David M Rangel / August 19, 2026 / Review
Ira A Robbins has had the proverbial thumb planted firmly on the sweet spot of the pulse of indie, punk, new wave and alternative music since the mid-70s. The American music journalist and tastemaker along with cohorts Dave Schulps, Barbara Wolf and Karen Rose planted the initial seeds of Trouser Press magazine in 1974. The monthly magazine, which had a successful 10 year run, took deeper dives into the music and history of often more obscure, outlier bands and styles of music, than was taken by contemporaries of the time such as Rolling Stone. Their mission to cover overlooked, mostly non-mainstream styles of music and “off the beaten path“ artists continues to this day to educate, entertain and fascinate readers by way of Trouser Press Books and the ongoing Trouser Press website. While the magazine did offer some coverage of various artists as big as Paul McCartney, its main MO was to “fill in the cracks“ of the wall that was music from the mid 70s to mid 80s, by giving a voice to deeply underground and often foreign musical acts who had very little in the ways of technology or options from which to work with to get their music into the ears of the American public.
Zip It Up! Too, an extensive collection of band interviews, feature articles and album by album discographies, as narrated by the artists themselves, is a response to the unexpected level of success created by it’s predecessor book, Zip It Up. Present here are not only insights by now well-known artists, given at an early point in their career -so detailed with feeling and vibes you can practically smell the stale beer- but also a feature exclusive to Trouser Press called “Autodiscographies”. These loosely guided interviews and summaries of a band’s entire musical output given by one of the band members are by themselves worth the price of the book. Robbins would go on after the magazine’s run to put out The Trouser Press Record Guide (written in that format), 5 exhaustive volumes of informative, often witty, and sardonic critique of the recorded output of hundreds of non-mainstream rock ‘n’ roll bands, all in chronological order. I personally have gained a tremendous amount of musical knowledge from reading and rereading those books. Their importance, along with the articles and critiques that appear in Zip It Up! Too, can’t be overstated.
There will likely be some who question the necessity of a book like Zip It Up! Too. With the Internet being filled with infinite amounts of information, why would we need it? I say to that question (which just sounds like a shortcut to having to think); it’s impossible for the Internet to capture the true rock ‘n’ roll perspective present here, not only due to the fact that the commentary is often coming from the bands themselves, in the time that they lived it, but also, random Internet fodder (particularly AI) is no substitute for the storytelling of the uber-talented writers that Trouser Press employed during it’s existence. These ran from well-known music experts like David Fricke (who would later go on to a noteworthy career at Rolling Stone magazine) and Lester Bangs, the sometimes confrontational, often philosophical music journalist who is represented in this book by way of his thought-provoking interview with the Ramones about the rarely considered deeper meanings of their seemingly simplistic bubblegum pop songs. Additionally there are unique perspectives from lesser known, but equally talented writers such as Ruth Polsky, the young talent booker at a number of New York clubs who played as big a part of bringing new, hip British talent to America as KROQ radio’s Rodney Bingenheimer, Bill Flanagan makes an early writing appearance and his contribution on the Modern Lovers (who I did not know featured future Cars drummer David Robinson) reads very “matter of fact-ly” as if he was a part of the band and right in with them. T. Joseph McGrath, is a seemingly random writer who got very close and personal access to the late Nick Drake’s family resulting in a poignant piece whose voice could never be replicated through general observations living online.
While Robbins’ deep knowledge and penchant to flag-wave for (more) obscure bands (can you say Can?) and genres marches on as it always does, he and his team of contributing writers don’t simply disregard mainstream rock acts who have, in fairness, helped build the foundation of this genre-producing ripple effect that rock ‘n’ roll has become. A chapter of the book called “The Old Guard” makes even some of the most ad nauseam covered dinosaur bands and artists give off a fresh, new sensibility. And it is fresh and new as readers take in experiences 40 years or more removed, from performers who were in the prime (or closer to it) of their youth, not yet knowing what they would become. We get candid, human commentary and sides of the artists we typically don’t get to see, as Trouser Press writers we’re granted access into the lives and minds of people who typically resided behind the most tightly of locked doors. The personal “feel” and openness of these articles, just had something different than what was being written at bigger, more corporate rock publications of the time and certainly on most websites and other generalizing sources of information in 2026. It may not always be “sensational,” but the honesty, and at times, relatability of the featured performers, comes through with natural ease. I would defy any aging (or current) hipster or music snob to not find something in these articles that strikes a cord, though they may be about the most seemingly predictable, well-known rock behemoths. Who knew Keith Moon could be so childlike, yet so sensible?
As I became immersed in the treasure trove of rock ‘n’ roll stories, I found myself taking interest in musicians I had previously given little consideration to, music or otherwise. And things I love like new wave are prominently represented by great pieces on New Order, Blondie, Sparks and other acts where in depth information on them is getting more difficult to find.The writers capture perspectives of musicians that we rarely get to see, much of it mundane out of the sensationalistic glow of the spotlight, but always interesting, at times quirky. It’s a fascinating read to get the point of view of a 20 year-old Robert Smith, before The Cure became the juggernaut that it is. The Boomtown Rats may be largely forgotten by Gen Z and even Gen X music consumers in 2026. But the interview with a young Bob Geldof opens the vaults of history and reveals a rock ‘n’ roll spirited upstart whose ethos, hunger and ideals have remained largely unchanged for even the youngest rock and rollers, coming up in the age of social media and scroll culture. The style of long form rock ‘n’ roll journalism in these interviews and feature articles have practically become a lost art. It’s not purely just a nostalgic delight to engage in the stories, but a true education for any rock fan who has more than just a passing interest in rock ‘n’ roll and wants to get deep down to the nitty-gritty of the essence of rock music and the people who played a part, large or small in the overall picture.
Robbins has done stellar job in curating and including bands that made up the spirit of rock music within a 10 year period of time, be they current rock giants, or bands whose presence has mostly faded with the passing of time and the immediacy technology. He has brought together an eclectic array of bands that will appeal to different musical tastes (classic, new wave, indie et al) and reignited the initial spark the articles undoubtedly made at the time they were written. Aside from the excitement and novelty of getting the points of view from bands and writers in a bygone era, we are given deep, personal and detailed accounts of what the rock ‘n’ roll world and being a part of it felt like 40 to 50 years ago. Robbins’ always “real“ commentary, precedes most entries making the reader feel as if they are reconnecting with a familiar mentor. The book is a must read for any true fan of rock music, culture or anyone who loves things that exist “on the fringes”. Highly recommended.
The book is available everywhere now. Purchase a copy here.
The Indy Review 