www.tism.wanker.com
www.tism.wanker.com is the fourth album by Australian alternative rock group TISM (This Is Serious Mum), released in 1998. The album title references an internet URL which, at the time of release, was a subdomain (of wanker.com) provided by a friendly person overseas who had registered wanker.com, as TISM were not able to obtain their preferred domain, wanker.com.au, due to Australian domain regulations. However, the web hosting fees were not paid, subsequently it was taken down by the hosting ISP several months after launch and has not been available since.
| www.tism.wanker.com | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 June 1998 | |||
| Recorded | Kiss Studios, Seed Studios, Sing Sing, Rev. Ian Paisley Park Studios May 1997 – January 1998 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Label | genre b.goode / Shock FMR (3 December 2001 re-issue) | |||
| Producer | TISM | |||
| TISM chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Early editions of the CD featured a CD-ROM component. The program asks the user whether he or she wants to continue – repeatedly. Eventually, it responds "OK then. Downloading virus." No virus is actually downloaded; this is another example of the band's sense of humour.
The sleeve contains a choice of seven front covers for the album. Humorously, they are virtually identical, all consisting of a close up photo of an individual, masked, TISM member. Each is labelled with their name and states that they '[think] this should be the front cover'. It bears a resemblance to the cover of the album Dark Room by The Angels.
Themes
The album consists mainly of standard TISM songs, parodying popular culture and engaging in toilet humour. The album also demonstrates a "serious" attempt by the band to divide Australian male culture into two groups – "yobs" (yobbos) and "wankers". This is best demonstrated in the lyrics of the third single, "Whatareya":
You're a yob, or you're a wanker
Take your fucking choice
So who is your favourite genius
James Hird or James Joyce?
The rest of the song continues in a similar vein, including such distinctions as "The wanker fights class prejudice/The yobbo...just fights." The theme and celebration of the bogan lifestyle is explored further on tracks such as "Dumb and Base" and "Yob". Other themes cross the safety of conformity ("Thunderbirds Are Coming Out"), wasted potential ("The Parable of Glenn McGrath's Haircut") and regret ("The Men's Room").
Singles
The first single released for the album was "Yob". The first video released for the album was for "I Might Be a Cunt, but I'm Not a Fucking Cunt", and is a parody of the Mimi Macpherson sex tape. Two other videos, "Whatareya?", featured the band on an Aerobics Oz Style-style television show and "Thunderbirds Are Coming Out" featured various bands of the day, such as 28 Days and Blood Duster.
Controversy
The release of the track "I Might Be a Cunt, But I'm Not a Fucking Cunt" as a single brought controversy back to TISM once again. The song and its accompanying music video of a couple having sex was banned by the SBS, ABC's rage, and Triple J due to its content; however, it was played quite frequently by Melbourne independent broadcaster 3RRR on the Breakfasters show. Bruce Ruxton, the head of the Victorian Branch of the Australian RSL, wrote a letter of complaint to Shock Records asking for TISM to be fired from the label, and describing the song as "...Dropping [Australia's standards] through the floor into the proverbial sewer".
Ron Hitler Barassi of TISM responded to criticism in an interview:
I actually like the song, the thing that disappoints me about some of the reaction to the song is people's reaction was confined to "oh how naughty, oh those naughty boys TISM have said a naughty word, fuck, and another naughty word, cunt, and oh that's so naughty" and I must admit, I was sort of, and I shouldn't have, I was disappointed with that reaction ... We were attempting to use the common dialect of people in the street, to sum up a term, have a good pisstake. It's more than just naughtiness. That's very profound isn't it?[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "(There's Gonna Be) Sex Tonite" | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Whatareya?" | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Dumb 'n' Base" | 4:52 |
| 4. | "Thunderbirds Are Coming Out" | 3:25 |
| 5. | "Been Caught Wankin'" | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Denial Works For Me" | 5:01 |
| 7. | "The Parable of Glenn McGrath's Haircut" | 4:13 |
| 8. | "I Might Be a Cunt, but I'm Not a Fucking Cunt" (Censored on back cover) | 2:47 |
| 9. | "Yob" | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Great Expectorations" | 3:27 |
| 11. | "A Hard-Earned Thirst Needs a Big Cold Beer, but I Drink to Get Pissed" | 3:29 |
| 12. | "The Men's Room" | 3:47 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Describe the Worst Headjob I've Ever Had? Fantastic!" | 8:45 |
| 14. | "The Last Australian Guitar Hero" | 6:53 |
| 15. | "Kate – Fischer of Men" | 2:11 |
| 16. | "My Brilliant Huntington's Chorea" | 3:35 |
| 17. | "The Apology of the Thai Drug Runner" | 5:42 |
| 18. | "Julius Seizure (Act III Scene ii Verses 73-118)" | 4:49 |
| 19. | "Neighbours – Everybody Loves Good Neighbours" | 5:16 |
| 20. | "Opposite Day" | 5:25 |
| 21. | "Rebel Without a Paunch" | 3:13 |
| 22. | "I'd Be Happier If I Was More Depressed" | 3:46 |
| 23. | "Professor Derrida Deconstructs" | 3:21 |
| 24. | "Ya Gotta Love That" | 4:04 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 25. | "Ain't No Christian, But I Believe in Jesus" | 2:20 |
| 26. | "I Lost My Man to the Lord" | 2:13 |
| 27. | "Then the Answer Came" | 1:37 |
| 28. | "Jesus Doesn't Believe in Jesus Anymore" | 3:00 |
| 29. | "He Ain't Stopped Livin', He's Only Dead" | 2:50 |
| 30. | "When Jesus Comes" | 1:53 |
| 31. | "Club Heaven" | 3:32 |
| 32. | "I Never Got the Message" | 3:29 |
| 33. | "It Don't Matter What You Say" | 4:39 |
Att: Shock Records Faulty Pressing Do Not Manufacture
| Att: Shock Records Faulty Pressing Do Not Manufacture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 June 1998 | |||
| Recorded | Kiss Studios, Seed Studios, Sing Sing, Rev. Ian Paisley Park Studios May 1997 – January 1998 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock/Spoken word | |||
| Length | 56:55 | |||
| Label | genre b.goode | |||
| Producer | TISM | |||
| TISM chronology | ||||
| ||||
Initial pressings of the album were shipped with a bonus disc. The CD in question looks like a blank CDR, with texta writing that reads "Att: SHOCK RECORDS FAULTY PRESSING DO NOT MANUFACTURE"; thinking it was serious, some retail chains actually returned boxes of the "fake" CDs unopened.[3] In reality, it featured a mixture of songs, poems and low-quality audio recordings of Hitler-Barassi and Flaubert discussing various topics whilst watching the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee sex tape.
