"Silver Rocket" is both the second track and second single from

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

's 1988 album ''

Daydream Nation ''Daydream Nation'' is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on October 18, 1988. The band recorded the album between July and August 1988 at Greene St. Recording in New York City, and it was released by ...

''. Like all the tracks on the album, the ''

'' version of “Silver Rocket” was recorded in the studio, whereas all editions of the single featured a live version of the song with alternate lyrics and were pressed in small runs by independent

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

s. The studio album version also appeared on the B-side of the 12” edition of the band's previous single, “

Teen Age Riot "Teen Age Riot" is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth, and the first single from their 1988 album, ''Daydream Nation''. It received heavy airplay on modern rock stations and considerably expanded their audience (along with the album itsel ...

.” A video was also produced for “Silver Rocket,” featuring a recording of the song different from any of those appearing on any of the band's singles or albums. Sung by guitarist

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

, "Silver Rocket" has a main riff which shows the influence of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. About 90 seconds into the song, the guitars are detuned and the song becomes a noise rock soundscape, before heading into the final verse and chorus.

Formats and track listings

All versions of the “Silver Rocket” 7” single feature a live version of the song. In performance,

had changed the second verse of the song to include references to other musicians and pop social icons of the time including

J. Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. (born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist ...

and

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, and these alternate lyrics appear on the single.

U.S. version

The American version of the "Silver Rocket" 7” was released by the house label for ''

Forced Exposure ''Forced Exposure'' was an independent music magazine founded by Jimmy Johnson and Katie The Kleening Lady (Goldman) (zine). It was published sporadically out of Boston from 1982 to 1993, edited by Jimmy Johnson and Byron Coley. It was printed o ...

'' magazine and made available only to the magazine's subscribers. The two tracks on the A-side were taken from a concert at Maxwell's in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

. The B-side is retitled instrumental version of “Eliminator, Jr.” taken from a show at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

in New York. Cover art for the single was by French cartoonist and publisher Paquito Bolino. ;A-side # "Silver Rocket” # “You Pose You Lose” ;B-side # "Non-Metal Dude Wearing Metal Tee” All three tracks were later made available on Sonic Youth's ''Rarities 2'' compilation, made available exclusively through the group's

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

page in September 2020.

European version

Pressed in Spain by Teenager From Outer Space Records, the European version of the “Silver Rocket” 7” features Sonic Youth on one side and two songs by the Portland, Oregon band

The Miracle Workers The Miracle Workers were a rock and roll band in the 1980s, who began as a garage rock revival band in Portland, Oregon. Background The Miracle Workers were formed in January 1982 by Gerry Mohr (vocals), and Joel Barnett (bass guitar). The o ...

on the other. The single was only available in a double issue of the magazine ''La Herencia De Los Munster'' with cover art that needed to be cut out and assembled into a record sleeve. ;A-side # "Silver Rocket (Live)" (Sonic Youth) ;B-side # "Slow Death" (The Miracle Workers) # "I Got a Right" (The Miracle Workers, originally by

The Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

)

Critical reception

According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Stewart Mason, the song boasts "the first genuinely catchy chorus of the band's career" and compares it to

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

's "Touch Me I'm Sick." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked it No. 79 in the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". It was ranked the 183rd greatest song of all time by the Italian magazine Rumore. The song was listed at No. 33 in Les Inrockuptibles's 1000 Necessary Songs.

References

{{Authority control 1988 singles Sonic Youth songs Experimental rock songs 1988 songs Enigma Records singles