Did you know that “seapunk” is a “thing”?  I didn't until I came across this bizarre and frightening mural of a subdued shark with sailor tats and an squid rocking a gnarly sound system in place of suctions cups the other day.  Confused, aloof, and probably drunk, I consulted with the googles about what kind of delusional paranoia could be behind such a creation.

I'm not quiet sure how I got there—I think I searched for something like “ocean punk tattoos hermit crab weird bassnecter”—but, eventually, I found this:

What is Sea Punk? A guide out of your ignorance.

The term “Sea Punk,” perhaps originally taken from the work of photographer Andrew Ceciliato, now has come to refer to a unique style of fashion that incorporates the shock value of punk and the “kawaii” nature of mermaids. The movement mixes studs, spikes, colored hair, seashells, aliens, yin yang and other religious/spiritual symbols, and other oddball items. The ideas of punk can be seen in its rather shocking, rebellious nature. A very “kawaii”-like fashion style, Sea Punk incorporates hair colors like pink, blue, and green. Main inspirations are japanese street fashion, punk, and internet fashion.

To summarize: kids are dressing up like goth mermaids and dying their hair blue and I'm old and don't get it.

But there's a whole culture behind this seapunk shit—music, DIY Etsy fashion, and, naturally, very dedicated and hilarious haters.  And San Francisco, always being at the forefront of whatever youth movement du jour that ails our Great Society, seems ready to literally paint our walls in acceptance of it.

(Also, if these kids ever move to San Francisco en masse, I'm fleeing to a cabin in Colorado where I'll squander my remaining years rocking back and forth in a sad chair on my porch, my saggy dog at my side and a loaded shotgun on my lap, yelling at rustling bushes and the drug-enduced apparitions to get the hell off my lawn.)

For the interested, you can see the damn thing for yourself at on Market Street at 12th.  Bring goggles and a harpoon.

Good night, and good luck.

[Full-size pano on Flickr]