Street Waves

Street Waves was first issued on Hearpen in 1976 with My Dark Ages (I Don't Get Around) on the B-side. It was recorded by Ken Hamann at Cleveland Recording Company on 14 and 22 October 1976, with Thomas on vocals, Herman on guitar, Ravenstine on EML synthesizers, Maimone on bass and Krauss on drums. The first sleeve was plain white paper with a rubber stamp on the front and back. The album version is a remix of the single. The band's release notes say the song was inspired by a pile of used tires for sale on Detroit Avenue.

Cliff Burnstein of Mercury found the single in a record store, which led to the Blank deal and The Modern Dance. Guitar.com wrote that the song sits halfway between Television and the Velvet Underground, with Herman's soloing incandescent and Maimone's bass his main sparring partner in the mix. The Quietus said Ravenstine's synthesizer swells conjure the frequencies of chemical fallout. Ravenstine recalled a period when songs picked up a reggae beat, and thought Street Waves was one of them.