Punk Memories - To The Highest Bidder

Does anyone remember the true meaning of punk rock? Really, it was just a bunch of disillusioned working class kids on both sides of the pond trying to reinvent music. Mainstream rock had gotten so polished that a kid couldn’t just pick up a guitar and play along anymore. So these punk kids just said “Fuck it!” and rebuilt music from the ground up, no training necessary. Pick up a guitar and throttle it by the neck – whatever noise came out would be just fine, thank you. Thus began an era of shredded clothes, safety pins and hastily scrawled flyers – all done on the cheap, since nobody had a whole lot of cash.

So when Christie’s Auction House (New York saleroom) announced that they would be auctioning off punk memorabilia in lots that BEGIN at around $300 and top out at $7,000, it was enough to make me scratch my head and go “Huh?!” I mean, don’t get me wrong – some of these items are definitely worth the money. From the flyer for the quadruple bill of The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and the Slits in ’77 to a complete press kit for the ’77-’78 U.S. Tour of The Sex Pistols (complete with signed publicity photos) to rare promotional t-shirts (like The Ramones’ Rocket To Russia promo shirt), there is plenty of value to any collector.

The problem is that the people who probably most deserve these items can’t afford them. “So who the hell actually should have them, Mr. Self-righteous?!” I’m glad you asked. The fans who felt Joey Ramone’s greasy locks brush their face, the people who got Sid Vicious’ blood and sweat on them in the front row, the groupie who helped Iggy Pop pierce his scrote – all lay equal claim to these items under punk’s anarchical code. Sure, a lot of the punk kids grew up to be corporate tools and could afford this boatload of goodies – but I’d bet that more of them are thrift store bargain-bin shoppers.

For those of you who think you CAN afford any of these items, check out the listings here. The actual auction takes place next Monday, November 24th. And for those of you who can’t afford anything, feel free to wait outside with a bat.***

***Juano’s Addiction does not take responsibility for any hoity-toity rich people who "accidentally" get hit with a bat. Even if they really, really deserve it...