Jeez, is no one going to defend this album? Aren't there any true blue PJ fans on the site? The album is certainly not perfect, and I could certainly do without something generic like Satan's Bed, but it's far more than an EP. You could make the greatest single album ever out of The White Album but it's not worth losing all the little musical experiments.
Every song on an album doesn't have to be a single. While I wouldn't just call up Pry, To for an individual listen, it contributes to the overall ebb and flow of the entire recording. I'm amazed that instead of praising Pearl Jam for trying new things and trying to break out of the grunge mold, they get criticized for not having enough songs that are radio-worthy. That's bullshit. I LOVE hearing Aye Davanita. And people accuse Vedder of taking himself too seriously yet begrudge him Bugs. Doesn't bother me. And Whipping may not be a fantastic song musically, but it's about the guy who shot someone at an abortion clinic and carries a lot of thematic weight.
The most important thing though, is defending Stupid Mop, which is just brilliant to me. It's like Revolution #9, which many Beatles fans despise, but it shows the artist using the studio to forge something outside the normal boundaries of what we would call a song. Let's not forget that much of this album was inspired by or a reaction to the suicide of Kurt Cobain, which affected the band enormously, Vedder most of all as he was put in a similar position by the media. The recordings of the woman talking about suicide are chilling, and if you can't respect what the band was trying to do here that's unfortunate. The album ends with the woman admitting that she has thought about killing herself, and is extremely powerful.
Don't even get me started on No Code, which is in my opinion one of the best albums of the 90's.