TISM's Machiavelli and the Four Seasons

Tyler Jenke (Freelance Journalist & Lecturer, Freelance journalist, Australia)

$120

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Bloomsbury Publishing USA
01 May 2025

Music reviews & criticism; Rock & Pop music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Popular culture

Series: 33 1/3 Oceania

An in-depth look at the rise of enigmatic Australian rock band TISM, the unexpected success of their 1995 album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, and the continued trajectory of their storied career.

Focusing on one of Australia’s most enigmatic bands, This Is Serious Mum (better known as TISM), Tyler Jenke forms an in-depth analysis of the anonymous, pseudonymous Melbourne collective’s rise to prominence and unlikely success on the popular music charts with their third album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons (1995). Jenke details TISM’s origins as they slowly went from a bedroom concept to an underground success to a staple of concert stages and commercial radio in Australia, growing a rabid fanbase in the process.

Despite the anti-commercial tendencies of TISM, whose album artwork didn’t feature the band, whose band members performed under pseudonyms and who rarely gave interviews, never mind sincere answers, TISM became a commercially successful group. In this book, Jenke identifies the steps the band took to shift their sound from their tried-and-true experimental Australian pub-rock roots to the burgeoning, youthful electronic music genre, employing synthesizers and samplers. With their new sound, TISM incorporated Dadaism – the use of unusual or everyday sounds – and both avant-garde and classic pop musicianship. The band’s new sound resulted in both top ten success and an ARIA Award. This is the first book to dissect TISM’s rise to fame within the Australian music industry and analyze TISM’s status as one of the most memorable, mysterious and paradoxically successful groups in the country’s vibrant alternative music scene.

By: Tyler Jenke (Freelance Journalist & Lecturer Freelance journalist Australia)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 295g
ISBN: 9798765114087
Series: 33 1/3 Oceania
Pages: 168
Publication Date: 01 May 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction 1. Form and Meaning Reach Ultimate Communion 2. The Mystery of the Artist Explained 3. Machiavelli and the Four Seasons 4. The Last Australian Guitar Hero 5. The Art-Income Dialectic 6. 40 Years – Then Death Conclusion Acknowledgements Bibliography

Tyler Jenke is a freelance music journalist and lecturer based in Melbourne, Australia, who previously served as the Editor of Rolling Stone Australia from 2019 to 2022.