Kate and Joe's Finite Playlist

KATESCHMATE CRYPTIC!!!

Sorry, but there was no way I was burying that lede. If you aren't familiar with Kate, her noncryptic crosswords (including those made with a who's who of collaborators) are a delight. And, in what I can only assume was initially an accident and then too awkward to back out of, she offered me the opportunity to collaborate on her first cryptic! Here's what she has to say in her defense:

[voice-disguising filter] I, someone who definitely understands and knows how to write cryptics, was very happy to mentor Joe through this process. I definitely came up with all the best wordplay and made sure everything was fair, and I definitely wasn’t constantly asking Joe how cryptics, like, work. I also definitely did not ask Joe to collab and then take seven months to finish the puzzle, as I am as reliable and timely as I am knowledgeable about the rules of cryptic puzzles. Endless thanks are due to Joe for how fun he is to work with, not to mention how kind and gracious he is when giving—er, I mean, receiving feedback. I hope this puzzle is as fun to solve as it was to make, with fewer instances of me—er, I mean Joe—going, “oh yeah oops lol I now see that makes no sense.” Enjoy!!

Bonus! This puzzle comes with a playlist, courtesy of Spotify or Apple Music. It's not required (especially if you're streaming a solve), but it *is* required that you sing a few bars of anything you recognize.

Shout out to herzwesten for the test solve—thanks, buddy!

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