The "conversation" tracks have never been given an official title. For the iTunes re-release, these tracks were appended to the start/end of the titled tracks. The titles were available on TISM's website at the time.[4]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Conversation About Porn" (Unlisted) | 0:52 |
| 2. | "Describe the Worst Headjob You've Ever Had? – Fantastic!" | 6:49 |
| 3. | "Conversation About This Kid" (Unlisted) | 1:03 |
| 4. | "The Last Australian Guitar Hero" | 6:27 |
| 5. | "Conversation About Springvale" (Unlisted) | 0:25 |
| 6. | "Kate, Fischer of Men" | 2:11 |
| 7. | "My Brilliant Huntington's Chorea" | 2:38 |
| 8. | "Conversation About Private Schools" (Unlisted) | 0:56 |
| 9. | "Apology of the Thai Drug Runner" | 5:21 |
| 10. | "Conversation About Reviews" (Unlisted) | 0:21 |
| 11. | "Julius Seizure (Act III, Scene II, verse 73-118)" | 4:49 |
| 12. | "Neighbours – Everybody Loves Good Neighbours" | 4:55 |
| 13. | "Conversation About Robin Trower" (Unlisted) | 0:21 |
| 14. | "Opposite Day" | 5:05 |
| 15. | "Conversation About Super" (Unlisted) | 0:19 |
| 16. | "Rebel Without a Paunch" | 2:26 |
| 17. | "Conversation About Bad Music" (Unlisted) | 0:47 |
| 18. | "I'd Be Happier If I Was More Depressed" | 3:25 |
| 19. | "Conversation About Cross-Fades" (Unlisted) | 0:20 |
| 20. | "Professor Derrida Deconstructs" | 3:21 |
| 21. | "Ya Gotta Love That" | 4:04 |
| Total length: | 56:55 | |
Singles
"Yob"
| "Yob" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by TISM | ||||
| from the album www.tism.wanker.com | ||||
| B-side | "The Last Australian Guitar Hero" | |||
| Released | 17 November 1997 | |||
| Recorded | May, September 1997 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 14:37 | |||
| Label | Shock/genre b.goode | |||
| Songwriter(s) | TISM | |||
| Producer(s) | TISM, Laurence Maddy | |||
| TISM singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Yob" is the first single from TISM's 1998 album www.tism.wanker.com. It interpolates a sample of the song "Hawaiian Cowboy" by Sol K. Bright.
Song
One of the main themes on the album www.tism.wanker.com is the distinction between the two classes of males, the yobs and the wankers. This song details the "ingredients" which go into making up a yob. It basically lists the various things which a person can do and a following action to take on such an event, the action classifying the person as a yob if he indulges in these activities.
A song titled "If They're Different, Punch", a variant of the first line of the song, is listed in the track list for a 1988 demo tape, Three Blake and a Dollar's Worth of Chips.
Track listing
A very slightly remixed version of track two was also released on Att: Shock Records Faulty Pressing Do Not Manufacture, the bonus disc which came on initial pressings of wanker.com. The version of "Yob" appearing on wanker.com is the 3:20 version, but with a different vocal track.
- "Yob (3.20 version)"
- "The Last Australian Guitar Hero"
- "Yob (4.40 version)"
See also
References
- Jonathan Lewis. "Allmusic review". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- Perrett, Adam (1998). I'm no shining wit, whoa, I'm a whining shit... interview. Adam Perrett and Ron Hitler Barassi. Archived on 4 October 1999 by the Internet Archive. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
- Hurwood, Michael (2001-09-09) "(klf) Band Parallels (A bit OT)." The KLF mailinglist (paragraph 10 in the second post). Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- TISM Lyrics: Att: Shock Records – hosted by the Internet Archive