The new expanded reissue of Pavement's Wowee Zowee is enormous fun and well worth repeated listens. I had previously under-rated this album relative to Pavement's previous two and next one (Slanted & Enchanted, Crooked Rain, Brighten the Corners). Favorite new track: the minute-long, bizarre "Candy Lad," a tag-on to a live track on Disk 2. "Dad, you're into some messed-up music," my older son told me as it played.
WZ was a huge disappointment. they were my favorite band and I felt like they were making crap music just so no one would like them anymore, as if they were afraid of success.
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand the widespread antipathy to Wowee Zowee; it's my favourite album (even though I love Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain). For me Brighten the Corners is the problematic album in Pavement's catalogue, am I the only person to think Shady Lane is a really, really rubbish song?. If you don't like Wowee Zowee you haven't listened enough to perceive the strange, perfect beauty.
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