TISM (/ˈtɪzəm/ TIZ-əm; an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun,[1] with vocalist Ron Hitler-Barassi joining the group the following year.

These four members have formed the core of the band since their inception, with the line-up being rounded out by guitarists Leak Van Vlalen (1982–1991), Tokin' Blackman (1991–2004; died 2008) and Vladimir Lenin-McCartney (2022–present), as well as backing vocalists/dancers Les Miserables and Jon St. Peenis.

[2] They developed a large underground following throughout the 1980s and 1990s, issuing a number of singles, albums, videos, a short-lived line of comics, and a book (The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics).

", their third album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995, won Best Independent Release at that year's ARIA Music Awards, and was certified Gold in January 1996.

Following an almost 18-year hiatus, TISM reformed in June 2022,[4][7] returning to the stage for a series of three "secret" shows in Melbourne throughout November,[8] prior to their appearances on the line-up of Good Things festival in December.

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.

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.

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.

Courts issued an injunction order of the CD when the Ken Done Society threatened legal action over the artwork,[10] which parodied Done's signature style and depicted a koala sucking a syringe.

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.

[10][5] 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.

[18][19][20] 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.

[24] 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.

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.

[39] 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".

[47] 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.

[51] 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,[52] 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.

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.

[77] 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.

[88] 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.

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.

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,[97] silver suits with puffy arms and legs to mimic an inflated cask wine bladder,[97] giant foam paintings worn on the head,[97] large foam signs bearing the name of a Beatle,[98] fat 'businessman' suits,[97] and eight-foot-high inflatable headpieces[22] among others.

"[104] When asked why they wear masks, Flaubert replied: 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.

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.

[111] 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.

[105] 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 newspapers[116] (TISM did exactly this at their first gig).

"[3] Recurring lyrical themes are present throughout TISM's catalog, the most common being death, violence,[118] fame and prominent figures,[119][120] drugs, including alcohol,[121] and the Australian Football League.

[120] Many of TISM's lyrics are tinged in fatalism, mocking both the superficial and the sublime side of the human condition[120] and the desire for people to be loved and respected[120] (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").