Forum menu
Fact checking in po...
 

Fact checking in popular songs.

Posts: 12336
Full Member
 

"No no, no, no no no, no, no no no, there's no limit"

Well there is, and it's 20 everywhere nowadays.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 12:31 am
Posts: 15692
Free Member
 

Nah, they were definitely alive when they were singing "stayin' alive".

It can be easily fact checked.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 12:31 am
Posts: 7561
Free Member
 

Whilst the British variant of the original French TV show debuted in 1965 under a different name (Des chiffres et des lettres), by 1986 Countdown was four years old. Since then have been very many countdowns. In fact, given changes in formats, spin-offs and overseas variants, I would suggest there have been countless countdowns in the intervening period.

Europe - you were very much wrong.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 12:52 am
Posts: 7128
Free Member
 

The barbers was in Smithdown Place not Penny Lane.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 9:20 am
Posts: 12369
Full Member
 

Ducks don't really groove about and have fun in the sun, unless you feed them a bit more than just a plain old bun.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 4:52 pm
Posts: 5909
Free Member
 

‘Buy a house in Devon/Drink cider from a lemon’.

I mean, it [i]is[/i] possible to drink cider from a lemon, but not very practical.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 4:57 pm
Posts: 13349
Free Member
 

drink cider from a lemon, but not very practical.

Depends on the size of the lemon really. Something water-melon sized would be a good vessel. Something plum sized not so good.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 9:55 pm
Posts: 2616
Free Member
 

Michael Jackson charted in 1978 with ‘blame it on the boogie’.

In the song, he remarked how he “just can’t control his feet”.

His feet were the least of our concerns.


 
Posted : 20/03/2023 10:00 pm
 irc
Posts: 5332
Free Member
 

Did the lights all go out in Massachusetts?

Yes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_1965


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 2:03 am
Posts: 33970
Full Member
 

a lycanthropic cat

Not possible.
<div class="module__title">lycanthrope</div>
<div class="module--definitions__audio">
<div class="play-btn js-play-btn" data-url="/audio/?u=https%3A%2F%2Faudio.wordnik.com%2F38112.mp3%3FExpires%3D1679366219%26Key-Pair-Id%3DAPKAIHXX6B6C37D2VKVA%26Signature%3DiAb~7Mvi2TypVf~9nlcn3kq~7h6URHNPf8Affij0GoCUCifZqqda3wWN4EW2p04X25mhS73qBC24NdNnvOhzH8q6ZzmtjYMJekPBv1iDwnY4tvFHGdE0ApRaKcAmDJQLmtEPVqGn~YaMqoD7YgqaRxfMF2u~Jom1XkNfyWl4wwNzmDAy9O999vuXm~Oj0HHJ8zG925O9UBpiPe4btro~coVSvbgqSGkQmxcVSJPc8b~GDVXdfPljqk5w5Isy5i-DKKO84cHk1cfXy8g6GxocPWdtYOK-9l8AzLPdIFxl18hHv4L2GK4gflq-mdJLm6SdefmnWdQ~WyJ2jYT~bmL8tw__"></div>
<span class="module--definitions__pronunciation js-definitions-pronunciation">lī′kən-thrōp″, lī-kăn′-</span></div>
<div class="module--definitions__collapsed-group">
<h3 class="module--definitions__part-of-speech">noun</h3>

    <li style="list-style-type: none;">

      <li class="module--definitions__definition">A werewolf.

<li class="module--definitions__definition">A person affected with lycanthropy.

<li class="module--definitions__definition">A man superstitiously supposed to be possessed of the power of transforming himself at pleasure into a wolf, and to be endowed while in that shape with its savage propensities; a were-wolf.

</div>

Edit/

Sorry, but I’m just not going to try to edit that complete cluster**** piece of crappy formatting. I thought that had all been sorted out!


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 3:29 am
Posts: 33187
Full Member
 

I'm sorry, Fountains of Wayne, but you've spent too long on Pronhub and it's never gonna happen.


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 7:46 am
Posts: 7839
Full Member
 

Well, it would appear no night is alright for fighting.


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 8:02 am
Posts: 24854
Free Member
 

In the archive footage I've seen of Nancy Sinatra, those boots weren't made for walking. They'd need a substantially lower heel, more tread and a degree more ankle support.

I'd warrant those boots were made for something, but it ain't walking.


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 8:16 am
Posts: 9231
Full Member
 

I suspect that Beijing has more than 9 million bikes within the city limits.

I have often challenged that this cannot be “a fact - a thing you cannot change.” Surely a theft of one bicycle would make it 8,999,999 bicycles. Katie Melua didn’t respond to my query and has not done so in intervening years.

I doubt that within Beijing the net change in bicycles is in the order of 1. I also doubted that a bicycle census was even possible or that a reconciliation would be practical.

