TISM (an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) were a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group were formed on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun, and enjoyed a large underground/independent following. Their third album, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995.

On 30 December 1982, Damian Cowell (‘Humphrey B. Flaubert’ – drums and lead vocals), Jack Holt (‘Jock Cheese’ – guitar, bass and backing vocals) and Eugene Cester (‘Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun’ – keyboards and backing vocals), recorded a nine-song session called Great Truckin’ Songs of the Renaissance under the name This Is Serious Mum at the home of friend Peter Minack (‘Ron Hitler-Barassi’). Minack, Cowell and Cester were members of a group called ‘I Can Run’, which slowly evolved into This Is Serious Mum.