Hint Singles
September 2026 : Solution
This month’s puzzle invited you to put your pop music knowledge up against a series of mangled song titles and groanworthy wordplay.
The name of the puzzle (Hint Singles) and the flavor text at the bottom of the record (e.g. ‘As Seven on TV’) suggested an “add a letter” theme.
And as many of you found, each “song” on the record suggested a real song whose artist’s name could be changed by inserting a letter. (E.g. inserting an ‘h’ into Weezer to get Wheezer.)
The inserted letters from the 23 songs spell out the name of the bonus track: ‘Help! (Our Drummer Is Out Sick)’. And the solution to this puzzle, namely the “brand you’ve probably never heard before” – brand in this case meaning “band with a letter inserted” – would be The Beatless.
| song | “artist” | based on |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Buddy Holly (After Running a 5k)’ | Wheezer | ‘Buddy Holly’ by Weezer |
| ‘A Little MISS Can’t Be Wrong’ | Spine Doctor | ‘Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong’ by Spin Doctors |
| ‘Un Verano Sin Cabello’ | Bald Bunny | ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ by Bad Bunny |
| ‘Party Off the Coast of Greece’ | Miley Cyprus | ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ by Miley Cyrus |
| ‘Where the Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Things Are’ | Luke Combos | ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Luke Combs |
| ‘Elevated (Onto a Plinth)’ | Statue Champs | ‘Elevated’ by State Champs |
| ‘Hurt (In a Fender Bender)’ | Johnny Crash | ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash |
| ‘Learn to (Throw a) Pie’ | Food Fighters | ‘Learn to Fly’ by Foo Fighters |
| ‘Only the Good Die on Planet Krypton’ | Billy Jor-El | ‘Only the Good Die Young’ by Billy Joel |
| ‘What Can It Be (To Order for Our Lunch Meeting) Now?’ | Menu at Work | ‘Who Can It Be Now?’ by Men at Work |
| ‘Bonam Fortunam, Infantem!’ | Chappell Roman | ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ by Chappell Roan |
| ‘Mr. Trinitrotoluene Man’ | Bomb Dylan | ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ by Bob Dylan |
| ‘You Make Clubbing Fun’ | Fleetwood Mace | ‘You Make Loving Fun’ by Fleetwood Mac |
| ‘Wake Me Up to Drive (This Boat I Stole)’ | Brig Thief | ‘Wake Me Up to Drive’ by Big Thief |
| ‘Summertime Sandwich (Shop)’ | Lana Deli Rey | ‘Summertime Sadness’ by Lana Del Rey |
| ‘(Start To) Burn It Down’ | Linkin Spark | ‘Burn It Down’ by Linkin Park |
| ‘I Like HIIT’ | Cardio B | ‘I Like It’ by Cardi B |
| ‘Being Bobbing’ | Pet Shop Buoys | ‘Being Boring’ by Pet Shop Boys |
| ‘Watch That Man(‘s Choice of Neckwear)’ | David Bowtie | ‘Watch That Man’ by David Bowie |
| ‘All Cats Are Bad Luck’ | The Curse | ‘All Cats Are Grey’ by The Cure |
| ‘Didn’t Cha Know (I’m Dual Listed in Hong Kong)’ | Erykah Baidu | ‘Didn’t Cha Know’ by Erykah Badu |
| ‘MMMBrel’ | Chanson | ‘MMMBop’ by Hanson |
| ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You to Unlock My Nissan Sentra’ | Mariah Car Key | ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey |