[Fucking FIVE stars?????!!!!!]
Patrick McDonald grades new music DVSs(MA) *****
A MUST for all fans of This Is Serious Mum, this combines two full-length DVDs with a new 16-track studio album.
TISM: A Film by Antonionioni is a full-length concert recorded at Melbourne's Hi-Fi Bar that truly captures the atmosphere and anarchy of TISM live.
You'll feel like you are moshing in the front and crowd-diving with the band. It's staged as a ``Save our TISM'' telethon, with an extremely funny MC.
The band bounces about with insanely energetic choreography in menacing, inflated silver foil outfits, armed with catchy ditties from (I'm Interested In) Apathy, through grabs of Taking Care of Business and I Wish I Was in Dixie, mixed into the manic rock of Sid Viscous.
Singer Ron Hitler-Barassi delivers a nasty Diatribe before jumping into the crowd for Greg the Stop Sign, whereupon his costume is torn to shreds. Freeze frame and you'll actually see his face for a few moments before a smiley logo obscures it (along with his nether regions). There's also backstage footage, audience vox-pops, a ``Ron-Cam'' which follows Hitler-Barassi, and a six-angle DIY camera feature.
Disc three features A Docunentary (that's their spelling) with Hitler-Barassi and Humphrey B. Flaubert reinventing the band's history, as well as an hour of home video from early gigs, and three songs recorded for Channel V.
There are also nine music videos, including a home-made porn clip for one unprintable title, and the very clever Thunderbirds are Coming Out, in which every type of group imaginable lipsynchs.
In between, there's The White Albun CD.
The rocking Everyone Else has had More Sex than Me puts Jet to shame, there are clever witticisms on Bone Idol, plenty of funky programmed rhythms mixed with thrashing choruses and pounding doo-wop on DJ Trevor. As well, there are the usual celebrity assassinations, attacks on popular culture and misappropriations from other songs.
Will anybody be satisfied buying just a plain old album ever again?
