INT. RECORDING STUDIO – DAY

The PRODUCER sits at his desk, unwrapping a package from Amazon.  DJ 3000 remains in his usual location, still covered in sexy stickers.

DJ 3000: SO HEY MAN WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

PRODUCER: If you are trying to sound like Brad Pitt, it isn’t working.

DJ 3000: EH, I’LL STICK TO LOOKING LIKE HIM.  BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

The PRODUCER finishes unwrapping the package and dumps its contents onto his desk.

DJ 3000: WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?

PRODUCER: It’s a jigsaw puzzle of all the Arizona Cardinal greats.

DJ 3000: HUH. CARDINAL GREATS?

PRODUCER: Yeah, it was on sale for $0.99 on Prime Day.

DJ 3000: YOU GOT FLEECED.

PRODUCER: Oh come on, look at all these players!  Kurt Warner, Dan Dierdorf, um…all these other guys.

DJ 3000: IT’S HELPFUL THAT THEY INCLUDED THE NAMES OF THE PLAYERS SO YOU CAN LOOK THEM UP ON WIKIPEDIA.

PRODUCER: Numbers, too.  I wonder how many guys named “Smith” and “Williams” played for them over the years.

DJ 3000: SEEMS KIND OF EXPLOITATIVE TO HAVE INCLUDED PAT TILLMAN.

PRODUCER: A little bit, a little bit.

DJ 3000: WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THE CARDINALS ALL OF A SUDDEN?

PRODUCER: Oh, I found a really great deal on an AirBnB in Scottsdale later on this month. I figured this would keep me busy during the afternoons when it’s too hot to go outside. And then I can leave it behind for future guests.

DJ 3000: I HOPE THE PLACE HAS A POOL.

PRODUCER: A shared one, yeah.  It’s a condo.

DJ 3000: I SEE.  WELL, THIS WAS A REALLY ENGAGING CONVERSATION. ARE YOU READY TO GET SOME TUNES ROLLING?

PRODUCER: Yeah, I thought we could do “the desert” as a theme.

DJ 3000: CAN YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC?

PRODUCER: Not really, no.  Anything having to do with the desert works.  I got the idea when an incredibly handsome kommentist requested “Black Magic Woman” during the weekly fantasy draft.

DJ 3000: WAIT, HORATIO DID A “DRAFT” THAT WAS BASICALLY JUST A VERSION OF REQUEST LINE?

PRODUCER: Well…yeah.

DJ 3000: HE’S STEALING YOUR BIT.  YOU WANT ME TO HACK HIS SHIT AND RELEASE ANYTHING I FIND TO THE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD?

PRODUCER: No, no, it’s fine.  After all, it gave me the idea for the theme.  Speaking of which, let’s get started – mind cueing up some Pixies for me?

Today’s theme is “the desert”.  We’re looking for songs that have anything to do with the desert, even if it’s just an evocative feeling.  Band names are fair game this week. Post links as “https://www.youtube.com/watch?ejTn3(n!Vt5 and they should embed in the comments after you refresh.  Last week’s puzzle answer of “Goodbye-Goodbye” by Oingo Boingo was again solved by SonOfSpam, making it two in a row! Stay cool!

HOW DO PUZZLES WORK: A PRIMER

Earlier in the week a fellow kommentist asked how the weekly song puzzle works.  To explain: each week a clue is embedded in the “post links as” example in the footnote to each post.  This week, for example, the clue is “ejTn3(n!Vt5”.  Translated from leetspeak, that’s “EJTNECNIVTS”.  Sometimes clues will be straightforward, sometimes they will include tricks to point you in the right direction.  This week’s clue, for example, can be reversed to read “STVINCENTJE”.  The fact that it was reversed suggests that we’re looking for a musician who is the opposite of St. Vincent – i.e. a competent – one might even go so far as to say “talented” guitarist – singing a song about something related to the desert.  Which musician?  Perhaps the additional letters in the clue (“JE”…or is it “EJ”?) can help narrow it down!

Note that clues aren’t usually this complex, I made this one more involved than usual so hopefully it won’t be immediately obvious after this explanation.