the only one I would actively seek out is Bugs. Aye Davanita is a nice little instrumental but I don't usually feel the need to hear it. Pry. To is not an inappropriate introduction to Corduroy, although it isn't necessary either. I never want to listen to stupid mop, but I can see how it fits and what they wanted to do with it. and on occasion I can see why Angus has the appreciation for it that he does. It came on a random shuffle the other day and when you go into it fresh it can be powerful.


Plus I don't really think of stupid mop as a song. So the fact that I don't enjoy it doesn't matter as much. And it's at the end of the album so I can ignore it. I can always stop no code at present tense but it feels like cheating in a way skipping stupid mop doesn't. It's also 3 songs, where stupid mop is just one track (albeit a long one)

No he's not.

Honestly, there's not one thing I dislike about Vitalogy. Not one song I don't think is vital to the album. Not a single track that I skip.

I like the music to "Stupid Mop" as a kind of crackpot studio experiment, but those therapy session voice-overs ruin it for me.

Oy.

besides trying to be dismissive without actually having to make a point, what are you actually disagreeing with here?

I understand where Stip is coming from in not considering "Stupid Mop" a song. As "song" is technically a variant of "sing," the pedant in me always feels a tad disingenuous labeling unsung musical pieces (i.e. a noise collage) as such--I usually go for vaguer terms like "piece," "track," "composition," or even "tune," though that wouldn't really be applicable to "Stupid Mop" either. Which isn't to say the label automatically renders it a lesser piece of art, of course, just that I can understand it not occupying the same space in one's mind.

I've been listening to a few '93-'94 shows, and it's interesting how much of Vitalogy appeared at these shows, some of which were well over a year before the album's release. "Whipping" and "Better Man" even showed up at Slim's in May '93, which was even earlier. Especially considering how old we know "Better Man" is, and what we know about the lack of cooperative creativity in the band at this time, I tend to think that Vitalogy was a sort of "spare parts" album, and that those artsy interlude tracks might have been a way of corralling together a bunch of songs that weren't necessarily written to go together. With the exception of "Bugs," which may or may not be any good, but is still enough of a "song" to transcend the category that "Pry, To" and "Aye Davanita" belong to, I don't necessarily love any of those tracks on their own, but they do tie the songs together in their own strange way--it's less a "beautifully wrapped package" type thing and more a "held together with wads of chewing gum" type thing, but it's still part of what makes it tick. I understand finding them extraneous, and I kind of agree that they are, but I don't think the ten "songs" that make up Vitalogy would necessarily cohere terribly well without them.

Exasperated would be closer to the mood of the response than dismissive. And I know arguing opinions isn't worth much so I just said "Oy." I personally think it's ridiculous the way you dismiss the shit on Vitalogy and will write off No Code because of what I see as the exact same issues. They're all songs, not particularly worth much, and I'm Open and Mankind don't seem like they're supposed to be any more canonical than Bugs or Pry, To. So how those 2 detract from your listening experience and Stupid Mop and the like don't is some strange bit of psychology that doesn't stand in my way of loving what came before on No Code.

But like I said it's opinions and preferences, therefore I didn't think it was worth it, as well as you also mentioning you enjoyed No Code regardless.

I'm not trying to be a brat or whatever, but can someone explain to me what makes Aye Davanita (and Bugs, for that matter) any less of a song than Last Exit (or Satan's Bed, for that matter)?

I'll give you Pry, To only because it's a fragment. I'll disagree, but I'll still give it to you without a fight. Of course, Stupid Mop is it's own thing. I understand the reluctance to call that a song or whatever.

aren't we here to talk about our opinions and preferences? Whether or not it was your intention, comments like yours are dismissive. When people write something directed at you it is respectful to respond. If you have nothing to add then something like fair enough is certainly preferable to oy, which indicates that 'I disagree, find your opinion foolish, and don't deem it worth my time to respond to you.'

TL,DR is also a pet peeve of mine.