Can you see?
Before the puzzle, a bespoke blend of personal news AND crossword news I'm happy to share for folks who haven't already heard: I've joined The New Yorker as a staff producer for puzzles and games! About a month in, I'm still in a slight daze when I get to the office, but it's cut by lovely coworkers and work that scratches my brain in good ways. If you're not solving TNY's stuff, I'll make a brief plug (unbiased, if you can believe) that its puzzles have long been among my favorites, uniquely match the quality of the magazine, and are well worth your time.
Getting back on topic, this holiday special is my first-ever (cogent) 21x21! I've tried starting them before but never quite felt confident enough to get the job done; a warmly affirming talk by WaPo's Evan Birnholz this spring at Puzzmo's Crossword Con helped turn me around. Implausibly, though, this particular idea germinated as a 13x, and I kept adding and adding until I was like, screw it, why not just go all the way?
It is maybe one of the nerdiest themes I've produced to date, and not at all a very good 21x execution, but a welcome chance to practice for something more polished in the future. That's not to say I'm not excited for you to solve it, because I really am. Enjoy it and the rest of your weekend!
- The news about 32-across is grim, but a beautiful feature about my favorite little Great Lakes residents!!!
- Wise words from 55-across, an above-average body of water.
- 116-across: The 1970s almost make this period in American politics seem boring ...?
- Sing it, 38-down!
- 51-down: In which Beyoncé is compared to Jacques-Louis David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps
- Some impressively deep 111-down 36-down
- 115-down: I'M GONNA KEEP ON DANCING AT THE
Theme explanation
So here's the story, in short: Igor Stravinsky, to my ears, wrote the best arrangement of the Star-Spangled Banner to date. The U.S. national anthem is complex, if not controversial: it's a twisty vocal gauntlet whose melody seems somehow completely divorced from the striking poem it sets. Stravinsky took up the challenge and delivered a rich and harmonically intricate version that fits symphonies like a glove — yes, dated July 4, 1941, though he probably finished it earlier, and it was ultimately premiered in winter 1944 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
1944 was not a great time for Russian immigrants to mess with American cultural mores, alas, and the cops showed up to Stravinsky's dressing room threatening to take him in for violating a Massachusetts law that sets parameters for the national anthem's performance. He junked the arrangement for the next performance, setting what I think is some fascinating precedent for free speech, artistic expression and who gets to define the mantle of patriotism. Worth considering these days.
The most innovative chord in the arrangement — and the one noted by today's revealer — is a dominant seventh on "land of the free," replacing what would otherwise be a staid tonic (or "1") chord. It adds some welcome tension, but it also sneakily serves as a SECONDARY DOMINANT — a "5" chord that leads into a chord that's not the tonic, in this case setting up the subdominant briefly appearing on the following "and." (Thanks to my friend and composer extraordinaire Oliver for helping me double-check this!) I won't try to drag you too much deeper into music theory world, but thanks for bearing with me and just trust that it's a cool move. I told you this theme was nerdy!