Half a Million Punks Rule!

Of all the lyrics Billy Idol was responsible for either writing or singing, the one that endeared him to many of my g-g-g-generation was "one hundred punks rule." Like Paul Weller, whose "In the City" hearkened back to Britain's first best musical invasion and teen sentiment, Generation X's "100 Punks Rule" also elevated youthful sentiment and turned it into an anthem.

I am saying 500,000 punks rule because today, this blog has reached the half-million views mark! Thank you fans and followers of punk rock!

Thirty years after the first sloppy power chord broke through the disco doldrums, punk rock has reached a respectable status as a musical genre and epochal movement - a generation's benchmark that sees its lasting contribution to pop culture on a daily basis. And speaking of Pop Culture.... the experts at Christie's Auction House have identified the phenomenon as collectible. Spurred by the critical and probably material success of its November 2008 Punk Rock auction, (which was covered HERE), Christie's is doing it again!

On June 23, Christie's will conduct its Pop Culture auction and some images from the Punk Turns 30 archive are included!

That's right! Lots #49 and #50 in Christie's Pop Culture auction are sets of photos by yours truly -- Belinda Carlisle and The Germs.


outtake from The Germs "Forming" picture sleeve photo session is part of the Christie's Pop Culture auction on June 23

I think its a wonderful combination -- considering that Belinda Carlisle and the Go Gos may be the biggest success out of LA's homegrown punk rock bands, and the Germs LA's most notorious... with Belinda being an original member of the Germs... those curators in Pop Culture certainly know their punk rock family tree and how to connect dots in a most sophisticated way.

Several of the images that are in the Christie's auction have not been published, exhibited or seen before! A few of the Germs images and a couple of the Belinda Carlisle images were included in the last stop on my Unguarded Moments tour at Metropolis in Lancaster, PA.

At this very moment, there are some photos of a young, pre-Go Gos Belinda Carlisle hanging up at The Groove record shop in Nashville, TN. The photos were installed to celebrate Record Store Day and will be hanging up for a little while longer as I introduce the next traveling exhibit I'll be doing: Locals & Legends.

Tell your rich, collector friends to check out Christie's!