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Yet Alanis is far from dumb, and a case-by-case nitpicking of the lines is as micro as Socrates playing devil’s advocate in response to every little thing his students say, while the song is operating at a macro or meta level more akin to Aristotle’s notion of infinite regress.

For example, they are allowed to make an educational point by playing devil’s advocate in a class debate on contemporary American politics.

But I'll indulge in a moment of playing devil's advocate.

But just to play devil’s advocate: I could see a world where the academy awards Swift for “Anti-Hero,” largely because I’m not so confident “Midnights” will get shine — but it seems to me that Monét will win.

On “Devil’s Advocate” from the recently released album “sneek,” Gallant’s lilting croon ushers in Martin’s smooth sax while a sound like a banshee’s lullaby flurries in the upper register — in a good way.