August 14, 2002

9:09 AM

Trouserpress.com is back!After a hiatus of over two-and-a-half years, Trouserpress.com was re-launched today. The site contains just about all of the band profiles and album reviews from editor Ira Robbins' comprehensive and informative Trouser Press Record Guide book series from the 80s/90s. Since all but the most recent "90s rock" book are out-of-print, it's great to have this amazing indie/new wave/punk/alt rock music reference available once more.
posted by nstop (13 comments total)

If you'll pardon the expression, that fuggin' rocks! I love the Trouser Press guides; I've got both of the paperbacks. And the redesign is nice, because the old site was not so good.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:09 AM on August 14, 2002

I nominate this for post of the year.
posted by sudama at 10:10 AM on August 14, 2002

Just realized I should have also included this link to the FAQ which has a bit more history and explanation of the guide contents.

There were actually four editions of the original guide, but since artists were dropped/added in each one, the early volumes are just as essential. Based on my cursory review of the site, it looks like there are a bunch of artists missing who appeared in the original book, perhaps because the reviews might seem, in retrospect, too dismissive (such as the one for post-punk female group The Mo-Dettes). Or it could be that only the material from the subsequent books was easily convertible to web-ready form.

Another point of note: some of the band entries on the site contain more information than in the latest version of the corresponding Trouser Press guide, such as the Mission of Burma entry. So even if you do have one or more of the books, the online entries are worth checking out.
posted by nstop at 10:26 AM on August 14, 2002

This is great news,although I kinda enjoy flipping through the books.

I like the site design, it's slick.I suppose all that space on the right will soon be home to screaming GIFs, though.Gotta pay for it some how.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 10:48 AM on August 14, 2002

Go Ira.... Go Ira....
posted by spilon at 10:53 AM on August 14, 2002

. . . and bang goes the last few minutes of work time actually devoted to work.

nstop rocks.
posted by hackly_fracture at 11:23 AM on August 14, 2002

Very cool. I still have stacks of the old Trouser Press magazine from back in the day. Wish they'd start putting the old articles on the site....
posted by maurice at 11:59 AM on August 14, 2002

Any reference that can remember the Acoustinauts has got my vote; but no Friendly, Singing Spoons or Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers? The dream of the truly comprehensive archive of this endures...

but never again will i sit in front of limewire and wonder "what next?" Thanks, dude/ette!
posted by DenOfSizer at 12:48 PM on August 14, 2002

[sniff] I miss Trouser Press magazine almost as much as I miss Creem.
posted by MrBaliHai at 1:09 PM on August 14, 2002

Seeing Byron Coley's name reminded me of Forced Exposure, which used to beat up Trouser Press every day in the playground after school. Anyone know whether any of Albini-Cosloy-Meltzer-Coley's old FE stuff is up on the Net? My Google skills seem to be lacking.
posted by fuzz at 2:00 PM on August 14, 2002

this is great news
posted by xian at 10:45 PM on August 14, 2002

Ah, anything that give me more information about The Loud Family and Guadalcanal Diary is a truly great thing.

Thank you, nstop. Your are a gentleman and a scholar.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:54 AM on August 15, 2002

I believe nstop is a gentlewoman.

And rumor has it that the TP site will soon add many entries from the "Bands not in 'Trouser Press'" issue of Badaboom Gramophone.
posted by 88robots at 9:36 AM on August 19, 2002