Customer Reviews

Machiavelli & the 4 Seasons

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Both the cover and track listing are a spoof. In fact this whole album (music, lyrics, cover art) are poking fun at anything T.I.S.M. can get their hands on. They are an Australian band with a cult following who are anything but serious (the initials in their name stand for This Is Serious Mum).

The real tracks on this album are [with some commentary on what they are about]:
1-(He'll never be an) Ol' Man River [the death of River Phoenix]
...

3- Garbage [the tendency of modern bands to cover songs by older ones]
4- Lose Your Delusion II [the poverty of commercial television]
5- !UOY Sevol Natas [Christians and backmasking]
6- What Nationality is Les Murray [an Aussie sports presenter]
7- Greg! The Stop Sign!! [teenage drivers, but so much more]
8- Play Mistral for Me [destructive fandom]
9- How Do I Love Thee? [the poverty of many professions of love]
10- Jung Talent Time [one hit wonders]
11- Aussiemandias [racism]
12- Give Up For Australia [Australian's love of sport]

As you can see, much of the humour is very Australian, but the music is also very catchy. The Beach Boys take off in 'Greg! The Stop Sign' is particularly good. I love this album and think parts of it are absolutely hilarious, my wife doesn't. Like most humour I guess it depends on your point of view.

This album is particularly well suited to "disaffected" high school and college students, especially those familiar with the early '90s. Which I guess isn't too many people anymore. The album opens with the refrain: "I'm on the drug / I'm on the drug / I'm on the drug / that killed River Phoenix!" and pretty much goes from there. My favorite track is the joyfully nihilistic "Greg! The Stop Sign!" about how plans and potential mean nothing in the face of circumstance -- consider: "The rich kid becomes a junkie / The poor kid an advertiser / What a tragic waste of potential / But being a junkie's not so good either."

Definitely worth the [money] to have this album, even if you miss 95% of the Australian cultural references.