Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is an album released by Pavement in 1994. With this album, the band abandoned the lo-fi sound displayed on Slanted and Enchanted (as well as their drummer, Gary Young). During the tour for Slanted, the band added percussionist Bob Nastanovich and bassist Mark Ibold; partway through this album's recording sessions, Gary Young was replaced by Steve West. The album featured the band at its most easily accessible, and the single "Cut Your Hair" was the band's closest brush with mainstream success. As of 2007, the album has sold almost 500,000 copies and was a UK Top 20 hit upon release. Although it was not so successful in the US charts, it has since been critically acclaimed across the US music press as a classic alternative rock album. The album was reissued on October 26, 2004 by Matador Records under the name Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins. Read more on Last.fm.

Wowee Zowee is the third studio album by Pavement. The album showcased a more experimental and spontaneous side of the group, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the classic rock vibe of 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. The cover art was painted by New York-based artist Steve Keene and resembles the cover of Guru Guru's 1972 album, "Känguru." Rolling Stone speculated that the relative success of their previous album (having sold 169,000 copies by this time[citation needed]) was a reason for this album's eclectic nature; the magazine's review claimed Pavement were afraid of success. Stephen Malkmus later refuted this, attributing the stylistic shift to excessive marijuana consumption. Rolling Stone voted Wowee Zowee the 12th Coolest Album of all time. The songs "Grounded," "Flux=Rad," "Pueblo," and "Kennel District" were originally written at the same time as the songs that became Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, and rough versions appear on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins disc 2. The album was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, with the exception of some tracks recorded at Random Falls, in NY. Read more on Last.fm.