LAT Mon. 3/9 Todd McClary

[magus]

I didn't know:
Carrots in TV dinners are DICED                ICHAT is Mac messaging
Steve EARLE is a singer                             AIMEE Mann is a guitarist
DEALAMEAL is a diet                                 RUBADUB means ratatat
CHOCKABLOCK means tightly packed, and I sailed my own 30-footer for years.
MADONNA sang "Express Yourself."  When I read the clue I thought of a best forgotten '50's rock song with the same title, though it may have been "Spress Yoursef" since that's how the singer expressed himself.

Amazingly, I filled it out cleanly in ink, proving that in crosswords, it's not what you know but where you know.   

[Thomps2525]

It's always fun to respond to a five-year-old post. The Express Yourself that Mister Magus remembers is a 1970 song by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. Wright was born in Mississippi and formed the group in Watts in 1966. They were originally known as the Soul Runners and the person who saw them perform and helped them get a recording contract was Bill Cosby. And yes, Wright actually sang "Spress yersef." They also had a hit in 1970 with Love Land.