Muller Monthly Music Meta, January 2024

puzzle 11:07; meta 2 minutes (Matt)

Title: “Take a Change on Me” by Pete Muller, Mack Meller, and Andrew White
Prompt: The meta for this puzzle is a famous musician.
Answer: “Weird Al” Yankovic

Season 14 of the Muller Monthly Music Meta is upon us, for which I am quite thankful. I hope it never ends. Pete has brought two familiar names on board with him this month: Mack Meller, whose existence I once publicly questioned, and Andrew White, who co-created the unique (and very cool) puzzle type now used by Washington Post’s Daily Mini-Meta with Pete.

First puzzle of the year, and an aptly gentle one it was. “Take a Change on Me” was our title, and our seven theme entries, signaled with the absurdist or punster’s question mark, were:

19-A: [Iggy Pop’s ballad about David and Bathsheba?] = LUST FOR WIFE (instead of Life)
21-A: [Bruce Springsteen’s remorseful emo crossover track?] = BORN TO RUE (instead of Run)
30-A: [Elvis Presley’s dating app jingle?] = LOVE ME TINDER (instead of Tender)
44-A: [Taylor Swift’s ode to songwriter’s block?] = OUT OF THE WORDS (instead of Woods)
63-A: [The Beatles’ tune on the robotics team’s pump-up playlist?] = CODE TOGETHER (instead of Come)
73-A: [Ben E. King’s pro-cellist anthem?] = STAND BY MA (instead of Me). A Yo-Yo Ma reference, of course.
76-A: [The Bee Gees’ foray into Soviet propaganda music?] = STALIN ALIVE (instead of Stayin’).

Those seven changed letters above spell WEIRD AL, which points us right to contest answer “Weird Al” Yankovic. And fittingly so, since he alters the titles of songs for a living. Like so:

Fun one to start year XIV, which I’m looking forward to mightily. After my double-fumble last year, missing two in a row, I’m determined to go perfect in 2024. 4.25 stars.