# Lyrics with a flaw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597 "2015-04-13T21:15:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/81 "2015-04-15T00:35:38Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > There can’t be degrees of unique. You can sometimes modify unique, and I once left a teacher speechless by saying “What about _almost_ unique”? But it can’t take a modifies of degree. When people say “Really unique,” want the should say is "Unique in a startling or unintuitive way. All numbers are unique, for example, but 2 is unique beyond just being the only number with a value of 2: it’s the only even prime number, something that requires special explanation when teaching prime numbers to third graders. Rather than type up a new response, I’ll just search and copy one I’ve posted before: This is a point that gets SDMB argued every six months or so. There are varying degrees of uniqueness: a response can be unique within a group (“Susan had a unique answer to our little riddle”) , while not completely without precedent. So I’ve got no problem with “completely unique”,“absolutely unique” or “totally unique”. “Very unique” is more troublesome, but not invariably ridiculous. F’rinstance: “Susan, Mikey, and Sam all had interesting, original solutions to the problem, while Michelle offered the very unique answer that the hippo could be caught using 200 remote controlled helicopters.” While all four answers were unique within the group, Michelle’s answer would probably be unique within the entire state… while still not necessarily being unique throughout the history of the world. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/82 "2015-04-15T01:30:47Z")
From “Lowlife” by Theory of a Deadman: “I’ve got an '82 Fiero with a car seat in the middle Broken down on the Interstate” Fieros were sold as '84 to '88 models. There were never any '82 Fieros. ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/83 "2015-04-15T02:09:14Z")
_What makes you beautiful_ by 1 Direction. I didn’t care for the song enough to discover a flaw in it, but it’s hilarious once pointed out. Here’s Stephen Colbert’s masterful analysis of the song, featuring infinite fractal recursions, no less: [That's the kind of family I want! Except the sister. - LolSnaps](http://lolsnaps.com/upload_pic/StephenColbertOnTheComplexityOfOneDirectionsLyrics-92340.png) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/84 "2015-04-15T02:53:38Z")
Moody Blues “Tuesday Afternoon” The trees are drawing me near I’ve got to find out why Those gentle voices I hear Explain it all with a sigh Huh? What does that mean? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/85 "2015-04-15T10:31:27Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Moody Blues “Tuesday Afternoon” > > The trees are drawing me near > I’ve got to find out why > Those gentle voices I hear > Explain it all with a sigh > > Huh? What does that mean? It means that if you’re not listening to the _Days of Future Passed_ album while completely baked, you’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/86 "2015-04-15T10:49:32Z")
Does that sync up with the Xmen comic or movie in any noticeable way? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/87 "2015-04-15T12:06:13Z")
> [@Teach-me-not](#): > > _What makes you beautiful_ by 1 Direction. I didn’t care for the song enough to discover a flaw in it, but it’s hilarious once pointed out. > > Here’s Stephen Colbert’s masterful analysis of the song, featuring infinite fractal recursions, no less: [That's the kind of family I want! Except the sister. - LolSnaps](http://lolsnaps.com/upload_pic/StephenColbertOnTheComplexityOfOneDirectionsLyrics-92340.png) Your link no work for me. Does his analysis include the stupidity of the line “…the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed?” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/88 "2015-04-15T13:57:42Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > All numbers are unique, for example, but 2 is unique beyond just being the only number with a value of 2: it’s the only even prime number, something that requires special explanation when teaching prime numbers to third graders. I don’t see what’s so uniquely unique about that. “Even” just means divisible by 2. 2 is the only prime number that’s divisible by 2; 3 is the only prime number that’s divisible by 3; 5 is the only prime number that’s divisible by 5; etc. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/89 "2015-04-15T16:23:20Z")
