Fifty years to the month after Trouser Press magazine published its first issue, Trouser Press Books is proud to announce Zip It Up! The Best of Trouser Press Magazine 1974 – 1984. The 440-page large-format paperback collects some of the best articles — profiles, interviews and histories — that appeared in a magazine fans have called "the bible of alternative rock" but had a broader mission than that.
Zip It Up! The Best of Trouser Press Magazine 1974 – 1984 features chapters on the 1960s, classic rock, glam rock, prog and art rock, reggae, the roots of punk, American punk and new wave, UK punk and new wave, post-punk. 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 practiced: 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 compiles articles on Small Faces, Syd Barrett, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Todd Rundgren, Ray Davies, KISS, Frank Zappa, Cheap Trick, Ritchie Blackmore, T. Rex, New York Dolls, Lou Reed, Sparks, Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Genesis, Robert Fripp, Kate Bush, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, Iggy Pop, Graham Parker, Television, the Ramones, Blondie, R.E.M., Violent Femmes, Devo vs. William S. Burroughs, the Go-Go’s, Black Flag, X, Holly and the Italians, the Clash, Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Cure, U2, Joan Armatrading, Human League, Gang of Four, Adam Ant, Joan Jett, Malcolm McLaren, Public Image Ltd., Eddy Grant and Billy Idol.
It features bylines from some of rock literature's favorite sons and daughters, including Dave Schulps, Scott Isler, Jim Green, Ira Robbins, Kathy Miller, David Fricke, Pete Silverton, Kris DiLorenzo, Jon Young, Janet Macoska, Paul Rambali, Moira McCormack, MT Laverty, Cary Baker, Tim Sommer, Karen Schlosberg, Wayne King, Marianne Meyer, Roman Szolkowski and Savage Pencil.
Some of the provocative artist quotes in Zip It Up!: · I do business like a barbarian. My word is gold and I split everything with everybody. The best way to lick rock and roll is to be a savage. —Iggy Pop · If you're gonna sell out, make sure they're buying. —Martha Davis of the Motels · I was duped by the punk thing. I thought this was gonna save the world. —Andy Partridge of XTC · I know I'm not a genius because I have to work too hard. —Adam Ant · I think Phil [Collins] is technically a better singer than I am. —Peter Gabriel · I wouldn't call myself a singer...Sam Cooke's a singer. —Joe Strummer · It's hard to sing a song that makes you puke. You can't do both at the same time. —Grace Slick · I don't like walking the streets and seeing 30,000 imitations of me. —Johnny Rotten · We're definitely not an underground group anymore. The only place left for us to go where people think we're crazy is to hang out with Chuck Mangione. —Clem Burke of Blondie · People change when they get a hit. Your back straightens. Your acne goes. I know, because it happened to me. —Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits · Just because we use the word “spit” in a song doesn't mean we're trying to be like the Sex Pistols. —Exene · I like punk. I'm not that into it... I regard it as another style with good fashion and a good attitude. —Paul McCartney · I may throw my crotch about a bit but I can still be innocent inside. —Adam Ant · I would never consider myself a musician: I'm just an entertainer. —Johnny Thunders · Tits and asses are gifts god gave us and it's to my best interest to use them. —Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons · I think the human body's about one of the most ugly things ever created. Everyone has lumps and distorted bits and pieces. —John Lydon · We had a number-one single and were still getting $40 a week. —Steve Marriott, on the Small Faces · I pull a lot more chicks now since they've seen my name in the papers. —Nick Lowe · I've always been optimistic about life. I've not always been optimistic about my role in it. —Pete Townshend · I wasn't an outcast, I cast myself out. —Ian Dury · Life is a joke. There are only a handful of things in my life that I'm really glad I did. —Jeff Beck · In ten years, I hope there will be plenty of young bands around who'll tell me I'm boring and continue the tradition of rock and roll. —Bob Geldof · At this particular point, if it wasn't for punk, which is taking it right back to the roots of shit-kicking rock and roll — back to “fuck you” music, sheer adrenaline — [rock] would be in a sad state of affairs. —Jimmy Page · There is no doubt in my mind that the Sex Pistols were England's greatest contribution to rock and roll, well over and above the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. —Malcolm McLaren · I think the worst thing in pop music is how people overstay their welcome. I hope we don't go on for more than two or three years. —Dave Wakeling of the English Beat · A Flock of Seagulls are just Genesis with moronic haircuts, aren't they? —Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three · This is glamorous, yeah: You drag your butt all over the world. It's a regular job. —Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick · I don't intend to wind up parking cars somewhere. —Keith Moon of the Who
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