IRA A. ROBBINS

Published for a decade, from 1974 to 1984, Trouser Press once billed as "Americas Only British Rock Magazine" but later called by some "the bible of alternative rock" provided enthusiastic and knowledgeable coverage of independently made and released music as well as artists from many genres: classic rock, glam, pub rock, art rock and prog, punk, new wave, reggae, techno-pop and post-punk, many of them early in their now-legendary careers. This far-reaching and extensive anthology, edited and newly annotated by one of the magazines co-founders, is an immersion in rock journalism of a form that is no longer widely practiced: features that go deep into artists history and interviews that ask the impertinent questions, all written with wit, intelligence and a willful expression of opinions and values.Includes vintage articles on Adam Ant, Syd Barrett, Black Flag, Black Uhuru, Ritchie Blackmore, Blondie, Kate Bush, Cheap Trick, the Clash, Elvis Costello, the Cure, Devo, Dexys Midnight Runners, Brian Eno, Eurythmics, Bryan Ferry, Robert Fripp, Gang of Four, Genesis, the Go-Gos, Human League, Joan Jett, Joy Division, the Kinks, Kiss. Nick Lowe, Malcolm McLaren, New York Dolls, Jimmy Page, Iggy Pop, Public Image Ltd., Ramones, Lou Reed, R.E.M., Residents, Todd Rundgren, Sex Pistols, Small Faces, Sparks, Television, Peter Tosh, T. Rex, U2, the Who, X, X-Ray Spex and Frank Zappa.

If youve ever wondered how or why anyone becomes a critic, some of the answers are in Music in a Word Volume 1, an anthology-cum-memoir by veteran music journalist and Trouser Press magazine co-founder Ira Robbins.The first of three volumes collects articles, essays, album and concert reviews, previously unpublished interviews and other writing mingled with colorful recollections of 50 years spent on a musical soapbox. Profusely illustrated with images from the authors archive. Artists covered include John Lydon, Undertones, Vic Chesnutt, Shoes, Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Pogues, R.E.M., B-52s, Pavement, Tears for Fears, Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Jackson, Ice Cube, Grand Funk.