ATN Australian correspondent Alex Jackson reports: The late actor River

Phoenix is the subject of a new song by Australian

alternative cult act TISM (This Is Serious Mum). The song, "(He'll Never Be

An) Ol' Man River," starts with the chant "I'm

on the drug that killed River Phoenix" over a techno beat and continues in

tasteless fashion with lyrics such as: "I drank the slab that Bon Scott

drunk; I injected some of Hendrix's junk; I booked a seat on Lynyrd

Skynyrd's plane; Mama Cass's sandwich? - I ate the same".

TISM are no strangers to controversy, having emerged from the Melbourne

rock scene in 1985 with the debut single "Defecate On My Face." Over the

years they have thrived on their reputation as purveyors of

cynical, humorous, anti-establishment rock and have become notorious for

never showing their faces on stage, instead opting for garish face masks,

even Ku-Klux Klan style hoods.

"Ol' Man River" has been receiving regular airplay on Australian youth

network Triple J, and the album from which it is lifted, Machiavelli and

the

Four Seasons (Shock Records), was named the station's album of the week

this week.

At this stage "Ol' Man River" is only available on the album, but due to its

sudden popularity, will be issued as a single this month.

Finding the album is no picnic. It comes packaged with no reference

to TISM, only Machiavelli, a pseudonym the band started playing under late

last year. According to the outer sleeve, the 10 songs are "I Love You

Baby", "You and Me Baby Love"...and eight other pathetically titled love

songs

containing variations on "love" and "baby." Rest assured if you do track a

copy down, the 12 songs include "Ol' Man

River" and priceless gems such as "All Homeboys are Dickheads," "Lose Your

Delusion II" and "Jung Talent Time," a hilarious number which pokes fun at

international rock stars and celebrities, fame, and the long running

Australian

talent show of the 1970s and 1980s, "Young Talent Time."