Both of these tracks are solid arguments for Zeb's theory that track four is the most important on the album. Washing Machine (Sonic Youth) starts off as an almost punky, left of center groove before spiraling into oblivion and ushering in the crazy trip that is the rest of the album.

Winter's Love (Animal Collective) sets a real campfire mood on Sung Tongs, allowing you to get cozy while you ride the rest of the album out. It's all sorts of cozy and friendly, and the album wouldn't be the same without it.

Both tracks are great in their own way and i am glad they exist.

Track four on SK's The Woods is Jumpers.

is that good or bad? I've never heard any sleater-kinney.

Reid, are you fucking fucking fucking serious today?

As a w4 form. Honestly.

but Echoes is the 6th song on Meddle

It's really good.

Most important or just really f'n awesome and the album should never ever exist without the song?

Who the fuck are you?

Hard to tell in this case. I really think that Washing Machine is like a portal to the rest of the album, or rather, a perfect transition to the weirdness of what is to follow. However, I think that The Diamond Sea as a closer is pretty important, and almost certainly what everyone thinks about when they think of the album.

Regardless, really important it seems. I can think of a few albums like that.

Echoes IS Meddle.

Well, you could spare some room in that hyperbole to include One Of These Days, couldn't you?

After those two it drops off pretty severe

Yeah, what's up with that?

I actually wouldn't mind if PF were somehow able to make the openers/closers for Meddle and Atom Heart Mother into a coherent album while taking the middle tracks from both if those and making an ep or something out of it. I like the tracks for their quiet, dreamy vibe, but they are pretty inferior.

This is crazy talk. Fearless and A Pillow of Winds are both great songs. I think they are integral to setting framework that really lets Echoes come to life and fit that album so perfectly. San Tropez and the barking dog song are a bit lame, sure -- but there are still songs beyond One of the Days and Echoes on that album that are classic.

Would you put either of those songs on a one disc best of Pink Floyd?

No? Guess you have a very loose definition of classic.

I actually would pick Fearless over One of these Days. More importantly though, my classifying those songs as classics has more to do with how well they set the stage on Meddle for Echoes. They are great songs in context, and make for what I consider an amazing collection of songs on a wonderful album. So, even if I were to exclude them from a hypothetical "1 disc best-of" (which again, is debatable for Fearless), they are still essential to Meddle, and are not, to my ears, inferior.

Fair enough?