'Machiavelli And The Four Seasons': A New Book About TISM Is Coming
Melbourne-based music journalist Tyler Jenke assured TISM fans that he wrote the book "respectfully" and hasn't done anything to "upset the mystique" the band have curated.
TISM (Source: Supplied)
Melbourne-based music journalist Tyler Jenke has written his first book, and it’s about the enigmatic, hilarious, and universally beloved Australian band TISM and their album Machiavelli And The Four Seasons.
Announcing the project on social media yesterday (26 August), Jenke’s book has a tentative release date of 1 May 2025, which, as he notes, is “pretty much” on the 30th anniversary of the album’s release.
“Hey everyone! I’m excited to finally let you all know that I’ve spent the last year working on my first book,” Jenke wrote alongside the cover of his forthcoming book. “A handful of folks have known about it since I began researching and writing back in July 2023, and a lot of those same people have helped make this book a reality, but now that it’s finally up for pre-order, I can share the news publicly!”
Writing that he’s been a longtime fan and collector of the Bloomsbury series, 33 1/3 books, Jenke enquired about writing a volume for the new series, Oceania, which encourages writers to write an essay on an album of their choice.
Despite his nerves and second-guessing, Jenke pitched a proposal for TISM’s third album, Machiavelli And The Four Seasons, released in May 1995. “By some miracle,” Jenke’s idea was accepted.
Over the last year, Jenke has tirelessly written and researched everything about Machiavelli And The Four Seasons.
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His journey has seen him “tracking down countless hours of archival interviews from libraries, the [National Film and Sound Archive of Australia] NFSA, and the National Archives of Australia; trawling through old street press magazines; interviewing people close to the band; and absolutely not speaking to members of TISM about this project. Not at all. I certainly didn’t speak to any of them, and I reject any inference that I did. (Or if I did speak to any of them, it certainly wasn’t on the record.)”
Noting his longtime “fanaticism” of the band, Jenke continued, “For those who are also fans of the band, you can rest assured I’ve done it respectfully with nothing done to upset the mystique and public façade the group have spent over 40 years curating.”
Jenke will be sharing more information on the project soon, but in the meantime, you can pre-order a copy of the book here.
Earlier this month, TISM announced their first studio album and headline tour in 20 years.
The album, tour, and first single all share the same title: Death To Art. The album is slated for release on Monday, 7 October.
The Death To Art tour will kick off in Brisbane on Sunday, 20 October, followed by Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday, 9 November, and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Friday, 29 November.
TISM will be joined on the tour by two cult-beloved bands reuniting after lengthy stints away – Machine Gun Fellatio (performing for the first time in 19 years) and The Mavis’s (for the first time in six years) – as well as Eskimo Joe and Ben Lee. You can find more information on the tour here.
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