Therefore I contended and still contend that Katie had no idea of the number of bicycles in Beijing or how it could change. I also doubt she defined what a bicycle would consist of a complete machine or whether a complete set of components - sufficient to make a bicycle would be counted.

Therefore, I doubt the accuracy of her statement and her ability to make an accurate assessment.


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 5:14 pm
tthew reacted
Posts: 46086
Free Member
 

Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky.

It was 6:05pm.


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 5:24 pm
Posts: 15692
Free Member
 

Surely a theft of one bicycle would make it 8,999,999 bicycles.

No it wouldn't. There could still be 9 million bicycles in Beijing, legal ownership does not guarantee geographical location.

Plus as I pointed out earlier there were considerable more than just 9 million bicycles in Beijing when Katie Melua made the claim. There were in fact 9 million bicycles plus hundreds of thousands more bicycles.

https://discerningcyclist.com/how-many-bicycles-in-beijing/

Katie Melua makes it clear. There are nine million bicycles in Beijing. That's a fact. It's a thing we can't deny.

Where she isn't quite so sure she also makes that clear...... We are twelve billion light years from the edge. That's a guess. No-one can ever say it's true.


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 5:30 pm
Posts: 9231
Full Member
 

Sorry Ernie, by theft I meant theft and subsequent removal from Beijing!


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 5:56 pm
Posts: 9231
Full Member
 

Also, if there were more than 9 million bicycles in Beijing, should Katie not have said: “There’s at least 9 million bicycles in Beijing, more in fact.”


 
Posted : 21/03/2023 5:58 pm
Posts: 24854
Free Member
 

catching up on old theads

So by that token saying there's 3 people in a string quartet is an actual fact?


 
Posted : 24/03/2023 6:25 pm
Posts: 238
Full Member
 

Kilimanjaro is no where near the Serengeti, despite what Toto might tell you.*

*Stolen from Bill Bailey.


 
Posted : 24/03/2023 10:47 pm
Posts: 33970
Full Member
 

As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti

I hate that lyric line! 😖


 
Posted : 26/03/2023 11:23 pm
Posts: 263
Full Member
 

Only a subset of all the ducks are swimming in the water

I have evidence.


 
Posted : 26/03/2023 11:57 pm
mattyfez and reeksy reacted
Posts: 5154
Full Member
 

according to google maps it's 400km from Kili to the edge of the Serengeti national park - so although not part of the park, and not visible, at least Toto are in the right country...


 
Posted : 27/03/2023 3:17 pm
Posts: 449
Full Member
 

An army made up of seven different nations couldn't hold one person back....I'm not buying it.


 
Posted : 27/03/2023 3:26 pm
Posts: 15692
Free Member
 

at least Toto are in the right country…

Not really. The song claims "rises like Olympus above the Serengeti."

Olympus is in Greece, not even the right the right continent.


 
Posted : 27/03/2023 5:20 pm
Posts: 7561
Free Member
 

I think that proves just how big it appears to be.


 
Posted : 28/03/2023 6:07 am
Posts: 2616
Free Member
 

Laibach (and think of England), famously smashed into the pop charts with ‘Life is Life’.

Taking into account, time off for good behaviour, and only 1% of criminals actually spend their entire life in prison.


 
Posted : 28/03/2023 6:20 am
Posts: 12369
Full Member
 

If you shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, you'd be in prison in Nevada, not California. Also, someone stuck in Folsom prison would be unlikely to hear a train that's rolling down to San Antonio in Texas.


 
Posted : 28/03/2023 6:39 am
Posts: 7561
Free Member
 

Well, it would appear no night is alright for fighting

As it happens that song was written about the Market Rasen pub, the Aston Arms. Bernie spent a bit of time there as a teenager and apparently it was quite the place for fighting. Having played for the local school rugby team and the Louth and Market Rasen RUFC many years later, we were made aware of this fact.


 
Posted : 28/03/2023 6:43 am
Posts: 519
Free Member
 

If you shot a man in Reno just to watch him die

That reminds me.

If looks could kill, you would NOT be lying on the floor, begging me please please please, don't hurt me no more!
You'd be dead.

Heart are probably thinking of "if looks were very, verypainful".


 
Posted : 29/03/2023 11:52 pm
Posts: 7561
Free Member
 

If looks could kill, you would NOT be lying on the floor, begging me please please please, don’t hurt me no more!
You’d be dead.

But it says could not would. Crocodiles can kill, but they don't always. Perhaps it depends on how you wield the looks. They could be positioned along a spectrum - on which may be death... or maybe in more extreme circumstances the destruction of the universe.


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 1:05 am
Posts: 12369
Full Member
 

But it says could not would. Crocodiles can kill, but they don’t always. Perhaps it depends on how you wield the looks.

