Editing TISM (section)

=== 1991–1998: Rise to fame, ''Machiavelli and the Four Seasons'' and ''www.tism.wanker.com'' ===
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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 [[Extended play|EP]] ''[[Gentlemen, Start Your Egos]]''; a compilation of tracks previously unavailable on CD.<ref>[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.</ref> 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.<ref name="tism-tourdates"/> 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|injunction order]] of the CD when the [[Ken Done]] Society threatened legal action over the artwork,<ref name="tismhistory"/> which parodied Done's signature style and depicted a koala sucking a syringe. The matter was [[Settlement (litigation)|settled]] for an undisclosed amount of money "fairly close to the amount that [[Radiohead]] spends on buying friends",<ref name="atlc">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 (Australian TV channel)|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.</ref> and the EP was re-released with a new cover graphic and title: ''Censored Due to Legal Advice''.<ref name="atlc"/> 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 [[Synthesizer|synth]]-driven [[techno]] and [[dance music|dance]], which retained the band's usual vocal [[melody|melodies]] and loud [[guitar]]s. Three of its singles reached [[Triple J Hottest 100|Triple J's Hottest 100]], two of them in the top 10 in 1995.<ref>[[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).</ref> The album was certified [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] and won the [[ARIA Award for Best Independent Release]].<ref name="tismhistory"/><ref name=":7" /> 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]]".<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> In June, Humphrey B. Flaubert and Ron Hitler-Barassi appeared as guest programmers on the long-running late night music program ''[[Rage (TV program)|Rage]]'', where they aired clips by artists such as [[the Wiggles]], the [[Bay City Rollers]] and [[Leif Garrett]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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 [[Retinal detachment|detached retina]] and broken arm caused by a stage dive he performed at the Pacific Hotel, Lorne, Victoria prior to the tour.<ref name="aust-travel">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.</ref> Later the same year, TISM toured England, the group's sole [[Northern Hemisphere]] excursion.<ref name="tism-tourdates"/>

Taking a year off from touring, TISM spent 1997 working on their next album with producer [[Magoo (Australian 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.<ref name="tismhistory"/> [[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."<ref>[[Bruce Ruxton|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.</ref> The letter was published on TISM's official website at the time, alongside the single's press release.<ref>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.</ref>

''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 (band)|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.