Wowee Zowee is the third studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on April 11, 1995, by Matador Records. Most of it was recorded at Easley Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, where some members of the band had previously worked on Silver Jews' 1994 album Starlite Walker. The album showcases a more experimental side of the band, marking a return to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the more accessible sound of their 1994 studio album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Its eclectic nature ranges from mellow yet distorted melodies to noise and punk rock, while the lyrics generally explore humorous and cryptic themes. At nearly one hour long, Wowee Zowee is Pavement's longest studio album, filling three sides of a vinyl record. Side four was left blank.

Upon release, Wowee Zowee received mixed reviews from critics, being generally deemed as a sloppy effort in comparison to its acclaimed predecessor. However, some reviewers highlighted its adventurous style and Stephen Malkmus' lyricism. Two songs from the album, "Rattled by the Rush" and "Father to a Sister of Thought", were released as singles in 1995, but neither were successful. Despite being notable for ruining any opportunity Pavement had to capitalize on the success of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Wowee Zowee has retrospectively been reappraised in highly positive terms, with Rolling Stone including it in the magazine's 2020 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. A compilation containing the album in its entirety as well as B-sides and other rarities, titled Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition, was released in 2006.

Wowee Zowee is the follow-up to 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. Although the band was starting to get some attention from the mainstream press, they were not interested in signing to a major label. 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 Recording in Memphis, Tennessee. Singer and guitarist Stephen Malkmus, percussionist Bob Nastanovich, and drummer Steve West were familiar with the place because they had already worked on Silver Jews' 1994 album Starlite Walker there. Unlike previous Pavement albums, Wowee Zowee was recorded with all five members in attendance.

Although the recording sessions only lasted from November 14 to 24, 1994, Pavement recorded many songs. Some were outtakes 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. 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. The recording sessions, which typically started at noon and ended by 10pm, were very spontaneous. 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." 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 mixed and overdubbed the tracks at Random Falls in Manhattan, New York City in February 10–14, 1995, the same studio where they had recorded Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

Wowee Zowee is the only Pavement album that was entirely sequenced by Malkmus. The band ended up with more than 20 songs to choose from and originally considered the possibility of putting them all on a record. 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 B-sides by the band. Ultimately, a total of 18 songs were included on the album, filling three sides of a vinyl record. Side four was left blank, with an empty thought bubble printed on the label. At nearly one hour long, Wowee Zowee is Pavement's longest studio album. 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.

Wowee Zowee showcases a more experimental side of Pavement, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the more accessible sound of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Distortion and feedback are often combined with mellow melodies, resulting in many songs having unusual structures and disjointed musical styles. Noise rock is prevalent on some tracks, like "Serpentine Pad" and "Best Friends Arm", while "Flux = Rad" is a punk song that was described as reminiscent of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings". The opening track "We Dance" is a ballad that features acoustic guitars and piano, while "Father to a Sister of Thought" is a quasi-alternative country song that uses a pedal steel guitar. Malkmus played a Gibson SG with P-90 pickups on "Rattled by the Rush", which also features occasional harmonica at points. Due to higher production values, the album generally lacks the lo-fi aesthetic of its predecessors.

Most lyrics on Wowee Zowee explore humorous and cryptic themes. Although many songs give the impression that their lyrics are nonsensical, they can unpack a meaning on further inspection. For example, "Grounded", which suggests that something bad might happen after a doctor leaves for a routine holiday while his unsupervised teenage daughter parties, can be interpreted as an account of middle class decadence. The song "Half a Canyon" mostly focuses on an over-driven guitar sound that Malkmus had never heard before. The lyrics are meaningless and were simply added for decoration; Malkmus said that he screamed so hard towards the end of the song that he scared himself. He thought that he would have an aneurysm and decided to never scream like that again. Kannberg's "Kennel District", which was described as a fuzzy power pop song, is considered one of the album's most accessible songs because it features a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure.

The cover art for Wowee Zowee is a painting by American artist Steve Keene, who caricatured it from a photograph originally found in Life magazine's 1972 World Library title The Arab World. It depicts two Arab women and a goat. Omitted from Keene's photograph is a girl in a tan dress holding a baby, stationed between the two sitting women. The caption below the original photo reads, "A midday rest is enjoyed by three Arab women and a goat on an arbor-shaded porch. Fellahin women often wear black robes over their other clothing." Malkmus saw the artwork during a live painting session at one of Keene's exhibitions. He chose the piece due to its resemblance to the front cover of Guru Guru's 1972 album Känguru, one that he had always admired. The album's title is a homage to the band's former drummer Gary Young, who would frequently yell "Wowee Zowee" when excited. The phrase "Dick-Sucking Fool at Pussy-Licking School" was originally suggested by Nastanovich as a potential title for Wowee Zowee, but it was discarded after being considered too risqué. Nevertheless, the phrase was included in the album's booklet art. The would-be title was a nod to the Rolling Stones' documentary film Cocksucker Blues.