Editing Wowee Zowee (section)

==Background and recording==
''Wowee Zowee'' is the follow-up to [[Pavement (band)|Pavement]]'s acclaimed second studio album ''[[Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain]]'', which was released in February 1994 and ranked No. 2 in ''[[The Village Voice]]''{{'}}s [[Pazz & Jop]] critics' poll.<ref name="Matador Pavement"/><ref name="1994 Pazz & Jop"/> Although the band was starting to get some attention from the mainstream press, they were not interested in signing to a major label.<ref name="Pavement Story"/> Eight months after the release of their second album, having toured non-stop for two years, Pavement decided to record their next album at [[Easley McCain Recording|Easley Recording]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].<ref name="Bryan Charles 30"/> Singer and guitarist [[Stephen Malkmus]], percussionist [[Bob Nastanovich]], and drummer [[Steve West (musician)|Steve West]] were familiar with the place because they had already worked on [[Silver Jews]]' 1994 album ''[[Starlite Walker]]'' there.<ref name="Bryan Charles 30"/> Unlike previous Pavement albums, ''Wowee Zowee'' was recorded with all five members in attendance.<ref name="Online Daily"/>

Although the recording sessions only lasted from November 14 to 24, 1994,<ref name="Liner notes"/> Pavement recorded many songs. Some were [[outtake]]s from ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' that were re-recorded with better equipment, while others had already been part of the band's setlist for a year.<ref name="Bryan Charles 30"/> Singer and guitarist [[Scott Kannberg]] also wrote a few songs. Previously, he would occasionally write some pieces for Malkmus to sing, but Malkmus encouraged him to sing his own songs this time.<ref name="Pavement Story"/> The recording sessions, which typically started at noon and ended by 10pm,<ref name="Pavement Story"/> were very spontaneous.<ref name="Online Daily"/> According to Malkmus, "it was just sprawl, just do whatever you want, and don't worry about it fitting together. The less it fits together, the better."<ref name="Online Daily"/> Pavement really enjoyed Memphis' relaxed vibe, and would often go out in between sessions to eat at barbecues and drink beer. When the recording sessions concluded, the band [[Audio mixing|mixed]] and [[Overdubbing|overdubbed]] the tracks at Random Falls in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] in February 10–14, 1995,<ref name="Liner notes"/> the same studio where they had recorded ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain''.<ref name="Bryan Charles 30"/>

''Wowee Zowee'' is the only Pavement album that was entirely sequenced by Malkmus.<ref name="Spiral ranks albums"/> The band ended up with more than 20 songs to choose from and originally considered the possibility of putting them all on a record.<ref name="Pavement Story"/> Kannberg, who had sequenced their previous albums, preferred a cohesive set of roughly 10 songs that would flow together, but Malkmus was keen to include songs that were considered [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]] by the band.<ref name="Spiral ranks albums"/> Ultimately, a total of 18 songs were included on the album, filling three sides of a [[Phonograph record|vinyl record]]. Side four was left blank, with an empty [[thought bubble]] printed on the label.<ref name="Bryan Charles 30"/> At nearly one hour long, ''Wowee Zowee'' is Pavement's longest studio album.<ref name="Musicians remember"/> Malkmus explained that, in his mind, everything made sense. He also described the opening track, "We Dance", as "a little [[torch song]] thing", and felt that the track would work as a good introduction to the album because it would show that the band was doing something different.<ref name="Malkmus in 15 songs"/>