diff --git a/beets/util/confit.py b/beets/util/confit.py
index aa49f6f12..38b9d3428 100644
--- a/beets/util/confit.py
+++ b/beets/util/confit.py
@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@ REDACTED_TOMBSTONE = 'REDACTED'
 # Utilities.
 
 PY3 = sys.version_info[0] == 3
-STRING = str if PY3 else unicode
-BASESTRING = str if PY3 else basestring
-NUMERIC_TYPES = (int, float) if PY3 else (int, float, long)
+STRING = str if PY3 else unicode  # noqa
+BASESTRING = str if PY3 else basestring  # noqa
+NUMERIC_TYPES = (int, float) if PY3 else (int, float, long)  # noqa
 
 
 def iter_first(sequence):