Every Little Thing ___ Does is Magic") and I'M HERS (16D: "That woman has my whole entire heart") I thought these two clues paired well together. "Every Little Thing SHE Does is Magic" is a 1981 song by the Police.
• SIERRA (60A: "Ephemera" author DeMulder) Ephemera is a 2023 book of poetry by SIERRA DeMulder. You can read some poems from Ephemera on SIERRA DeMulder's website.
• HORSE (62A: Animal on the cover of "Cowboy Carter") Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé's eighth studio album. It was released in March of this year. The album is presented as a radio broadcast on "KNTRY Radio Texas" (not a real station), with Dolly Parton, Linda Martell, and Willie Nelson as disc jockeys. The album blends together various styles of music including country, Americana, zydeco, blues, and honky-tonk, as well as others. This clue is timely, since it was announced last week that Beyoncé received 11 Grammy nominations for Cowboy Carter.
• SCOT (15D: Glasgow resident) Glasgow, located in west central Scotland along the River Clyde, is the country's most populous city.
• AMEN (25D: Word repeated in Hozier's "Take Me to Church") Hozier is an Irish singer-songwriter. "Take Me to Church" is the opening track on his 2014 debut album, Hozier. I like that the title of the song makes this answer inferable even for solvers that might not be familiar with it.
• TAIL (28D: Part of a cat costume) My cat, Willow, is delighted to see this clue, as she thinks it has been far too long (eight days!) since we have seen a cat-related clue. Here's a photo of Willow hiding behind her fluffy tail.

• ANNIE (29D: "Tomorrow" musical) "The sun'll come out / Tomorrow / Bet your bottom dollar / That tomorrow there'll be sun ... Tomorrow, tomorrow / I love ya tomorrow / You're always a day away." Thanks for the earworm, puzzle!
• DEER (34D: "Now she's smilin' ear to ear / She's the headlights, I'm the ___") "Now she's smilin' ear to ear / She's the headlights, I'm the DEER" is from Billie Eilish's 2024 song, "Lunch."
• MATT (36D: "Friends" star LeBlanc) MATT LeBlanc portrays Joey Tribbiani on the sitcom Friends (1994-2004) and its spinoff series, Joey (2004-2006).
• SNL (38D: NBC show with a "Totino's" sketch) Totino's is a brand of frozen pizza. On several Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketches that originally aired between 2015 and 2017, Vanessa Bayer plays the role of an unnamed Totino's spokeswoman.
• TIO (57D: Bruno, to Mirabel, in "Encanto") The puzzle obviously forgot that "We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no / We don't talk about Bruno, but..." In the animated movie Encanto (2021), Bruno is Mirabel's TIO (uncle).

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• KEEP ME COMPANY (17A: "Stay so I'm not lonely!")
• I MEAN BUSINESS (35A: "This is serious to me now")
• STANDING FIRM (52A: Refusing to budge)

SOMETHING CORPORATE: Each theme answer ends with a word that is synonymous with corporation: COMPANY, BUSINESS, and FIRM.

SOMETHING CORPORATE is an alt rock band. In fact, in their September 29, 2024 puzzle, Amie and Amanda used a lyric from the SOMETHING CORPORATE song, "Konstantine," in a clue. Today, SOMETHING CORPORATE serves as a great theme. I appreciated all of the music references today, something I've come to expect from an Amie and Amanda collaboration. Thanks, Amie and Amanda, for this excellent puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers