TISM

In December 1982, Humphrey B. Flaubert (Damian Cowell – drums and lead vocals) and Eugene de la Hot-Croix Bun (Eugene Cester – keyboards and backing vocals), previously members of a group called I Can Run, recorded a nine song demo tape titled Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance with guitarist Jock Cheese (Jack Holt – guitar, bass and backing vocals) under the name This Is Serious Mum. The line-up would soon expand to include Ron Hitler-Barassi (Peter Minack – vocals) and Leak Van Vlalen (Sean Kelly – guitar) by the following year.

This Is Serious Mum continued to record private home-made demos (with titles including Hooked on Crap and It's Novel! It's Unique! It's Shithouse!) throughout 1983, producing over one hundred songs within twelve months.{{Cite web |date=2001-02-18 |title=TISM: the History of TISM - 1982 |url=http://www.tism.com.au/history/1982.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218100254/http://www.tism.com.au/history/1982.html |archive-date=18 February 2001 }} This period of activity culminated in the band's first public appearance, at the Duncan McKinnon Athletics Reserve in the small suburb of Murrumbeena on 6 December 1983. The so-called "Get Fucked Concert" was considered an "artistic and commercial failure", causing the band to split up; thus giving the show the dubious honour of simultaneously being the band's debut and farewell, and making every subsequent performance a "reunion" show.{{Cite web |date=2001-02-18 |title=TISM: the History of TISM - 1983 |url=http://www.tism.com.au/history/1983.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218100130/http://www.tism.com.au/history/1983.html |archive-date=18 February 2001 }}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-25 |title=1983.12.06: Duncan McKinnon Hall, Murrumbeena {{!}} TISM Archive |url=https://tismarchive.wordpress.com/1983/12/06/1983-12-06-duncan-mckinnon-hall-murrumbeena/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225022325/https://tismarchive.wordpress.com/1983/12/06/1983-12-06-duncan-mckinnon-hall-murrumbeena/ |archive-date=25 February 2021 }}

TISM returned to home-made recordings in February 1984. During this period they briefly experimented with dark ambient and industrial music, before returning to their former style. On 25 November 1984, the band performed their first "reunion" show at the University of Melbourne. At the show they released a self-titled demo tape which they recorded earlier that year at the home studio of Serious Young Insects drummer Mark White. Only eleven copies of the demo (which featured examples of their brief flirtation with industrial music) were made available at the show; all had sold by the time the band finished their short set.

By 1985, TISM were playing regularly around Melbourne. They released their debut single, "Defecate on My Face", in 1986; a 7" vinyl record packaged in a 12" sleeve with all four sides glued shut. The song is also found (in an unlisted "country" version) on the mini-album Form and Meaning Reach Ultimate Communion. Their next single, "40 Years – Then Death", was released in 1987 on transparent vinyl in a clear plastic sleeve with no cover art or labels. TISM's first radio-friendly single, despite the obscure packaging, was received well.[https://web.archive.org/web/20001206202000/http://www.tism.com.au/history/ TISM – The History of This Is Serious Mum] (2000). Archived on 6 December 2000 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved on 16 October 2007.

TISM's debut album Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance was released in 1988, as a double vinyl release in an embossed gatefold sleeve. The first record contained twelve of TISM's most popular tracks, and the second was a collage of interviews, bedroom recordings and live "diatribes" from Ron Hitler-Barassi. Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance entered the lower reaches of Australia's mainstream Top 50, as did the single "Saturday Night Palsy", the following year.{{Cite web |date=2001-02-18 |title=TISM: the History of TISM - 1989 |url=http://www.tism.com.au/history/1989.html |access-date=2022-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218100647/http://www.tism.com.au/history/1989.html |archive-date=18 February 2001 }} The group appeared on the long-running variety TV program Hey Hey It's Saturday performing the single; during this appearance three additional seven-person line-ups joined the initial seven members of the band onstage, leading to a total of twenty-eight "members" of TISM miming the song by the end of the performance.{{Citation |title=TISM, Saturday Night Palsy on Hey Hey 1989 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG4janHITY8 |language=en |access-date=2022-11-27}}

In 1989, TISM self-published a book compiling lyrics, interviews and press releases titled The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics,{{Cite web |last=www.bibliopolis.com |title=The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics: Based on the Works of This Is Serious Mum by TISM, The Most Beautiful Economist in the World on Weiser Antiquarian |url=https://www.weiserantiquarian.com/pages/books/62295/tism-the-most-beautiful-economist-in-the-world/the-tism-guide-to-little-aesthetics-based-on-the-works-of-this-is-serious-mum?soldItem=true |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Weiser Antiquarian |language=en-US}} however the book could not be released until early 1990 as TISM, having been threatened with legal action for libel, were required to censor the book, which they did by hand with a mixture of white-out and permanent marker (also placing stickers reading "CENSORED DUE TO LEGAL ADVICE" on the cover of each copy). Despite this, some uncensored copies exist, and a document with the censored content is available.

In 1990, TISM entered negotiations with CBS Records and Phonogram Records and were signed by the latter. In April that year, the band began work on what would become their next album with producer Laurence Maddy. When Phonogram released Hot Dogma in 1990, it failed to reach the commercial charts, and TISM were fired six months later due to management issues, despite owing the label tens of thousands of dollars. Hot Dogma is the first release to use the acronymic form of the band's name exclusively.

Over two nights in May 1991, the band were filmed live and released the video Incontinent in Ten Continents. These performances were the last for guitarist Leak Van Vlalen.[https://web.archive.org/web/20040923022202/http://www.tism.com.au/tourdates/ This Is Serious Mum live dates: 1991] (list) (2004). Archived on 23 September 2004 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved on 9 December 2007.

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| footer = Top: Original recalled cover art of the 1993 EP Australia The Lucky Cunt; bottom: reissued edition, Censored Due To Legal Advice, featuring Sinéad O'Connor

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In mid-1991, TISM signed with independent record label Shock Records and re-issued Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance, as well as the EP Gentlemen, Start Your Egos; a compilation of tracks previously unavailable on CD.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060205122123/http://shock.com.au/artists/releases.asp?artist_ID=56389 Shock Records – T.I.S.M] – Official page at the Shock Records website. Archived by the Internet Archive on 5 February 2006. Accessed on 10 December 2007. TISM, with producer Tony Cohen, released the EP Beasts of Suburban in 1992. A new guitarist, Tony Coitus (later Tokin' Blackman) joined the group onstage for the first time on 23 January 1992. Les Miserables and Jon St. Peenis left following the Beasts of Suburban tour, replaced by two new dancers who inherited their stage names.

The 1993 EP, Australia the Lucky Cunt was the group's most controversial release to date. Courts issued an injunction order of the CD when the Ken Done Society threatened legal action over the artwork, which parodied Done's signature style and depicted a koala sucking a syringe. The matter was settled for an undisclosed amount of money "fairly close to the amount that Radiohead spends on buying friends",Humphrey B. Flaubert (5 December 2002). [https://www.webcitation.org/5kmgHQ8Ok?url=http://us.share.geocities.com/brittletina/tism_jamb_small.mov Album cover censorship on John Safran's Music Jamboree] (.mov). SBS TV, Melbourne, Australia. Hosted by [https://archive.today/20240524133849/https://www.webcitation.org/5kmgH1gfZ?url=http://us.share.geocities.com/brittletina/ brittletina]. Retrieved on 16 October 2007. and the EP was re-released with a new cover graphic and title: Censored Due to Legal Advice. During 1994, TISM sometimes played under the names "The Frank Vitkovic Jazz Quartet", "Machiavelli and the Four Seasons" (which would later be used as an album title) and "Late for Breakfast".

TISM's third album, 1995's Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, was their biggest success; a shift from alternative rock to synth-driven techno and dance, which retained the band's usual vocal melodies and loud guitars. Three of its singles reached Triple J's Hottest 100, two of them in the top 10 in 1995.Triple J (1995). "[http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/history/1995.htm Hottest 100 | History | 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218105357/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/history/1995.htm|date=18 February 2009}}" (list) (1995). Retrieved (11 December 2007). The album was certified gold and won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release. Success exposed TISM to mainstream Australian radio and television, most of which was perplexed by the band's guerrilla approach to interviews and lack of interest in the music industry.

On 27 April 1995, the band appeared on the RMITV show Under Melbourne Tonight and performed "Protest Song" and "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River".{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/TISM-Unauthorised-Unofficial-Unendorsed-Underpants/release/3268607 |title=TISM – Unauthorised, Unofficial, Unendorsed, Underpants (File) at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |date=5 December 2011 |access-date=21 August 2014 |archive-date=2 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402080144/http://www.discogs.com/TISM-Unauthorised-Unofficial-Unendorsed-Underpants/release/3268607 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sh-WWLXsDo |title=TISM on Under Melbourne Tonight (Channel 31, 27/04/95) |via=YouTube |date=1 October 2012 |access-date=21 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925021404/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sh-WWLXsDo |archive-date=25 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/0sh-WWLXsDo |title=Free Music Videos, Video Interviews, Music Video News, Live Sessions and Clips |work=NME |date=13 August 2014 |access-date=21 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113095715/http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/0sh-WWLXsDo |archive-date=13 January 2014}} In June, Humphrey B. Flaubert and Ron Hitler-Barassi appeared as guest programmers on the long-running late night music program Rage, where they aired clips by artists such as the Wiggles, the Bay City Rollers and Leif Garrett.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-18 |title=TISM Special on rage |url=https://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/tism-special-on-rage/12259564 |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=ABC Rage |language=en-AU}} A four CD box set, Collected Recordings 1986–1993, was released in December, and steady record sales allowed extensive tours of Australia and New Zealand.

In 1996 TISM toured on the Big Day Out, during which Hitler-Barassi was either absent or requiring a wheelchair due to a detached retina and broken arm caused by a stage dive he performed at the Pacific Hotel, Lorne, Victoria prior to the tour.Flaubert, Humphrey B. (2005). [http://www.australiantraveller.com/index.cfm?page_id=1276 The Big Day Out Part Two The Rest Of Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907174853/http://www.australiantraveller.com/index.cfm?page_id=1276 |date=7 September 2007 }} Australian Traveller Magazine; they also toured in 1993–1995 and again in 1999 after German heavy metal band Rammstein withdrew. Retrieved on 17 November 2007. Later the same year, TISM toured England, the group's sole Northern Hemisphere excursion.

Taking a year off from touring, TISM spent 1997 working on their next album with producer Lachlan Magoo. The album, www.tism.wanker.com was released in 1998. The first official music video for the album, "I Might Be a Cunt, but I'm Not a Fucking Cunt" was rarely broadcast. Returned and Services League of Australia head Bruce Ruxton wrote a letter of complaint to Shock Records describing it as "... Dropping [Australia's standards] through the floor into the proverbial sewer."Ruxton, Bruce (5 May 1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070622022013/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/ruxton.jpg Bruce Ruxton denounces TISM in a letter to Shock Records]. letter. Bruce Ruxton. Hosted by [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007160733/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/ tismselfstorage]. Retrieved on 18 October 2007. The letter was published on TISM's official website at the time, alongside the single's press release.TISM (1998) [https://web.archive.org/web/19981202013421/http://www.tism.wanker.com/cunt.html I Might Be A Cunt, But I'm Not A Fucking Cunt] from the website www.tism.wanker.com. Archived on 11 November 1998 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved 9 December 2007.

www.tism.wanker.com sold well, thanks in part to an extensive Australian tour with Regurgitator, then at the height of their popularity, and the Fauves; however, sales were low compared to Machiavelli and the Four Seasons{{'}}s success and TISM's contract with Shock ended by mutual agreement.

Following the 1998 tour, TISM signed with Festival Mushroom Records, which re-released their entire back catalogue (except for Hot Dogma, their previous singles and the bonus discs for Machiavelli and wanker.com) on CD.

Their first and only official album with Festival Mushroom Records was De RigueurMortis, released in 2001. It débuted at No. 24 on the ARIA chart[http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?key=62030&cat=a TISM – De Rigueurmortis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209103608/http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?key=62030&cat=a |date=9 December 2007 }} chart information from [http://australian-charts.com/ australian-charts.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527184204/http://australian-charts.com/ |date=27 May 2008 }}. Retrieved 18 October 2007 and No. 3 on the Alternative ARIA Chart.[https://web.archive.org/web/20050907114426/http://www.tism.com.au/G0015/index.html Official TISM Website – New Album News] (5 February 2002). Archived on 9 July 2005 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved on 17 October 2007. Flaubert predicted on Triple J radio that the album would "plummet out of the top 40 like a stone"; – the following week, it was not on the list. Touring became less thorough than in previous years, though no less active – at the closing of the Punters Club, the band ended up naked and tore the ceiling down during the gig.Ms.45 (2002). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20070828013115/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/punters-ms45.html TISM Self Storage goes to the Punters]". Ms.45. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060513035923/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage tismselfstorage]. review. (external link contains explicit material) Retrieved 19 November 2007.

In early 2002, the track "Honk If You Love Fred Durst" was released as a single. In 2002, Festival Mushroom Records released tism.bestoff., a best of compilation which included their greatest hits, two new tracks and a disc of remastered Bedroom Recordings. The compilation was their third, and last, release with Festival Mushroom Records, as TISM's contract had ended. Finding themselves with no record label again, TISM returned to touring.

On 6 January 2003, bassist Jock Cheese released a solo album, Platter, on Shock Records. The album was co-written by Cheese with Ron Hitler-Barassi and Humphrey B. Flaubert, and contained the full version of "Unfair", a track previously excerpted as the introduction to De RigeurMortis. Guitarist Tokin' Blackman contributes classical guitar to one track; otherwise most of the album's instruments were recorded by Cheese.

On September 26, TISM held a special one-off concert at the Hi-Fi Bar in Melbourne, presented as the "Save Our TISM" telethon, in which they solicited donations from the public to keep them from breaking up; despite apparently receiving the desired amount, the band "split" at the end of the show. The performance was filmed and released as part of the three-disc CD/DVD package The White Albun in 2004 by Madman Entertainment. Despite the "split", TISM continued to perform in order to promote the release of The White Albun, which also included the group's sixth (and to date, final) studio album, and an additional DVD containing a short documentary, the band's music videos, and a collection of home videos. The three disc set received good reviews;Anton (30 June 2004). "[http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/725/ TISM – The White Albun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119071311/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/725/ |date=19 November 2008 }}" (review) (2004). Retrieved (11 December 2007). however, it was not eligible for ARIA chart tracking.

File:TISM-Everyone.PNG" music video by animator Bernard Derriman]]

At the band's penultimate concert on 13 November 2004, Hitler-Barassi delivered a diatribe saying that the band had "lost the election" and made references to Guy Sebastian winning that year's season of Australian Idol.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emXRiI98K7A&list=PLC79776FF6D9A4137&index=2 |title=RHB HIFI 13-11-2004.wmv |last=Peter Aylward |date=22 December 2009 |access-date=5 August 2016 |via=YouTube |archive-date=28 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160628113357/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emXRiI98K7A&list=PLC79776FF6D9A4137&index=2 |url-status=live}} This show was followed by the band's last live performance for almost two decades, at the Earthcore festival later in the month. Following this show, TISM - quietly and without fanfare - disbanded.{{Cite web |date=2017-01-08 |title=A tale of two dags: TISM's Damian Cowell and Tony Martin continue the satire with new album |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/a-tale-of-two-dags-tisms-damien-cowell-and-tony-martin-continue-the-satire-with-new-album-20170102-gtklqs.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108014601/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/a-tale-of-two-dags-tisms-damien-cowell-and-tony-martin-continue-the-satire-with-new-album-20170102-gtklqs.html |archive-date=8 January 2017 }}

In 2005, TISM released the single "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" in the German market. Sony/BMG Germany expressed interest in the song when its animated clip by Bernard Derriman became a viral hit, thanks to bloggers and sites such as YouTube. The single reached the German commercial charts.TISM – Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me. Chart information from [http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php charts-surfer.de]. (A search for TISM brings up the Max. Pos. 63.) Retrieved (11 December 2007). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702104440/http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php |date=2 July 2007 }}

In October 2006, TISM were inducted into the EG Hall of Fame, at which they made an appearance and "a hilariously irreverent speech".{{cite web |author=Donovan, Patrick |date=22 December 2007 |title=Sticky Carpet |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/sticky-carpet/2006/12/21/1166290654614.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929132012/http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/sticky-carpet/2006/12/21/1166290654614.html |archive-date=29 September 2007 |access-date=16 October 2007 |website=The Age}} When asked about the current status of TISM at the time, Humphrey B. Flaubert remarked "we are slowly moving towards our deaths".{{cite web |date=3 October 2006 |title=Jay and The Doctor |url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/jayandthedoctor/listen/audio_alpha_T.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017184019/http://abc.net.au/triplej/jayandthedoctor/listen/audio_alpha_T.htm |archive-date=17 October 2007 |access-date=18 October 2007 |website=Triple J}}

In early 2005, Damian Cowell (the former Humphrey B. Flaubert) formed a country and western band called Root!, producing a series of demos under the name "DC Root". The project continued until 2010, producing two albums and an EP.{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/a-love-letter-to-berlin/2007/09/06/1188783364478.html?page=2 |title=A love letter to Berlin |website=The Age |date=7 September 2007 |author=Patrick Donovan and Tessie Virgiotis |access-date=16 October 2007 |archive-date=15 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415193904/http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/a-love-letter-to-berlin/2007/09/06/1188783364478.html?page=2 |url-status=live}} Cowell followed Root! with The DC3, featuring Root! guitarist Henri Grawe. The project, which released its first single "I Was the Guy in TISM" in 2010, continued until 2013, producing two albums. Following The DC3, Cowell formed Damian Cowell's Disco Machine, which to date has produced three albums.

On 9 April 2008, James "Jock" Paull (best known as TISM's long-time guitarist Tokin' Blackman) died of lung cancer.{{Cite web |url=http://www.smartartists.com.au/artists/jock.php |website=Smartartists |title=James Paull – Tism 1957–2008 |date=27 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502160103/http://www.smartartists.com.au/artists/jock.php |access-date=27 October 2009 |archive-date=2 May 2008}} In October 2009, the majority of TISM's back catalogue was re-released on iTunes with bonus material. In March 2010, a "21st century mix" of their single "Shut Up – The Footy's on the Radio" was released on iTunes. The 21st century mix features Humphrey B. Flaubert on vocals and Jock Cheese on guitars, and had wholly new lyrics. In April 2012, former guitarist Sean Kelly (aka Leak Van Vlalen) performed a series of songs live with satirist/musician Kieran Butler as "RealiTISM".{{Citation |title=RealiTISM show #1 - April 7, 2012 | date=26 February 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX_3xIdvenU |language=en |access-date=2022-11-27}} Kelly has continued to play TISM material live in years since.

In 2015, appetite for a TISM reunion began to build after Australia was formally invited to join that year's Eurovision Song Contest.{{Cite web |title=Should TISM Represent Australia at Eurovision 2015? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/should-tism-represent-australia-at-eurovision-2015/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Vice.com |date=19 February 2015 |language=en}} According to two competing Change.org petitions, TISM was 37 times more popular a choice for Australia's Eurovision representative than Kylie Minogue,{{Cite web |last=Cashmere |first=Paul |date=2015-02-11 |title=Australia Prefers TISM Over Kylie Minogue For Aussie Eurovision Contestant |url=https://www.noise11.com/news/australia-prefers-tism-over-kylie-minogue-for-aussie-eurovision-contestant-20150211 |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Noise11.com |language=en-US}} with the petition for TISM receiving over 14,000 signatures in support.{{Cite web |date=2015-03-04 |title=Guy Sebastian selected to represent Australia at Eurovision |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/05/guy-sebastian-selected-represent-australia-eurovision |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} Flaubert refused to comment at the time, however suggested that "if a giant multinational with [a] horrendous human rights record was to give me a huge cheque I'll dob in my grandmother".{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=Peter |date=2015-02-11 |title=Eurovision 2015: TISM 37 times more popular than Kylie Minogue as proposed Australian representative |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/eurovision-2015-tism-37-times-more-popular-than-kylie-minogue-as-proposed-australian-representative-20150212-13cgu7.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}} Australia's representative for the 2015 Eurovision song contest was ultimately Guy Sebastian with the song "Tonight Again", which came in fifth place.{{Cite web |date=2015-05-24 |title=Guy Sebastian carries Australia's high Eurovision hopes to a heady fifth place |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/24/guy-sebastian-australia-eurovision-fifth-place |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

Australia has continued to participate in Eurovision in the years since, with TISM occasionally being suggested as Australia's representative - including in 2018 by the future 31st Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese.{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Dale |date=2022-06-17 |title=TISM for Eurovision? It has the Prime Minister's support! |url=https://www.aussievision.net/post/tism-for-eurovision-it-has-the-prime-minister-s-support |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=aussievision |language=en}} Albanese, a known TISM fan, also featured "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River" in a DJ set at the Corner Hotel in Richmond in June 2016.{{Cite web |last=Bowden |first=Ebony |date=2016-06-22 |title='DJ Albo': Anthony Albanese hits the right note at Melbourne's Corner Hotel |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/dj-albo-anthony-albanese-hits-the-right-note-at-melbournes-corner-hotel-20160622-gppoxt.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}{{Citation |title=Anthony Albanese on TISM (This Is Serious Mum) | date=30 May 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCm2vYyXhSo |language=en |access-date=2022-11-22}} In September 2017, Albanese described TISM as having "a bit of dark humour, I think it's fair to say... but they were just great fun."

In response to the growing demand for a TISM reunion, in April 2015 Damian Cowell said "if TISM came back, it would be shithouse. That's the answer... to that question. I think that's sort of the point that eludes most bands that make a comeback. They don't ask that question, 'will it be shithouse or not?' And because they don't ask that question, they go out and it's shithouse."{{Citation |title=DAMIAN COWELL TALKS TISM - ABOUT TONIGHT S02E09 (27/4/15) | date=29 April 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uALQT4dLUVc |language=en |access-date=2022-11-22}}

On 22 January 2020, TISM released their back catalogue on Spotify.{{cite web |url=https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/tism-spotify-debut/ |title=Aussie music legends TISM have finally made their Spotify debut |website=Tone Deaf |date=22 January 2020 |access-date=9 June 2021 |author=Jenke, Tyler |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418042756/https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/tism-spotify-debut/ |url-status=live}} In February, a proposal from Melbourne politician David Limbrick to rename the Mordialloc Freeway the "TISM Mordialloc Freeway" was rejected by the Victorian government.{{Cite web |date=2020-02-05 |title=Victorian Government Responds to Calls For a TISM Freeway |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/victorian-government-responds-tism-freeway-7006/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}} On 10 April, Live at the Corner Hotel 30 May 1988, a recording of a concert at that venue which had previously circulated as a bootleg, was released digitally by the Australian Road Crew Initiative as a benefit for music employees put out of work by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 14 October 2020, a press release credited (for the first time in 12 years) to Ron Hitler-Barassi was published at www.tism.net.au. It concluded by saying that TISM would begin a CD and vinyl reissue campaign{{cite web |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-reissue-campaign-final-performance-17935/ |title=TISM Launch Reissue Campaign with Official Release of Final Performance |website=Rolling Stone Australia |date=15 October 2020 |access-date=9 June 2021 |author=Jenke, Tyler |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427080508/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-reissue-campaign-final-performance-17935/ |url-status=live}} with former head of Shock Records, David Williams. The reissue campaign began 21 December with the release of a recording of TISM's last live performance at the 2004 Earthcore festival, titled On Behalf of TISM I Would Like To Concede We Have Lost the Election, and a transparent vinyl disc containing almost two hours of silence (pressed at Abbey Road Studios), titled The TISM Omni-Album.{{Citation |title=TISM - The TISM Omni-Album |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/16662654-TISM-The-TISM-Omni-Album |language=en |access-date=2022-11-22}} These were TISM's first vinyl releases in 30 years, and first physical releases since their final studio album, The White Albun, in 2004.

On 17 November 2020, a vinyl single featuring a cover of AC/DC's "For Those About to Rock" was released in a variety of editions, featuring cover art designed by four of the band's members.{{cite web |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-continue-reissue-series-new-single-18508/ |title=TISM Continue Reissue Series By (Not) Announcing New Single |website=Rolling Stone Australia |date=27 October 2020 |access-date=9 June 2021 |author=Jenke, Tyler |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715090905/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-continue-reissue-series-new-single-18508/ |url-status=live}} The song had been recorded in the 1990s for an AC/DC tribute album but was never released, although excerpts had circulated in the TISM fan community for many years. The single's B-side was "Let's Hang Around the Shopping Centre", another unreleased song dating to the post-www.tism.wanker.com era. The release of the single was also accompanied by the first release of official TISM T-shirts (featuring two of the aforementioned cover designs) in 16 years.{{Cite web |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-single-acdc-cover-19361/ |title=TISM Detail New Single Featuring Long-Awaited AC/DC Cover |website=Rolling Stone Australia |date=17 November 2020 |access-date=9 June 2021 |author=Jenke, Tyler |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427080514/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-single-acdc-cover-19361/ |url-status=live}}

TISM's reissue campaign continued in 2021 with the June release of the Record Store Day exclusive limited edition 7" single "Mistah Eliot – He Wanker", featuring an unreleased version of "Kill Yourself Now and Avoid the Rush" on the B-side, and in July, the first wide release of their 1984 self-titled demo This Is Serious Mum on vinyl and CD, and Punt Road, a 1987 rehearsal session, also on vinyl and CD.{{cite web |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-demo-tape-rehearsals-reissue-series-25184/ |title=TISM Unearth Demo Tape, Rehearsals, and More for Reissue Series |website=Rolling Stone Australia |date=15 April 2021 |access-date=9 June 2021 |author=Jenke, Tyler |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505222334/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tism-demo-tape-rehearsals-reissue-series-25184/ |url-status=live}} In September a compilation of the group's remixes, Collected Remixes, was issued on vinyl only. In November, the mini-album Form and Meaning Reach Ultimate Communion was reissued on vinyl and, for the first time, on CD.

File:TISMatCroxtonBandroom-12-11-2022.jpg, 12 November 2022]]

On 15 June 2022, TISM were announced as one of the headlining acts on the 2022 edition of Good Things, and were said to be playing their first performances since 2004 exclusively as part of the festival.[http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/bring-me-the-horizon-headline-stacked-good-things-2022-lineup/ Bring Me The Horizon Headline Stacked Good Things 2022 Lineup]. Sosefina Fuamoli, Music Feeds, 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022. Shortly following this announcement, TISM founders Humphrey B. Flaubert and Ron Hitler-Barassi made their first media appearances in sixteen years, providing interviews to Music Feeds and Guardian Australia, as well as Double J and ABC Radio in Sydney and Melbourne,{{Cite web |date=2022-06-26 |title="I Want As Many People to See Me Die On Stage As Possible" – A Chaotic Interview with TISM |url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/features/i-want-as-many-people-to-see-me-die-on-stage-as-possible-a-chaotic-interview-with-tism/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Music Feeds}}{{Cite web |date=2022-06-16 |title=An unmissable chaotic interview with TISM |url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/programs/arvos/tism-reunite-interview/13932016 |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Double J |language=en-AU}} and almost immediately prompting a (tongue-in-cheek) feud with Regurgitator, who were also appearing at Good Things.{{Cite web |last=Disalvo |first=Tom |date=2022-06-16 |title=Newly reunited TISM trade barbs with Regurgitator ahead of Good Things Festival appearance: "We hate them all" |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/tism-regurgitator-beef-good-things-festival-2022-3248673 |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=NME |language=en-AU}}{{cite web |title=The Music |url=https://themusic.com.au/ |website=themusic.com.au |access-date=20 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010223212115/https://themusic.com.au/ |archive-date=February 23, 2001 |language=en |url-status=live}}

A box set edition of their first single "Defecate on My Face" (containing the 7" single along with an additional 12" record and CD) was released in August 2022,{{Cite web |title=TISM – Defecate on My Face – Box Set |url=https://tism.store/products/tism-defecate-on-my-face-box-set |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=viciousthreadsstore |language=en}} alongside a compilation of the band's A-sides, Collected Versus: The Complete TISM Singles, on CD and vinyl.{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/tism-announce-collected-versus-compilation-album-3270603 | title=TISM announce 'Collected Versus' compilation album

| website=NME

| date=16 July 2022

}} The CD edition of Collected Versus contains the remix compilation Collected Remixes on the second disc, and features liner notes from former Rolling Stone Australia editor and known TISM fan Tyler Jenke, while the LP version features liner notes by Williams. An alternate edition of Collected Versus was released for the American market in early November, with a different second disc, titled Kill Americans: A TISM Primer, featuring a selection of album tracks.{{Cite web |title=TISM : Collected Versus: The Complete TISM Singles - 2CD - SEELAND - Forced Exposure |url=https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/tism-collected-versus-the-complete-tism-singles-2cd/SEELAND.538CD.html |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=www.forcedexposure.com}}{{Cite web |title=TISM Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tism-mn0000718695/biography |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}

On 17 October, former guitarist Sean Kelly (Leak Van Vlalen) confirmed he was not rejoining TISM, as the band required a guitarist who could comfortably cover both Kelly's parts and those of the late James "Jock" Paull (or Tokin' Blackman).{{Cite web |title=The Annual TISM Fan BBQ {{!}} Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/44545772326/about/ |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}} Shortly afterwards, it was announced (via the launch of an official Instagram page) that TISM's new guitarist was named Vladimir Lenin-McCartney.{{Cite web |title=@vladimir_lenin_mccartney on Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CkP0cxqpEKF/ |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Instagram |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0vviSgnxAFr2dS3RcuTpPG1CpTfGfJjbHd36iykvhbkehN9Sym29fTm2vi4VZ5rtBl&id=100044567523653 |title=TISM New Guitarist |work=Facebook |accessdate=11 November 2022}} Lenin-McCartney's stage name is a riff on Russian politician Vladimir Lenin and the songwriting duo Lennon–McCartney.

Three weeks ahead of Good Things, on 12 November 2022, the reunited TISM held their first concert in 18 years, an hour-long secret show (billed as "Open Mic Tryouts") at the Croxton Bandroom in Thornbury.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-13 |title=TISM Played Their First Show In Nearly Two Decades Over the Weekend |url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/tism-played-their-first-show-in-nearly-two-decades-over-the-weekend/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Music Feeds}}{{Cite web |date=2022-11-14 |title=Watch TISM perform live for the first time in 18 years |url=https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/watch-tism-perform-live-for-the-first-time-in-18-years/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Tone Deaf |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Ellie |date=2022-11-13 |title=Watch TISM perform for the first time in 18 years at secret Melbourne show |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/watch-tism-perform-for-the-first-time-in-18-years-at-secret-melbourne-show-3348349 |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=NME |language=en-AU}} A second secret show (billed as "Banjo Paterson-Lakes") followed the weekend after, at the Prince Bandroom in St. Kilda, on 19 November.{{Cite web |last=Boulton |first=Martin |date=2022-11-20 |title=Cult band TISM performs a second surprise show that's sure to go down in local folklore |url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/music/cult-band-tism-performs-a-second-surprise-show-that-s-sure-to-go-down-in-local-folklore-20221120-p5bzpv.html |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=The Age |language=en}} Later that night, Flaubert and Hitler-Barassi made their second appearance on the music program Rage, again providing an eclectic and eccentric series of programming choices, such as a 1970s Four Corners report on the middle class, and tracks by Crazy Frog, Mark "Jacko" Jackson and Jim Steinman.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-12 |title=TISM guest program rage |url=https://www.abc.net.au/rage/guest/tism-guest-program-rage/101644690 |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=ABC Rage |language=en-AU}}

On 25 November 2022, www.tism.wanker.com was reissued on CD and limited edition blue-coloured vinyl, preceding an expanded seven-disc vinyl box set edition entitled Wanker Box, which was eventually released in May 2023.{{Cite web |title=TISM - www.tism.wanker.com - Coloured Vinyl |url=https://tism.store/products/tism-www-tism-wanker-com-coloured-vinyl |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=viciousthreadsstore |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=TISM - www.tism.wanker.com - CD |url=https://tism.store/products/tism-www-tism-wanker-com-cd |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=viciousthreadsstore |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Alex |date=2023-04-27 |title=TISM Announce 'www.tism.wanker.com' 25th Anniversary Vinyl Box Set |url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/tism-announce-tism-wanker-25th-anniversary-vinyl-box-set/ |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=Music Feeds |language=en-US}} A two-disc limited coloured vinyl edition of the live album Machines Against the Rage was also released on 25 November.{{Cite web |title=TISM – Machines Against the Rage – 2LP Coloured Vinyl |url=https://tism.store/products/tism-machines-against-the-rage-2lp-coloured-vinyl |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=viciousthreadsstore |language=en}} The following day, TISM performed their third secret warm-up show at 170 Russell in Melbourne, billed as "Rex Oedipus and Jack 'Elephant' Titus".

TISM played all three dates of Good Things from 2–4 December 2022 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. During these three shows, the band were outfitted in silver costumes with large helium balloons attached; a group of tradesmen also appeared onstage during the set and erected a set of foam letters reading "TISN".{{Cite web |date=2022-12-03 |title=Good Things Review – Melbourne Crowd Makes the Most of Heavy Festival's Return |url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/gig/good-things-review-melbourne-crowd-makes-the-most-of-heavy-festivals-return/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Music Feeds}}{{Cite web |last=Stokes |first=Grace |title=Review: 2022 Good Things Festival @ Brisbane Showgrounds |url=https://scenestr.com.au/music/review-2022-good-things-festival-brisbane-showgrounds-20221205 |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=scenestr - Pop Culture & Entertainment |date=7 December 2022 |language=en-gb}}{{Cite web |last=Massie |first=Andrew |date=2022-12-04 |title=GIG REVIEW: Good Things Festival - Sydney 2022 |url=https://metal-roos.com.au/gig-review-good-things-festival-sydney-2022/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Metal-Roos |language=en-AU}} The balloons worn by the band were later sold on their website.

On 19 May 2023,{{Cite web |last=Cashmere |first=Paul |date=2023-04-27 |title=TISM To Release Wanker Box |url=https://www.noise11.com/news/tism-to-release-wanker-box-20230427 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Noise11.com |language=en-US}} the band released a seven-disc box set of their fourth album, www.tism.wanker.com celebrating its 25th anniversary.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/tism-detail-25th-anniversary-edition-of-www-tism-wanker-com-3437213|title= TISM detail 25th anniversary edition of www.tism.wanker.com|website=NME|date=29 April 2023|access-date=6 May 2023}}

On 18 August 2023, the band released Hot Dogma Sing Sing Sessions, a demo tape recorded for their album Hot Dogma containing previously unreleased songs and six recordings that previously appeared on Collected Recordings 1986–1993.{{cite web|url=https://www.viciousthreads.shop/collections/tism/products/tism-hot-dogma-sing-sing-sessions-cd|title=TISM – Hot Dogma Sing Sing Sessions – CD|website=viciousthreadsstore|date=August 18, 2023|access-date=November 26, 2023}}

On 10 November 2023, their EP The Beasts of Suburban was reissued as a 3CD/4LP box set, containing over 50 unreleased demo recordings made by the band between 1991 and 1992, as well as the four iTunes bonus tracks for the first time on a physical release.{{cite web|url=https://www.viciousthreads.shop/products/tism-beasts-box-beasts-of-suburban-3cd-box-set|title=TISM – Beasts Box – Beasts of Suburban – 3CD Box Set|website=viciousthreadsstore|date=November 10, 2023|access-date=November 26, 2023}}

16 November 2023 saw the band announcing a performance at the Museum of Old and New Art, for which Cowell had previously composed an album over a decade prior, to take place on 2 March 2024.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-16 |title=TISM are playing MONA FOMA in 2024 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/music-news/mona-foma-line-up-tism-paul-kelly-mogwai-qotsa-2024/103113010 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Double J |language=en-AU}}

On 30 November 2023,{{cite web |title=TISM - I've Gone Hillsong |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3t4SdNO4aU |via=YouTube | date=30 November 2023 |access-date=5 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=TISM's First New Single in 20 Years: "I've Gone Hillsong" – Out Now! |url=https://www.facebook.com/TISM.TISM.TISM/posts/pfbid0gfMiH9JSSKidENFzxnJFMitH6JxUADMq777UmvzjKBb4Rtk4mnuv4oCEx4oQ3EzXl |via=Facebook |publisher=TISM |access-date=5 January 2024}} the band released the single "I've Gone Hillsong" on music streaming services, a satire from the perspective of the Hillsong Church. It marked their first new song in 19 years, and the first with Lenin-McCartney on guitar. The B-side of the single contained a new diatribe performed by Hitler-Barassi, "Schopenhauer's SUV".{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=TISM release 'I've Gone Hillsong', first new song in almost 20 years, tease more gigs |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/music-news/tism-new-music-ive-gone-hillsong-video-single-east-coast-gigs/103176728 |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=Double J |language=en-AU}} The band also teased three new shows on Australia's east coast for early 2024 to accompany the Museum of Old and New Art concert.{{Cite web |last=Dunton |first=Claire |title=TISM Release First New Single In 20 Years 'I've Gone Hillsong' |url=https://themusic.com.au/news/tism-release-first-new-single-in-20-years-ive-gone-hillsong-with-a-2024-tour-to-come/bbnTYWBjYmU/01-12-23 |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=themusic.com.au |language=en}} On 8 December 2023, the band announced their new EP The "C" Word and was released the following week on 15 December 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.theaureview.com/music/tism-to-release-new-ep-the-c-word-just-in-time-for-christmas/|title=TISM to release new EP: The "C" Word – just in time for Christmas!|website=The AU Review|first=Sarah|last=Duggan|date=14 December 2023|access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.viciousthreads.shop/collections/tism/products/tism-the-c-word-cdep|title=TISM – The "C" Word – CDEP|website=Vicious Threads|date=14 December 2023|access-date=14 December 2023}} It was the band's first EP in 30 years, since the release of Australia the Lucky Cunt in 1993. "The 'C' Word" and "I've Gone Hillsong" hit No. 1 and No. 3 on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association's single charts.{{Cite web |title=Charts - Australian Independent Record Labels Association |url=https://air.org.au/chart/?date=20231225 |access-date=2024-02-08 |language=en-AU}}

TISM performed a secret show at the Pier Bandroom in Frankston on 24 February 2024, under the name "Dua Liposuction", with The Bennies supporting. At that show, three new songs were debuted: "Old Skool TISM" (whose lyrics were originally recited as a diatribe at the end of the 2022 secret shows), "Somebody to Hate" and "Destroy All Art" (which would later be retitled to "Death to Art"), as well as a new version of "40 Years - Then Death", entitled "14 Years - Then Death". The band would go on to perform the same setlist at MONA FOMA in Launceston the following week, which opened with a parody TED talk skit, which continued behind the band for the duration of the show. This was also Lenin-McCartney's last show with the band - he left around this time, and his guitar would later be sold on eBay.

On 16 April 2024, the band released No Penis, No God, a gospel album they had recorded in January 1996, which had remained for the most part unreleased (nine tracks had been previously issued as iTunes bonus tracks on www.tism.wanker.com in 2009), as a limited-edition bootleg-style LP.{{cite web | url=https://www.viciousthreads.shop/collections/tism/products/tism-no-penis-no-god | title=Tism - No Penis No God }}

11 July saw the band debuting "Death to Art" on Double J. The song was released as a single two days later, with another diatribe, "Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel 915 (The Ballad of Jen and Steve)", as the B-side.{{cite web | url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/death-to-art-single/1754685508 | title=Death to Art - Single by TISM on Apple Music }}

On 7 August, the band released the music video to "Death to Art", which was crowdsourced by fans, also announcing that it is the title track of their upcoming album, the first in 20 years and the first with McCartney on guitar, and a headline tour of Australia in October and November that month, to be supported by The Mavis's, Machine Gun Fellatio, Ben Lee and Eskimo Joe. The 26th of that month saw Jenke announce a 33 1/3 book about Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, with a 1 May 2025 release date.{{cite web | url=https://themusic.com.au/news/machiavelli-and-the-four-seasons-a-new-book-about-tism-is-coming/K7qRPz4hICM/27-08-24 | title='Machiavelli and the Four Seasons': A New Book About TISM is Coming }}

On 6 September, the band released "'70s Football", the fourth single from the album, as a music video on YouTube. On 18 September, a warmup show was announced at The Gov in Adelaide for 6 October, which sold out within two days. At that show, TISM performed with a new left-handed guitarist, who inherited his stage name from his predecessor, and a brass section.

On 16 October, a music video was released for "Old Skool TISM", composed of archival live footage of the band, from 1988's Shoddy and Poor VHS up to Good Things Festival.

On 24 November, the band appeared on Spicks and Specks, performing a mashup of the Gorillaz' "Clint Eastwood" with parts of "Tradies Get the Ladies", a diatribe the band had recited at Good Things.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRsr6lCL450 |title=TISM - "Clint Eastwood / Tradies Get the Ladies" - Spicks and Specks 24/11/2024 |date=2024-11-24 |last=Rasmussen Yassen |access-date=2025-02-07 |via=YouTube}}

The Death to Art tour ended on 29 November at the Hordern Pavilion. At the end of the show, TISM took a bow then posed for a photo with the other bands and the artists from the stage show.

On 30 April 2025, Jock Cheese appeared at the APRA Music Awards.https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/music/apra-music-awards-red-carpet-see-which-stars-rocked-up-to-celebrate-australias-biggest-night-in-music-c-18536723

TISM members are pseudonymous and anonymous, and wear balaclavas during almost all of their public appearances. However, most of their names have been revealed (see below).{{Cite web |url=http://www.inthemix.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-10798.html |title=Forum providing details of some names |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613084543/http://www.inthemix.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-10798.html |url-status=live}}

Current

;Former

St. Peenis also played saxophone on earlier recordings.TISM (1991). [https://archive.today/20240524152649/https://www.webcitation.org/5knqrI38Y?url=http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/ladychatterley.html Lady Chatterly's Louvre]. press release. TISM. Hosted by [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007160733/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/ tismselfstorage]. Retrieved 18 October 2007 Cheese plays guitar on various recordings and live shows,[http://pipl.com/directory/people/Jock/Cheese Jock Cheese – Pipl Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927044215/http://pipl.com/directory/people/Jock/Cheese |date=27 September 2007 }}. pipl. Retrieved 18 October 2007 and Blackman arranged orchestral sections on The White Albun (2004).Album notes for The White Albun (2004) [inset]. Madman Entertainment, Melbourne, Australia (MMA2204). [http://musicbrainz.org/release/e3003aef-0f4d-4ed2-81ae-bba4da30ca57.html The White Albun] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120711200007/http://musicbrainz.org/release/e3003aef-0f4d-4ed2-81ae-bba4da30ca57 |date=11 July 2012 }} at MusicBrainz. Flaubert programs rhythms and samples, and has occasionally played acoustic drumkits live.The White Albun (2004) [DVD]. Madman Entertainment, Melbourne, Australia (MMA2204). Disc Three : A Docunentary. Dumb 'n' Bass recorded live by Channel V.

There has been more than one person performing under the Les Miserables name, as confirmed by Sean Kelly (Leak Van Vlalen) during the "RealiTISM" video.

File:TISM Australian Music Vault.jpg", Australian Music Vault, Melbourne]]

TISM have never officially revealed their names, instead choosing to use pseudonyms on their records and in interviews, all the while concealing their faces. Usually this involves the wearing of a balaclava, but outrageous costumes have been created for the purpose, including Ku Klux Klan uniforms made of newspaper,The White Albun (2004) [DVD]. Madman Entertainment, Melbourne, Australia (MMA2204). Disc 1: A film by Antonionioni and Disc 3: Home Videos silver suits with puffy arms and legs to mimic an inflated cask wine bladder, giant foam paintings worn on the head, large foam signs bearing the name of a Beatle,coxy (2004) [http://cox.id.au/david/gallery/TISM-06Aug2004/TISM_06Aug04_256 Coxy's Live Concert Photo Collection :: TISM – Troccadero – 6 August 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829123955/http://cox.id.au/david/gallery/TISM-06Aug2004/TISM_06Aug04_256 |date=29 August 2006 }} (photo gallery) (2004) Retrieved (11 December 2007). fat 'businessman' suits, and eight-foot-high inflatable headpieces among others.

Who TISM are beneath the masks has been the cause of much speculation by fans, with one theory contending that TISM is composed of members of other bands who do not want their fans to find out: popular targets of this theory include Painters and Dockers, Machine Gun Fellatio and even The Wiggles.Jenkins, Jeff (8 July 1998). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20091025171848/http://geocities.com/tismselfstorage/balaclavard.html Balaclava Road Warriors]". Jeff Jenkins. In Press. interview. Hosted by [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007160733/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/ tismselfstorage]. Retrieved 18 October 2007.[http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/481502.html Who is TISM?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930204214/http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/481502.html |date=30 September 2007 }} (2006) discussion at [http://whirlpool.net.au/ Whirlpool.net.au] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018035435/http://www.whirlpool.net.au/ |date=18 October 2007 }}. Retrieved 18 October 2007.Pendragon, Bane. "[https://archive.today/20240524142124/https://www.webcitation.org/5knDwfjXU?url=http://www.geocities.com/bane_pendragon/TorW/TISM.html TISM or Wiggles?]" Retrieved 18 October 2007. A theory based on the band's tour schedule's roughly coinciding with school holidays, and the fact that the Ringwood Secondary College Choir and Orchestra feature in the filmclip to Thunderbirds Are Coming Out, proposes that TISM are school teachers.Hogan, Chris (2003). "[http://sparebricks.fika.org/sbzine14/ffi.html Big Fucking Whoopie: A Floyd Fan's Intro to TISM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723010933/http://sparebricks.fika.org/sbzine14/ffi.html |date=23 July 2011 }}". Chris Hogan. [http://sparebricks.fika.org/ Spare Bricks :: Pink Floyd Webzine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195617/http://sparebricks.fika.org/ |date=27 September 2007 }}. essay. Retrieved 18 October 2007.Murphy, Kerrie (8 July 2004). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20050207104235/http://www.geocities.com/tismselfstorage/australian080704.html Satire and music in accord]". Kerrie Murphy. The Australian. Retrieved 18 October 2007. Another common theory, based on the high incidence of Australian rules football references in their lyrics, is that they are or were players in the AFL, however Humphrey B. Flaubert has stated that "We're actually not AFL, we're more violent and crappy... so you're looking at the VFL there."Martin, Tony and Molloy, Mick (1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20010615111034/http://www.tism.com.au/multimedia/mmtism.mp3 Interview with TISM]. Tony Martin and Mick Molloy. Archived on 18 November 2002 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved 18 October 2007.

When asked why they wear masks, Flaubert replied:

{{Blockquote|The answer that makes me sound good is that we desired to circumvent the cult of personality that is inherent in rock music by choosing to remain anonymous. Unlike every other band in rock we chose to be anonymous. The answer that makes me sound good would probably also incorporate some lengthy discussion about Brechtian alienation techniques, about our post modernist grasp of ever cooling universe, and a dehumanising society encapsulated in the somewhat paramilitary aspect of our clothing. All of those things would make me sound good, but actually we’re really boring guys." |Humphrey B. Flaubert|Return of the Pop Vigilantes[https://web.archive.org/web/20050616025137/http://www.tabula-rasa.ssu.swin.edu.au/articles/02_1_18.pdf Return of the Pop Vigilantes] (essay) (21 February 2002). Archived on 16 June 2005 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved on 16 October 2007. (21 February 2002)}}

However, when TISM performed on John Safran's Music Jamboree in 2002 playing "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River" on instruments from Greece, the song writers' names were revealed during the credit roll which read "'(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River' by Damian Cowell / Peter Minack / Jack Holt / James Paull / Eugene Cester ... Performed by TISM."TISM – [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DP_I7XB0bc He'll Never Be An Ol' Man River (Live on John Safran's Music Jamboree)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319050731/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DP_I7XB0bc |date=19 March 2017 }} (2002). SBS TV, Melbourne, Australia. Hosted by YouTube. Retrieved 16 October 2007. Up until then, the songwriters' names were publicly available on the APRA/AMCOS database, but now the songwriting credits on the site just say "TISM" instead of the members' real names; Damian Cowell's real name is listed as one of the songwriters of Root!'s songs, however.

The song writers' names were also published later, alongside information on "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" when it hit success in Sweden and Germany in 2004.TISM – [http://www.swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=TISM&titel=Everyone+Else+Has+Had+More+Sex+Than+Me&cat=s Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926221359/http://www.swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=TISM&titel=Everyone+Else+Has+Had+More+Sex+Than+Me&cat=s |date=26 September 2007 }}. Swedish chart information from [http://swedishcharts.com/ swedishcharts.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/5mqxvxLrz?url=http://swedishcharts.com/ |date=17 January 2010 }}. Retrieved 18 October 2007.[http://laut.de/vorlaut/news/2005/06/22/12518/index.htm laut.de | Tism: Weniger Sex als Krokodil und Frosch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001031408/http://laut.de/vorlaut/news/2005/06/22/12518/index.htm |date=1 October 2007 }} (22 June 2005). article. Retrieved 18 October 2007.

However, vigilant fans would have noticed the names some years earlier: Hitler-Barassi was photographed in 1993 at the opening night of Madame Butterfly, which was published on 4 April 1993;N, Te Koha (5 April 1993). "Minack's snap unmasks fury". Herald Sun, p. 32. the book revealed the member to be Peter Minack, who later released a book of his own (Campaigning With Grant) in 2000 about the American Civil War.Minack, Peter – [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/Default.aspx?Page=Book&ID=9780091841867 Campaigning With Grant] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928074251/http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/Default.aspx?Page=Book&ID=9780091841867 |date=28 September 2007 }} ({{ISBN|0-09-184186-0}}) book details from [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/ Random House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731001704/http://www.randomhouse.com.au/ |date=31 July 2016 }}. Retrieved 18 October 2007 The book contains thin references to TISM.[http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Minack,%20Peter Minack, Peter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928074107/http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Minack,%20Peter |date=28 September 2007 }} author details from [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/ Random House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731001704/http://www.randomhouse.com.au/ |date=31 July 2016 }}. Retrieved 18 October 2007. In interviews about his book, Minack revealed he was a teacher, his father fought in World War II for the Germans, and that he is fanatical about the Richmond Football Club, explaining his stage moniker.Waldren, Murray (29 July 2000) [http://members.optusnet.com.au/~waldrenm/minack.html CWG – Peter Minack's civil war novel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203452/http://members.optusnet.com.au/~waldrenm/minack.html |date=3 March 2016 }}. Murray Waldren. The Weekend Australian. Retrieved 18 October 2007.

Guitarist Tokin Blackman's real name was James "Jock" Paull. Paull died of cancer on 9 April 2008 at the age of 50.

Eugene Cester was revealed in an Age column as being the uncle of Nic and Chris Cester of Melbourne's Jet,[http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/jet-propelled/2006/09/28/1159337253072.html?page=3 Jet propelled] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415193909/http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/jet-propelled/2006/09/28/1159337253072.html?page=3 |date=15 April 2009 }}, The Age (29 September 2006). p. 3. Retrieved 18 October 2007. however, it did not state which member he is. It is believed that he is Eugene De La Hot Croix Bun.

On 28 March 2007, a Myspace page opened for a Melbourne band called Root! which the lead singer claimed to be "the friend of the uncle of the guys in Jet".ROOT! Compendium, The (28 March 2007) [http://mybrain.ej.am/rootsite/oldnews/07march.html "Old News – March 2007"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930043301/http://mybrain.ej.am/rootsite/oldnews/07march.html |date=30 September 2007 }}. [http://mybrain.ej.am/rootsite/index.html The ROOT! Compendium] . Retrieved 18 October 2007. The page also lists James Paull as a "friend". Humphrey B. Flaubert's real name is Damian Cowell, who performs in the band as D.C. Root.Penberthy, David (9 September 2009) [http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Root-a-musical-celebration-of-our-much-loved-national-verb/ "Root: a musical celebration of our beloved national verb"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227163645/http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Root-a-musical-celebration-of-our-much-loved-national-verb/ |date=27 February 2012 }}. David Penberthy, Punch. Retrieved 27 October 2009.

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TISM are distinguished from other "joke" or "gimmick" bands by, among other things, their musical style. The band rarely, in any seriousness, state actual influences on the type of music they played, except that The Residents were a band which TISM "did" notice and "possibly" took some influence from. A clear link can be drawn from The Residents' 1977 promotional video The Third Reich 'n' Roll, in which that group wore Ku Klux Klan uniforms made of newspapersSokal, Roman (2001) [http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/timeline.aspx?csid1=22 The Residents: More Than What The Ear Hears Coming From The Eye] Roman Sokal (essay) Retrieved 10 December 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418155803/http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/timeline.aspx?csid1=22 |date=18 April 2009 }} (TISM did exactly this at their first gig). Other bands which may have influenced TISM are difficult to pinpoint, although a Sydney Morning Herald article on the band described them as "a cross between Skyhooks, Dave Warner, Talking Heads and The Residents".{{Cite web |url=https://tismarchive.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/1986-07-20-smh.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312154015/https://tismarchive.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/1986-07-20-smh.jpg |url-status=live}}

In 2021, co-founder Humphrey B. Flaubert noted that part of the band's style was "never breaking out of character. Whether that character was 99% the real us, it was still a character. Listen to any interview and you'll get the sense that those guys are constantly 'on'. The persona never wanes. The metaphorical mask never drops. And while that may have annoyed some journalists, it's what set that band apart from every other band. It's what made that band's interviews more interesting for the listener than fucking Joe Blow going on about the creative inspiration behind his new album."

Recurring lyrical themes are present throughout TISM's catalog, the most common being death, violence,Dwyer, Michael. (2 July 2004) [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/01/1088488079697.html The phantom menace] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603013414/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/01/1088488079697.html|date=3 June 2008}} and related video (produced by Libby Chow, 2004). (article). (video). The Age. Retrieved 11 December 2007. fame and prominent figures,Kroenert, Tim. (12 November 2007). [The Chaser's 'just war' on celebrity worship] Tim Kroenert (essay) Retrieved (12 November 2007)Dave [http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/tism-top-ten-thoughts-on-candidates-i.html TISM Top Ten:Thoughts On The Candidates I] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808111212/http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/tism-top-ten-thoughts-on-candidates-i.html|date=8 August 2010}} (10 August 2005), [http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/tism-top-ten-thoughts-on-candidates-ii.html TISM Top Ten: Thoughts On The Candidates II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808111136/http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/tism-top-ten-thoughts-on-candidates-ii.html|date=8 August 2010}} (12 August 2005) and [http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/ode-for-imperfect.html Ode For The Imperfect] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808111039/http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/ode-for-imperfect.html|date=8 August 2010}} (5 August 2005) from [http://sympatheticstupid.blogspot.com/2005/08/ode-for-imperfect.html Sympathetic Stupid] . Retrieved (11 December 2007). drugs, including alcohol,Geniac [http://www.geniac.net/tism/ Satan Loves YOU!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104123032/http://www.geniac.net/tism/|date=4 November 2007}} (lyric archive – "self rated MA: contains drug references"). Retrieved (11 December 2007). and the Australian Football League. Many of TISM's lyrics are tinged in fatalism, mocking both the superficial and the sublime side of the human condition and the desire for people to be loved and respected (even just in the titles of such songs as "If You're Not Famous at Fourteen, You're Finished", "If You're Ugly, Forget It" and "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me").

TISM's early keyboard sound was provided by an Optigan which keyboardist Eugene de la Hot-Croix Bun ran through a flanger.{{Citation needed|reason=I never saw them use a Optigan in televised performances, nor do their keyboards ever sound like they were generated by an Optigan. Sorry.|date=April 2017}} They mainly use standard tuning; however, Eb tuning and drop D were employed in some songs. Jock Cheese's bass is prominent in the songs to a degree that head of Festival Mushroom Records, Michael Parisi, described the sound as "aggressive".The liner notes to the Best Off bonus disc

The band were sometimes criticised as unoriginal for continually opting for standard pop song structures. One reason for this is clarified in their book, The TISM Guide To Little Aesthetics, in the following paragraphs, when asked why their ideas are post-modern but their music is not:

"Give me a pop-song, mate. Give me a fucking pop-song. Not only is it more fun, it's pretty fuckin' hard to write as well. You can bung in as many out-of-tune oboes as you want, but putting chords together so they sound pleasant isn't as simple as it might appear. It mightn't be the Sistine Chapel, but what is? Ollie fucking Olsen with his stupid feedback and cough mixture? The Jesus and Mary Chain, with their stupid feedback, and their stupid stage show with 800 powerful stupid lights and enough stupid dry ice to enhance their stupid stupidity up its own bullshit crappy teenage pretentious one dimensional dick witted puissant artistic enigma?

So ... what have you listened to for a good time that isn't, after all, a 'traditional' song? Still playing the Mike Oldfield records, huh? Still whipping Yessongs on for a good time? Wanna count on one hand how many people have fun at a Sonic Youth gig? I'm not supporting The Choirboys, old man, I'm just saying that the day some jumped-up over-paid self-important post-modernist cocksucker puts his foot upon his Fairlight computer in the middle of his 47-minute opus "The Silent Forgiveness of the Pig-God" and belts out the chords to "Johnny B. Goode" is the day I'll join you at the footlights of post-modernism.

Besides which, pop songs sell more."sephira (14 September 2003) "[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1492226 The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929141447/http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1492226 |date=29 September 2007 }}" at Everything2. Retrieved 18 October 2007.

{{main|TISM discography}}

• Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance (1988)
• Hot Dogma (1990)
• Machiavelli and the Four Seasons (1995)
• www.tism.wanker.com (1998)
• De RigueurMortis (2001)
• The White Albun (2004)
• Death to Art (2024)

• The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics (Stock, Aristotle and Waterman; 1990)

• TISM #1 (Aaargh! Comics; May 1995)
• TISM #2 (Aaargh! Comics; January 1996)

The APRA Music Awards were established by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers, and to recognise their song writing skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 2025

| "Death to Art"

| Song of the Year

| {{shortlisted}}

| {{cite web|url=https://www.noise11.com/news/the-20-songs-in-for-apra-song-of-the-year-2025-20250206|title= The 20 Songs In For APRA Song of the Year 2025|website=Noise11|date=6 February 2025|access-date=7 February 2025}}

|-

{{end}}

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

{{Awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 1989

| "I'm Interested in Apathy"

| Best Independent Release

| {{won}}

| {{cite web |url=http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/award/Best-Independent-Release |title=ARIA Awards Best Independent Release |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) |access-date=9 June 2021 |archive-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828023730/https://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/award/best-independent-release |url-status=live}}

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1993

| Beasts of Suburban

| Best Independent Release

| {{nom}}

|

|-

| Tony Cohen for TISM – "Get Thee to a Nunnery"

| Producer of the Year

| {{nom}}

| {{cite web |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040222130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/40484/20040223-0000/aria_awards/main.htm |url=http://www.aria_awards.com.au/main.htm |title=17th Annual ARIA Awards |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association |archive-date=22 February 2004 |access-date=6 December 2013}} {{cbignore|bot=medic}}Note: User may be required to access archived information by selecting 'The History', then 'By Year', '7th Annual ARIA Awards (1993)', and 'Option Show Nominations'

|-

| 1995

| Machiavelli and the Four Seasons

| Best Independent Release

| {{won}}

|

|-

| 1996

| "Greg! The Stop Sign!!"

| Best Independent Release

| {{nom}}

|

|-

| 1998

| www.tism.wanker.com

| Best Independent Release

| {{nom}}

|

|-

{{end}}

The Age EG Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 2006 ||TISM || Hall of Fame || {{yes2|inductee}} || {{cite web |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/a-21st-to-celebrate-the-legends-of-melbournes-music-scene-20061028-ge3fyc.html |title=A 21st to celebrate the legends of Melbourne's music scene |website=The Age |date=28 October 2006 |access-date=19 August 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608235023/https://www.theage.com.au/national/a-21st-to-celebrate-the-legends-of-melbournes-music-scene-20061028-ge3fyc.html |url-status=live}}

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{{end}}

:{{note|note1|note}} TISM promoted themselves under various aliases, often for one-off events, including: The Frank Vitkovic Jazz Quartet; Machiavelli and the Four Seasons; Late for Breakfast; Jesus Education Salvation Uniform Squad; Open Mic Tryouts; Banjo Paterson-Lakes; Rex Oedipus; Jack 'Elephant' Titus; Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass; Dua Lipasuction

{{Reflist}}

{{TISM}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tism}}

Category:1982 establishments in Australia

Category:ARIA Award winners

Category:Australian alternative rock groups

Category:Australian satirical musicians

Category:Australian satirists

Category:Australian comedy musicians

Category:Bands with fictional stage personas

Category:Masked musicians

Category:Mushroom Records artists

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1983

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2004

Category:Musical groups established in 1982

Category:Musical groups from Melbourne

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 1984

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2022

Category:Phonogram Inc. artists

Category:Sony BMG artists