Sure, but they always try to, some of them are just incompetent. Probably due to bad parenting. If your superpower was having looks that can kill, you should be able to maintain a 100% kill rate, all you have to do is look at someone, after all. If you just pissed around trying to maim someone, you're not the kind of disciplined professional that would be chosen to be granted that superpower in the first place.


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 2:07 am
tthew reacted
Posts: 78469
Full Member
 

By that logic, if looks could kill, it's totally possible that you're just as incompetent as your crap crocodile.


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 2:16 am
Posts: 7561
Free Member
 

as incompetent as your crap crocodile.

Au contraire ... my crocodile is a finely honed reptilian assassin. It's just I've got all the moves. And the gaffa tape. When you've trained them yourself you also know their weaknesses.

If your superpower was having looks that can kill, you should be able to maintain a 100% kill rate

Looks can be used as a strategic deterrent - just like nuclear weapons. The most successful lookers have a substantial stockpile of looks ready to be deployed if geopolitical incidents demand such a response.


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 3:20 am
 irc
Posts: 5332
Free Member
 

thols2
Full Member

If you shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, you’d be in prison in Nevada, not California. Also, someone stuck in Folsom prison would be unlikely to hear a train that’s rolling down to San Antonio in Texas.

In defence of Mr Cash I suspect his train was rolling on down to San Antonia, California a district just east of San Francisco.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio,_Oakland,_California

https://www.caltrain.com/station/sanantonio


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 12:34 pm
Posts: 91168
Free Member
 

Looks can be used as a strategic deterrent

They certainly are in our house.

If you shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, you’d be in prison in Nevada, not California

But is that the crime for which he is serving time in the song?


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 12:42 pm
Posts: 3332
Full Member
 

I'm puttin' on my top hat,
Tyin' up my white tie,
Brushin' off my tails.
I'm dudin' up my shirt front,
Puttin' in the shirt studs,

Won't the shirt front and studs will be sorted before tying up the tie and the hat be the last item to be put in place as one departs a building?


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 12:52 pm
leffeboy reacted
Posts: 2304
Full Member
 

Kilimanjaro is higher than the Serengeti*, right?
So is Olympus*.

Therefore technically correct - they both rise above it, visible or not. They also rise above, um, Norfolk. You're just assuming they have to be close together.

* (Assumed, cos they're mountains. Not fact checked)


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 12:53 pm
Posts: 8414
Free Member
 

Won’t the shirt front and studs will be sorted before tying up the tie and the hat be the last item to be put in place as one departs a building?

You've never met anyone who wears a hat everywhere? Never takes it it off, even when in the office or in their house, possibly even in the bath. These days it tends to be beany-type hats but I'm guessing that people did the same with top hats, flat caps, those big Japanese basket type hats...


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 12:58 pm
Posts: 2622
Full Member
 

If Guitar George knows all the chords then how many chords does he know? Is there not potentially an almost infinite number of possible chords, albeit with many of them being horrifically dissonant and/or physically impossible for a human to play on a guitar.


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 1:23 pm
Posts: 3874
Full Member
 

according to google maps it’s 400km from Kili to the edge of the Serengeti national park – so although not part of the park, and not visible, at least Toto are in the right country…

SO if we break this down logically we might be able to put it to bed.

I think what Toto were trying to say was

"Just like Kilimanjaro rises over the Serengeti in exactly the same way that Olympus rises over the Serengeti,
Because you can't see Kilimanjaro rising if you were to be standing somewhere in or on the Serengeti 'cos it's 400km away.
In exactly the same way as you'd be unable to see Olympus rising 'cos it's actually on a different continent"

So, actually, Toto were right.

I'm not sure it scans quite as eloquently as the original, but it would help to appease any Geographically-minded pedants listening to it several decades later.


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 1:26 pm
Posts: 3332
Full Member
 

So, actually, Toto were right.

Still a crap song, anyway!


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 1:30 pm
Posts: 7441
Full Member
 

If you're still finding the opportunity to listen to Toto's 41 year old piece of MOR blandness, I think you need to check your listening options rather than the lyric of aforementioned song 😛


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 1:34 pm
Posts: 8414
Free Member
 

If Guitar George knows all the chords then how many chords does he know?

Possibly just the 7 needed to play the song. He may have to check the chords needed for the next song. (But he's strictly rhythm so doesn't need to bother checking what key it's in.)

More importantly where is London town?


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 1:44 pm
Posts: 7441
Full Member
 

Where, and which faraway towns is it calling? Can London use the phone? I mean it was 1979, so couldn't email towns a long way away. How far is faraway?


 
Posted : 30/03/2023 2:01 pm
Page 5 / 8