This Isn't Serious, Mum

If you’re older than 20 and want a pleasant, minor, antipodean mystery to remain that way, don’t read on.

My colleague Smurf is a typical kind of Australian. He’s a bit of a mish-mash of cultures because he lived in England during some formative years. He holds three passports, one for here, one for there and a small blue one for when he needs to go back to the village in the woods.

This means that there are funny little blank areas in his popular culture reference map. I don’t mind this at all because it means I get to instruct him on some of the important stuff and shape him in mine own image… sorta.

Anyway, I mention this because that’s how I ended up showing him a couple of TISM clips from the interwebs. (Greg, The Stop Sign and You’ll Never Be An Old Man River). For those of you that aren’t familiar with the band, they started in the early 80s and were noteworthy because, a) They were funny, and b) They remained anonymous by using pseudonyms and wearing masks. It was always one of those titillating, urban-myth type arrangements, to know someone who knew someone who went out with one of the guys who could be in TISM.

So, the band was fresh in my mind when I sat down to watch Spicks and Specks the other night. (La la la laa. Aaar. With me now.) The show had a "garage punk group" on that goes by the name of Root.

As I was sitting there thinking "these guys are pretty funny", a small underpowered globe went on over my head. (Actually, honestly, it was more like a guttering candle). The voice, the lyric style - followed by four seconds on the interweb and I now know what one of the TISM boys looks like.

It’s not a great moment, but it's not a disappointment either. It’s just one of those things. My life has been enriched in a small way by discovering this one small thing. I thought I’d share.