Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, After Midnight-InfoExpress

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! After Midnight

Constructors: Amie Walker & Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

SHAPE (31D: "It's never just a ___ alone, love is a kaleidoscope") This is one of several lyric clues in this puzzle. I'm a fan of lyric clues because they add interest to clues. Additionally, I've been introduced to a lot of songs I didn't know from lyrics in clues. Often I find lyric clues are inferable from the context, but I needed some help from crossing answers for this one. When I looked up the lyric I discovered this clue is continuing my education about Chappell Roan's discography. ""It's never just a SHAPE alone, love is a kaleidoscope," is a line from Chappell Roan's song, "Kaleidoscope."

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

TAPATIO (26A: Hot sauce) TAPATÍO hot sauce is produced in Vernon, California. The company's founders emigrated from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico to the United States. The brand is named after a term used to describe someone from Guadalajara, Jalisco. TAPATÍO's tagline is "Es una salsa ... Muy salsa!" ("Its a sauce ... Very saucy!")
YOU'VE (64A: "They don't know how ___ haunted me so stunningly") This lyric is from a Taylor Swift song. "They don't know how YOU'VE haunted me so stunningly," is a line from "Guilty as Sin?" This song is from Taylor Swift's 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department.
LOTR (65A: Frodo/Pippin franchise, for short) Frodo Baggins and Peregrin Took (commonly known as Pippin) are hobbits of the Shire in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic tale, The Lord of the Rings, or LOTR, for short. In the LOTR movie trilogy, Frodo is portrayed by Elijah Wood, and Pippin is portrayed by Billy Boyd.
SAM (1D: Singer Smith) English singer and songwriter, SAM Smith has won three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist in 2015. Their fourth studio album, Gloria, was released in 2023.
ADA (2D: "Would You Rather" poet Limon) ADA Limón is the current Poet Laureate of the United States. You can read her poem, "Would You Rather," on the Tin House website.
NEAT IDEA (5D: I like where you're going with this!") and OK I'LL BITE (33D: "Now you've got me interested") and KEEP TALKING (11D: "Say more") There's a fun little conversation going on in this grid.
OXEN (7D: Oregon Trail pair to ford a river with) The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile east-west route that connected the Missouri River to Oregon. Many of us are familiar with the difficulties and challenges presented by the trail from a computer game popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. One might have learned from the game about the importance of OXEN on the Oregon Trail. This Vox article discusses how the reality of the Oregon Trail differed from the experience of playing the game (although the game got a lot of things right).
SALAAM (10D: Respectful greeting) SALAAM is an abbreviated form of a Muslim greeting meaning, "Peace be upon you."
SAL (22D: Salt, in Spanish) It's true that SAL is the Spanish word for salt. I did have some thoughts about alternate clues for this answer, however. A clue for SAL could be [Nickname that drops "-ly"] or even [Nickname for our favorite "Off the Grid" writer, perhaps]. Just a couple of (tongue-in-cheek) suggestions for Amie and Amanda to consider for future puzzles.
IDA (28D: Journalist ___ B. Wells) IDA B. Wells (1862-1931) was an investigative journalist and a co-founder of the NAACP.
OED (29D: British lexicon (Abbr.)) The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was first published by Oxford University Press in 1884. The first electronic version was available in 1988. The OED has been available online since 2000.
CLAM (38D: Jaecheop-guk ingredient) Jaecheop-guk is a clear soup made with jaecheop, small freshwater marsh CLAMs that are native to Korea.
ANG (39D: Director Lee) ANG Lee's directing credits include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Life of Pi (2012).
RAE (40D: Singer Carly ___ Jepsen) Carly RAE Jepsen's breakthrough single was "Call Me Maybe," which was the best-selling single in 2012. Her most recent albums are The Loneliest Time (2022) and The Loveliest Time (2023).
ALL (55D: "This is to a girl who got into my head with ___ the pretty things she did") "Konstantine" is a 2003 song by the alt rock band Something Corporate. I learned about this song last month from a puzzle constructed by Amie Walker. "This is to a girl who got into my head with ALL the pretty things she did," is a line from "Konstantine."
A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
- NOPE (6A: Word uttered after walking into a room full of creepy dolls)
- HIPS (41A: Swiveled body parts)
- FRY (47D: Curly or shoestring morsel)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

MASS APPEAL (17A: Ability to reach a large number of people)
SNACK ATTACK (35A: Rhyming case of the munchies)
OIL CHANGES (57A: Parts of complete lube jobs)

AFTER MIDNIGHT: The first word of each theme answer can be placed AFTER the word MIDNIGHT to form a new phrase: MIDNIGHT MASS, MIDNIGHT SNACK, and MIDNIGHT OIL.

The formation of new phrases from a word in the title and a word in each theme answer is a classic USA Today theme type. Today the title is also a bonus for fans of Chappell Roan, as "AFTER MIDNIGHT" is the title of a Chappell Roan song from her 2023 album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. I like this, because if you aren't familiar with Chappell Roan's music, the title and puzzle still make sense and are enjoyable. For Chappell Roan's fans, there's an added "Aha!" Thank you, Amie and Amanda, for this delightful puzzle.