Pink Floyd’s “Learning to Fly” ([lyric site](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pinkfloyd/learningtofly.html)) is a start to finish wall of trite clunky rhyme and meter. It parses like a TV commercial jingle. I love you Dave, really, but whatever junior high school peechee you found this scrawled in was better left in the hallway locker. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/90 "2015-04-15T18:40:32Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > Is this the published lyrics? It’s not the most distinct, but I can’t hear anything other than “Charybdis”. You’re right…I haven’t listened to the song in years but I just rechecked and he does sing “kar-ib-dis”. Don’t know why I always heard it as “kar-bi-dis”. Still not a great rhyme with “apprentice”, and as Just Asking points out, over-the-top for rock/pop. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/91 "2015-04-15T19:38:58Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > You’re right…I haven’t listened to the song in years but I just rechecked and he does sing “kar-ib-dis”. Don’t know why I always heard it as “kar-bi-dis”. Still not a great rhyme with “apprentice”, and as Just Asking points out, over-the-top for rock/pop. Ah, I missed what you were talking about. It’s not the words you’re questioning, but the pronunciation. I got thrown because I don’t hear the real words at all. I hear (approximately) “caught between the silver and car age.” I had to look the real lyrics up. Then I really hated the line! Smart assed show off… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/92 "2015-04-15T20:05:55Z")
Many songs by Train. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/93 "2015-04-15T20:16:36Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > Many songs by Train. Which one? You mean the one about his heart beating right out of his _unshaved chest?_ The lipstick stains on the front side of his left side brain? His fake excuse about his girlfriend having been run over by a crappy purple Scion? Where to start? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/94 "2015-04-15T20:18:54Z")
double post ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/95 "2015-04-15T21:02:32Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Ah, I missed what you were talking about. It’s not the words you’re questioning, but the pronunciation. > > I got thrown because I don’t hear the real words at all. I hear (approximately) “caught between the silver and car age.” I had to look the real lyrics up. Then I really hated the line! Smart assed show off… 🙂 Can’t agree with you here. Admittedly, the use of Scylla and Charybdis is slightly pretentious, but the song’s imagery is that of an apprentice rebelling against a master magician. Inclusion of not particularly obscure references from classical fantasy seems appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/96 "2015-04-16T13:06:11Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Can’t agree with you here. Admittedly, the use of Scylla and Charybdis is slightly pretentious, but the song’s imagery is that of an apprentice rebelling against a master magician. Inclusion of not particularly obscure references from classical fantasy seems appropriate. I agree. That song was the first time I heard the phrase “between Scylla and Charybdis” (I remember Casey Kasem explaining what it meant during “American Top 40” :)), and I kind of appreciated learning it. Congratulations, Sting, you taught me something! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/97 "2015-04-16T13:23:13Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I agree. That song was the first time I heard the phrase “between Scylla and Charybdis” (I remember Casey Kasem explaining what it meant during “American Top 40” :)), and I kind of appreciated learning it. Congratulations, Sting, you taught me something! Me three. I’d bet there are a lot of people that were introduced to the myth via this song. I always kind of giggle when people dis Sting for being pretentious. Can’t it be that he’s just actually very intelligent and his style is a little deeper than most other lyricists? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/98 "2015-04-16T14:00:24Z")
I love the song Bette Davis Eyes (“pure as New York snow”) except I always shudder at the lines: She’s precocious and she knows just What it takes to make a pro blush A tiny part of my soul curls up and dies every time I hear “precocious/knows just/pro blush.” If they couldn’t come up with something better than that, they should have ditched “precocious” and found something easier to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/99 "2015-04-16T15:14:23Z")
I thought it was “make a crow blush.” ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/100 "2015-04-16T16:43:50Z")
[QUOTE=Paul Simon, Kodachrome] Everything looks worse in black-and-white. [/QUOTE] …um, no, Paul, no it doesn’t. Quite the opposite. (In all fairness, the lyric works with the song - it just sacrifices its own integrity for the greater good. Or something.) (Also, the last time I saw him in concert, he sang it as, “Everything looks BETTER in black-and-white” - which drew a big cheer from the crowd.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597.md?page=6)