The studio album version also appeared on the B-side of the 12” edition of the band's previous single, “Teen Age Riot.” 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, "Silver Rocket" has a main riff which shows the influence of punk rock.

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 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.

According to AllMusic's Stewart Mason, the song boasts "the first genuinely catchy chorus of the band's career" and compares it to Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick.