Zip It Up!: The Best of Trouser Press Magazine 1974 - 1984

by Ira A. Robbins (Editor), Dave Schulps, Scott Isler

Trouser Press magazine began as a mimeographed fanzine in March 1974 and grew to a 60,000-circulation glossy rock music monthly. Started by two high school Who-freak friends and a Jeff Beck fanatic they’d recently met, Trouser Press published 96 issues over the following decade, covering everything from British Invasion bands, ’70s arena rock and prog to punk, new wave, synth-pop, post-punk and reggae.

Zip It Up! The Best of Trouser Press Magazine 1974-1984 is an annotated anthology of the music writing that appeared in the magazine.

Annotated with recollections and reflections on the changing times, the ridiculous business of independent magazine publishing and the colorful, complicated artists — illustrated with cartoons, covers, documents and ads from the Trouser Press archive — Zip It Up! is vintage rock journalism of a form that is no longer widely features heavy on historical detail and lengthy, probing interviews, all written with wit, intelligence and a willful expression of opinions and values. It is also an extensive document of rock’s evolution from the 1970s to the mid-’80s, often capturing now-iconic bands in the early stages of their existence. By turns reverent, snarky, adulatory and cynical, Zip It Up! is a rich grazing ground for fans and students of music and music journalism.

The book is divided into sections covering the Sixties, Classic Rock, Glam Rock, Art and Prog Rock, the Roots of Punk, US / UK Punk and New Wave, Reggae, Post-Punk and more.

Features on and interviews with Jimmy Page, the Clash, the Go-Go's, Pete Townshend, Robert Fripp, Eddy Grant, the Sex Pistols, Frank Zappa, Cheap Trick, Kate Bush, Joy Division, Peter Tosh, the Ramones, Blondie, Todd Rundgren, Kiss, the New York Dolls, Laurie Anderson, the Kinks, Ritchie Blackmore, Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, T. Rex, U2, Television, Graham Parker, the Small Faces, Syd Barrett, R.E.M., Devo, Black Flag and much more. Includes bonus content not in the paperback!

Genres: Music

1152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2024

Reviews

[Thomas Thieme · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Trouser Press. Creem shaped my musical tastes but T.P. felt like its smarter older brother. I learned what music was actually out there beyond Billy Joel from the page that offered for sale questionably legitimate releases.(What secret treasures could the Beach Boys' Hawthorne Hotshots hold??) Although the newsstands were littered with rock music magazines, almost all of them either catered to the mainstream stars of the day or the denim-gone-polyester Laurel Canyon Olde Guard. Trouser Press provided the best in-depth look at the 1974-1984 period. It was especially appreciated when covering the artists that Rolling Stone pretended weren't there or covered them at arm's length holding their noses. And Creem, well, they had their eye more on the bottom line, vying for the Circus Magazine/Kiss Army crowd but about five years later, even they succumbed. Trouser Press tended to go smarter, deeper, incisive and I was starved for the real thing. But suddenly they were just...gone. How could a magazine possibly celebrate their tenth anniversary by committing suicide? To add insult to injury, they got Rolling Stone to substitute their Record magazine as a way of fulfilling their subscription obligation. Kind of like being told they're out of steak, here's a Big Mac. From this book, I learned about their birth but not a thing about their death. What happened, guys? Why did you leave us? How could you? Not even a goodbye note. But admittedly, that's not what this book promises. It does detail their origin and reprints many of the interviews, some of which I still fondly remember over four decades ago. We also get "Where are they now?" segments about some of the writers and sadly too many are deceased. However, my favorite part of the magazine, the source of their best writing, in my opinion, was the record reviews and unfortunately, they aren't here. It's too bad we couldn't have gotten a greatest hits of reviews. Volume Two, hopefully? (Hey guys, if time is your issue, I'm available.) I dock it two stars, one because no one is perfect, and the other for not giving me what I'd hoped for. But don't let that dissuade you. If the history of rock from these transitional eras holds any significance to you, pre-new wave, new wave, post-new wave, this is a valuable resource.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trouser Press (Trans-Atlantic Trouser Press in the beginning) was a magazine that started out focused on English music acts that rarely received coverage in America. Small Faces, Roxy Music, King Crimson and others were profiled and albums reviewed. Gradually, the magazine expanded coverage to include American acts until it's end in 1984. This book attempts to give an overview of the coverage during those 10 years. Omitting record reviews, the book is made up of features on artists, interviews with artists, various columns and quotes. What's impressive the number of artists that gave interviews even when the magazine was just starting out: Pete Townsend, Ray Davies, Robert Fripp and Jimmy Page to name a few.

The book also illustrates a time when music wasn't readily available (no internet back then) and sometimes reading about was the best alternative to listening. Highlights include articles about Lou Reed (he really was a creep), the Residents, the Go-Gos, Jello Biafra and Genesis. Do yourself a favor and get this book.