Grace Caputo
Iron Quill
Bizarre in all the right ways, Pavement made a good decision in re-issuing their third album as Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition. This style of 90’s lo-fi rock should not be forgotten, as it is so different from anything being done today.

Formed in 1989, Pavement is made up of Mark Ibold, Scott Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, and Steve West. Malkmus is mostly responsible for the lyrical oddities and peculiar subject matter found in their songs. Pavement had some disagreements with bands like the Stone Temple Pilots and the Smashing Pumpkins after the song “Range Life” was released. In the song, Malkmus insults both bands. This feud only helped Pavement by giving them some much-needed publicity.

Their first albums, Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, were only mild successes as far as achieving fame goes, but earned the band a large cult following. Their third release, Wowee Zowee, continued the Pavement legacy: it was well liked by Pavement fans, but did not catch on in the mainstream crowd.

This re-issue of Wowee Zowee is a two-disc set. The first disc includes all of the original album songs, while the second contains B-sides, live performances, and previously unreleased tracks. Also packaged with the CDs is a 64-page insert that is filled with photos, art, and the band members’ thoughts about the album.

Disc One has a number of classic Pavement hits, such as “Rattled By the Rush” and “Fight This Generation”. Although they are all the original releases, they are anything but overproduced-sounding. They have a somewhat candid feel, as if spliced together from a band practice recording. Each song is quite different from the last because of this; one by one they ride on Malkmus’ mood at the given moment.

Disc Two is the real gem of the set. Containing 21 tracks, there is plenty to listen to. My favorite song on the entire album is “No More Kings”. This song, originally a “Schoolhouse Rock” song, is based on the Revolutionary War. I laughed when I heard it because I had just been studying about taxation without representation in Mr. Scott Backus’ class, and suddenly from my stereo came the lyrics “He even has the nerve to tax our cup of tea/ To put it kindly, King we really don’t agree.”

A few songs like “We Dance” are included on the second disc twice, with different live versions. The tracks range from a sort of mellow droning to high tempo yelling, but all come together nicely into a fantastic two and a half hours music.

Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition is an excellent crash course for anyone new to Pavement. If you enjoy this album, be sure to purchase other Pavement albums for many more classic songs.