Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

033 (feat. Jeff Blehar): Pavement - Wowee Zowee (1995)

“A lot of my friends like this Pavement album the best. For instance, it blew Christoff’s mind. But wait, I think he was tripping. How’s that for an endorsement?”

—Stephen Malkmus

This week on Discord & Rhyme, we strap in for another ride through ’90s indie rock as we discuss Pavement’s beautifully messy third album, Wowee Zowee. Released right as the band was positioned for a possible mainstream breakout, this sprawling, stylistic tour de force was apparently the last thing MTV’s Buzz Bin was looking for in 1995. Over the years, however, fans and critics have come around to the album’s wild, unpredictable twists and turns through gorgeous soundscapes, tossed-off blasts of punk fuzz, country-rock ballads, big power-pop hooks, and stoned weirdness. Special guest (and fellow music podcaster himself) Jeff Blehar joins Dan, Phil, and Rich for a deep dive into Pavement’s eclectic masterpiece.

Miscellany

  • Jeff Blehar is a longtime colleague from the Discord & Rhyme hosts’ days geeking out over music on Web 1.0, and we’re excited to have him on. Jeff co-hosts the discography dive podcast Political Beats, which was a huge influence on our own show getting up and running.

  • The episode intro is a spoof of “Wowie Zowie” by the Mothers of Invention, with vocals and lyrics by our own Producer Mike. Stay tuned, because we have Zappa on our extended schedule!

  • The album title is actually an affectionate nod to the band’s former drummer Gary Young, who would say “wowee zowee” whenever he found something amazing. 

  • The album cover is an abstract painting by artist Steve Keene based on a photo originally published in a 1972 edition of Life Magazine seen here. Yes, that is a goat on the cover, not a dog. 

  • In the episode, we mention our friend and mentor Mark Prindle, who actually briefly appears in Pavement’s Slow Century DVD interviewing Scott Kannberg and Mark Ibold.

Other links

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call

  • Dan Watkins (host)

  • Phil Maddox (moderator)

  • Rich Bunnell

  • Jeff Blehar (special guest)

  • Mike DeFabio (intro)

Wowee Zowee tracklist

  1. We Dance

  2. Rattled by the Rush

  3. Black Out

  4. Brinx Job

  5. Grounded

  6. Serpentine Pad

  7. Motion Suggests

  8. Father to a Sister of Thought

  9. Extradition

  10. Best Friend’s Arm

  11. Grave Architecture

  12. AT&T

  13. Flux = Rad

  14. Fight This Generation

  15. Kennel District

  16. Pueblo

  17. Half a Canyon

  18. Western Homes

Other clips used

Pavement:

  • Cut Your Hair

  • Stereo

  • Summer Babe (Winter Version)

Others:

  • The Mothers of Invention - Wowie Zowie

  • Gary Young - Plantman

  • Led Zeppelin - Dancing Days

  • Blur - Country Sad Ballad Man

  • The Mothers of Invention - Ian Underwood Whips It Out

Songs we mentioned but didn’t clip

Pavement:

  • Conduit for Sale!

  • No Life Singed Her

  • Gold Soundz

  • Fillmore Jive

  • Range Life

  • Heaven Is a Truck

  • Zurich Is Stained

  • Spit on a Stranger

  • Date with Ikea

  • In the Mouth a Desert

  • Painted Soldiers

  • Hit the Plane Down

  • Muscle Rock Is a Horse in Transition

  • Silence Kit

  • No More Kings

Others:

  • Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

  • Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire

  • David Bowie - Space Oddity

  • The Beach Boys - Transcendental Meditation

  • Ween - Bumblebee

  • Ween - I Gots a Weasel

  • Ween - Push Th' Lil' Daisies

  • The Grateful Dead - Dire Wolf

  • CSNY - Teach Your Children

  • Ween - Piss Up a Rope

  • Beatles - Rocky Raccoon

  • Beatles - Don't Pass Me By

  • Neil Young - Rapid Transit

  • Blur - To the End

  • The Moody Blues - In the Beginning

  • The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again

  • Replacements - Bastards of Young

  • Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot

  • My Morning Jacket - Wordless Chorus

  • The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit

  • Pink Floyd - Careful with That Axe, Eugene

  • Ween - Puffy Cloud

  • The Beatles - Her Majesty

  • Velvet Underground - What Goes On

Band/album personnel

  • Stephen Malkmus - vocals, guitar

  • Bob Nastanovich - percussion, vocals

  • Scott Kannberg - vocals, guitar

  • Steve West - drums, percussion

  • Mark Ibold - bass

Credits

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • Pavement - Kennel District (this episode only)

You can buy or stream Wowee Zowee and other albums by Pavement at the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon [affiliate link]. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Follow Rich @zonetrope, Phil @pamaddox, Dan @DanSWatkins, and Jeff @EsotericCD. Editing is by Rich, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for his production skills. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.

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