Thunderbirds Are Coming Out
Encyclopedia
"Thunderbirds Are Coming Out" is the name of a single by TISM
. It featured memorable video clip of 30 bands (plus TISM) all playing the song. The bands are shown one at a time by use of a dolly shot and ends just as TISM are on screen.
titled Power Drive, which was also used for the theme from 1970s Australian police procedural
drama Division 4
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbuZRbXJNjA
Lyrically, the song deals with a troubled teenager
who rebels against his (or her) parents and "sit[s] for hours all alone, without an opinion to call my own". Eventually the teenager sees The Thunderbirds
on television
and is impressed. The teen is inspired by their appearance, stating "there's less to them than meets the eye" and from there joins various social cliques and adheres to norms of teenage life - in a sense giving up individuality, but yet transcending to the next level of teenage life.
and contained 30 Australian bands - 31 including TISM - performing live, including Klinger
, Mach Pelican
, Blood Duster
and 28 Days
. A single, unedited camera tracking shot showed each band performing the song until the very end of the song when TISM appear masked. At this point, the song ends and TISM do not get to play any of the song. The video was shot on 11 October 1998 and a total of six takes were shot.
When New Waver
are in shot, TISM bassist Jock Cheese dances unmasked with them, hiding the top half of his costume with a brown coat, though he is given away by his trousers.
TISM
TISM was a seven piece anonymous alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed in 1982 and enjoyed a large underground/independent following. Their third album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995...
. It featured memorable video clip of 30 bands (plus TISM) all playing the song. The bands are shown one at a time by use of a dolly shot and ends just as TISM are on screen.
Song
The music is based around a sample of a library trackProduction music
Production music is the name given to recorded music produced and owned by production music libraries and licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media.-Introduction:...
titled Power Drive, which was also used for the theme from 1970s Australian police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
drama Division 4
Division 4
Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbuZRbXJNjA
Lyrically, the song deals with a troubled teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
who rebels against his (or her) parents and "sit[s] for hours all alone, without an opinion to call my own". Eventually the teenager sees The Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and is impressed. The teen is inspired by their appearance, stating "there's less to them than meets the eye" and from there joins various social cliques and adheres to norms of teenage life - in a sense giving up individuality, but yet transcending to the next level of teenage life.
Video
The video for Thunderbirds are Coming Out was directed by Craig MelvilleCraig Melville
Craig James Melville is an Australian television comedy director. He is best known for his collaborations with comedians John Safran, Lawrence Leung and The Chaser.- Television :* Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable - Director/Producer...
and contained 30 Australian bands - 31 including TISM - performing live, including Klinger
Klinger (band)
Klinger are a rock band from Melbourne, Victoria named after a character from M*A*S*H. Their "Sayonara Anyway" / "Ben Lee" single reached #22 on the ARIA Alternative singles chart. They had two songs in Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2000. They supported Green Day, Unwritten Law and Everclear and toured...
, Mach Pelican
Mach Pelican
Mach Pelican were a punk rock band formed in Perth, Australia in 1996. In 1998, they relocated to Melbourne, Australia. They announced their farewell tour in July 2007, and played their final show in Tokyo, Japan on 17 September 2007.-Biography:...
, Blood Duster
Blood Duster
Blood Duster is a extreme metal/stoner rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Their name comes from the song "Blood Duster" by John Zorn, from the 1989 album Naked City.-History:...
and 28 Days
28 Days
28 Days are a punk rock band formed in Bacchus Marsh, Australia during 1997. At their career peak, they had a #1 album on the Australian ARIAnet Albums Chart and also a #12 single on the ARIAnet Singles Chart....
. A single, unedited camera tracking shot showed each band performing the song until the very end of the song when TISM appear masked. At this point, the song ends and TISM do not get to play any of the song. The video was shot on 11 October 1998 and a total of six takes were shot.
When New Waver
New Waver
New Waver is an Australian satirical musical project, the brainchild of Greg Wadley. New Waver grew out of one of Wadley's prior projects, a zine named Loser, and shares the same pessimistic outlook, underwritten with Darwinism...
are in shot, TISM bassist Jock Cheese dances unmasked with them, hiding the top half of his costume with a brown coat, though he is given away by his trousers.
Bands in the clip
Here is a list of all the bands which appeared in the video.- Snubrocket
- The Sex Bombs
- Piffen Yonnies
- Dynamo & the Hornosexuals
- Fee Foe Fum
- Blood DusterBlood DusterBlood Duster is a extreme metal/stoner rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Their name comes from the song "Blood Duster" by John Zorn, from the 1989 album Naked City.-History:...
- Acetylene
- Funk X-Plosion
- Big Marble E-Fect
- Westgarth
- Busy Fingers
- GIT
- Cyclone Tracy
- Libido in a Bottle
- The Shine
- 28 Days28 Days28 Days are a punk rock band formed in Bacchus Marsh, Australia during 1997. At their career peak, they had a #1 album on the Australian ARIAnet Albums Chart and also a #12 single on the ARIAnet Singles Chart....
- Ringwood Secondary College Choir & OrchestraRingwood Secondary CollegeRingwood Secondary College is a co-educational public secondary school located in the eastern suburb of Ringwood in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
- Webster
- Where's Bec?
- Fatty Cramps
- KlingerKlinger (band)Klinger are a rock band from Melbourne, Victoria named after a character from M*A*S*H. Their "Sayonara Anyway" / "Ben Lee" single reached #22 on the ARIA Alternative singles chart. They had two songs in Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2000. They supported Green Day, Unwritten Law and Everclear and toured...
- Hyperno Way
- New WaverNew WaverNew Waver is an Australian satirical musical project, the brainchild of Greg Wadley. New Waver grew out of one of Wadley's prior projects, a zine named Loser, and shares the same pessimistic outlook, underwritten with Darwinism...
- Ruby Doomsday
- Zoot Ax
- Tiltmeter
- 20 Minutes
- Phone Sex Radio
- Guanomite
- Mach PelicanMach PelicanMach Pelican were a punk rock band formed in Perth, Australia in 1996. In 1998, they relocated to Melbourne, Australia. They announced their farewell tour in July 2007, and played their final show in Tokyo, Japan on 17 September 2007.-Biography:...
- TISMTISMTISM was a seven piece anonymous alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed in 1982 and enjoyed a large underground/independent following. Their third album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995...
Trivia
- According to director Craig Melville, Blair McDonoughBlair McDonoughBlair McDonough is an actor who is best known for playing the role of Stuart Parker in the Australian TV soap opera Neighbours. He first shot to fame in 2001, when he finished runner-up in the inaugural season of the reality TV series Big Brother Australia...
of NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
and Big Brother Australia fame appears in the video as a member of one of the bands. He is the very first person seen in the video. http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=27976 - The remix appearing on the CD single of this song was used as the theme song to BackBernerBackBernerBackBerner was an Australian political satire sketch comedy television series, broadcast on and produced by ABC TV with Crackerjack Productions. The program was hosted by stand up comic Peter Berner and noted Australian character actor Louise Siversen...
. - By TISM's own account, this song caused them to disappear from the Australian 'youth radio' station Triple J; specifically due to their sly reference to youth radio itself.
Track listing
- "Thunderbirds Are Coming Out (5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Mix)"
- "Untz (Original Version)"
- "I Go Off"