Estudando o Pagode

Estudando o Pagode
Studio album by Tom Zé
Released	9 August 2005
Genre	MPB, avant-pop[1]
Length	63:27
Label	Trama Records (Brazil) Luaka Bop (United States)
Tom Zé chronology
Imprensa Cantada (2003) Estudando o Pagode (2005) Danç-Êh-Sá (2006)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[4]
Christgau’s Consumer Guide	A−[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
Pitchfork	7.9/10[8]
PopMatters	9/10[9]
Spin	A[10]
Stylus	A[11]
Uncut	8/10[12]

The title of Tom Zé's 2005 release, Estudando o Pagode, literally means "studying pagode" (the subgenre of samba). This album is a three-act operetta about women and their relationship to men. Zé refers to the album as being masculist in that "it calls man's attention to the huge disadvantage he has created in his present relationship with women."1 As is common in Zé's music, this album incorporates novel sounds such as a braying donkey and those created from an instrument made out of ficus (fig) leaves.

Track listing

1. "Ave Dor Maria" – 3:27
2. "Estúpido Rapaz" – 3:23
3. "Proposta de Amor" – 2:24
4. "Quero Pensar (A Mulher de Bath)" – 4:01
5. "Mulher Navio Negreiro" – 5:01
6. "Pagode-Enredo dos Tempos do Medo" – 4:10
7. "Canção de Nora (Casa de Bonecas)" – 1:47
8. "O Amor é Um Rock" – 4:14
9. "Duas Opinioes" – 4:46
10. "Elaeu" – 4:33
11. "Vibração da Carne" – 3:38
12. "Para lá do Pará" – 4:02
13. "Prazer Carnal" – 4:40
14. "Teatro (Dom Quixote)" – 4:52
15. "A Volta do Trem das Onze (8.5 Milhões de km²)" – 5:06
16. "Beatles a Granel" – 3:23

Release history

Country	Date	Label
Brazil	9 August 2005	Trama Records
United States	20 April 2006	Luaka Bop

References

1. Christgau, Robert. "Tom Zé". Robert Christgau. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
2. "Reviews for Estudando o Pagode by Tom Zé". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
3. AllMusic review
4. Folding in lean funk, tender arias and as many catchy tunes as West Side Story, Ze makes his cryptic polemic perfectly enticing. [Jul 2006, p.105]
5. Christgau, Robert. "Tom Zé". Robert Christgau. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
6. A sprightly psych-pop disc overflowing with exquisite melodies and cooing female voices. [14 Apr 2006, p.86]
7. "Estudando"... turns mere ideological target practice into surreal and kaleidoscopic musical theater. [9 Apr 2006]
8. Pitchfork Media review^{[permanent dead link]}
9. PopMatters review
10. Unlike many rockers who cherish childlike ideals only to fall prey to amateurism or whimsy, Ze is aware that kids are both complex in their inventions and earnest in their intentions. [May 2006, p.93]
11. Stylus review
12. In Ze's hands Tropicalia is still a potent, living artistic force. [Jul 2006, p.118]

1. Tangari, Joe. "Interview: Tom Zé", Pitchfork Media, 2006-10-31.