Teen Age Riot

All four members wrote it. It opens Daydream Nation with a spoken introduction from Gordon, and Moore sings. It was recorded in July and August 1988 at Greene St. and produced by the band with Nick Sansano. Moore said in the deluxe edition liner notes that the song was about appointing J Mascis as the band's de facto alternative dream president.

Released on Blast First in October 1988, it was the first single from the album, with Silver Rocket and Kissability on the B-side. In the US it debuted at number 28 on the Alternative chart in December 1988 and peaked at number 20 in early February 1989 after nine weeks, and it was the first Sonic Youth song to get significant modern rock airplay. The band directed the video, which includes clips of Mascis, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and Henry Rollins. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists it among its 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, it is playable in Rock Band 2, and Rolling Stone placed it at number 157 in 2021. Pitchfork noted that the video holds more images of musicians outside the band than in it, among them Ian MacKaye, Patti Smith, Mark E. Smith, Iggy Pop and Daniel Johnston.

Live

Setlist.fm has 366 setlists with the song, the second most of any Sonic Youth song. It closed the band's final show at the SWU festival in Paulinia, Brazil, on 14 November 2011, making it the last song they ever played.