"The single worst part of this was where the totally unfathomable 'word' from a non-famous Queen song title was sitting right next to a 'high-earning Tik-Tok personality' (there's not one word of that phrase that isn't glistening with inanity)..."

"... and then both of those ran straight through The Crucial Word in the damn 'poem' (i.e. HAIKU). The very worst fill at the most important point in the puzzle—again, winning. I resent this kind of self-indulgent, no-concern-for-solving-pleasure, make-your-theme-work-at-all-costs construction. I would've been somewhat quicker getting through this section if I could've remembered SERRANO sooner (31A: Pepper between jalapeño and cayenne on the Scoville heat scale), but the real added difficulty whammy came from *two* wrong answers that seemed to fit their clues perfectly: ICE for 28D: Finalize, as a deal (INK) and (worse) SHYER for 38A: Less forward (COYER)." 

Rex Parker is so right about what's wrong with today's NYT crossword. That was exactly my experience, down to the "ice" and the "shyer." 

I have a long streak of finishing all the NYT crosswords, and I thought today was the day I'd have to break it. I made it in the end, though. Damned Thursdays. My favorites are Fridays. So, move on...