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This is an archived version of the 2025 Key Clues Challenge website. For information on the upcoming event, visit https://keyclueschallenge.uwaterloo.ca/.

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Solution: Great Lustrous Songs
Answer: AVENUE

Written by The Enigmatologists

Identifying the song names and artists should give the following with the song names in alphabetical order.

Track Artist Song
1 Foo Fighters Alone and Easy Target
2 Korn Evolution
3 Nickelback Fight for all the Wrong Reasons
4 Linkin Park Given Up
5 Weezer Hash Pipe
6 Blue October Hate Me
7 Green Day Know Your Enemy
8 The Killers Somebody Told Me
9 Stone Temple Pilots Sour Girl
10 I Mother Earth Summertime in the Void
11 Jimmy Eat World Sweetness
12 Fastball The Way
13 Smash Mouth Walkin' on the Sun
14 Sam Roberts Where Have All the Good People Gone

A careful listen reveals that each clip contains exactly 14 words of lyrics as shown below.

Artist Song Lyrics
Foo Fighters Alone and Easy Target along they're not dumb they were so wrong she's not always fun hate it
Korn Evolution ground I stand upon I'm searching for fragile bones evolution I'm never gonna be
Nickelback Fight for all the Wrong Reasons you know my friends they know your enemies and I'd pretend not to hear
Linkin Park Given Up the fuck is wrong with me I don't know what to take thought I
Weezer Hash Pipe don't care but I want you to know the knee-stocking flavor is the favorite
Blue October Hate Me bleeding in my brain an ounce of peace is all I want for you
Green Day Know Your Enemy do you know the enemy do you know your enemy well gotta know the
The Killers Somebody Told Me name but heaven ain't close in a place like this anything goes but don't
Stone Temple Pilots Sour Girl she was a happy girl when she left me what would you do what
I Mother Earth Summertime in the Void noise there's no answer for you wait automatic and afraid when you think there's
Jimmy Eat World Sweetness to bind whoa oh whoa oh I was spinning free whoa oh oh oh
Fastball The Way that they walk on is paved in gold and it's always summer they'll never
Smash Mouth Walkin' on the Sun around a bonfire just singin' and clappin' man what the hell happened then some
Sam Roberts Where Have All the Good People Gone a cold cold world and all I meet are cold cold girls wanna leave

Moreover, each of these songs was featured on a separate one of the 14 Big Shiny Tunes compilation albums. (The puzzle title is meant to hint at this connection.)

We now index each set of lyrics by the number of the Big Shiny Tunes album that song appeared on. For example, the song "The Way" was on Big Shiny Tunes 3 and the lyrics in the clip are "that they walk on is paved in gold and it's always summer they'll never", so we take the third word which is "walk". Doing this for each track gives the following words.

Track Artist Song Big Shiny Tunes Album Indexed Word
1 Foo Fighters Alone and Easy Target 1 ALONG
2 Korn Evolution 12 NEVER
3 Nickelback Fight for all the Wrong Reasons 10 I'D
4 Linkin Park Given Up 13 THOUGHT
5 Weezer Hash Pipe 6 YOU
6 Blue October Hate Me 11 I
7 Green Day Know Your Enemy 14 THE
8 The Killers Somebody Told Me 9 LIKE
9 Stone Temple Pilots Sour Girl 5 GIRL
10 I Mother Earth Summertime in the Void 4 ANSWER
11 Jimmy Eat World Sweetness 7 I
12 Fastball The Way 3 WALK
13 Smash Mouth Walkin' on the Sun 2 A
14 Sam Roberts Where Have All the Good People Gone 8 MEET

Sorting this table now alphabetically by artists gives the following message:

I WALK ALONG THE ANSWER I NEVER THOUGHT I'D MEET A GIRL LIKE YOU

Replacing the word "ANSWER" with the word "AVENUE" makes this a 14-word segment of lyrics from the song "I Ran" by a "Flock of Seagulls" which appeared on the Big Shiny Tunes 80's compilation album.

The answer to the puzzle is therefore the word AVENUE.