THEME: none, but two clues are the same for long answers
GOOD ONES: Carol kings MAGI
Pay stub? OLA [payola = disc jockey graft]
Blast from the past A TEST [disc jockey phrase meaning "oldie" (even from the previous year since the listeners were teens)]
Dopey picture? CEL [cartoon figure]
BTW: Certain media darling (The) IT GIRL [Clara Bow --- almost a century ago --- before the word media was used this way]
Word of thanks GRACIAS [that it's a Spanish word should have been noted]
UNAS and AME are foreign only.
I probably dislike DOH because it comes from
The Simpsons which I've never seen but which pop culture has embraced as the literati did Alexander Pope.
I have drunk at the Pierian Spring referred to by Pope, but I may need another taste to understand why "EBON wand" is quotation worthy.
Bean
expert BARISTA ["bean server" is more like it as no expertise is associated with this Italian term]
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun