randomly picked @thorazos.bsky.social's VISION off the shelf at the public library a week ago, and it's just incredible. a devastating meditation on self-image and parasocial relationships. one of the most moving graphic novels I've ever read 🪞

quite tired of hearing movie characters declare they "deserve more" when pondering relationships. they surely deserve more... from their own writers. please come up with better dialogue. (THE INVITE is mid as hell.)

Wrote about the wonderful world of microtonal jazz for @bandcamp.com from Joe Maneri to Hafez Modirzadeh, Anna Webber to Zekkereya El-Magharbel, Phillip Golub to Amir ElSaffar and more! daily.bandcamp.com/lists/microt...

The Warped, Wondrous World of Microtonal Jazz on Bandcamp

To Western listeners, microtonal jazz can sound a little “off." That's what makes it vital.

daily.bandcamp.com

increased dialogue about media preservation in the last week, for good reason. not that I emphatically endorse splurging on physical items atm, but I'd still recommend starting a collection over paying for subscription services. recent additions to my own from the VS and B&N Criterion sales:

not only is the new Phoebe Bridgers track godawful, but her team also steals the music video aesthetic from Albert Birney

finally finished act three of SILKSONG early this morning to the ambient sound of heavy rain outside. an overwhelming experience. 🪡 unparalleled art direction, sound, and scope undone by intermittently baffling game design decisions. let us never speak of the Old Hearts quest again. pure hell, lol

kind of obsessed with this scene in Mike Figgis' LIEBESTRAUM

I've been watching a number of '90s movies lately, so it seems appropriate to recognize THE CABLE GUY's 30th theatrical anniversary today. here's a substantial piece I wrote on the formative black comedy for its 25th at the tail-end of @tonemadison.bsky.social's streaming coverage era:

Retreading the information superhighway: "The Cable Guy" at 25 – Tone Madison

Ben Stiller's densely divisive cult film is a satirical commentary on Gen-X media culture, but it has now become a memorable cultural moment in itself. ️

tonemadison.com

in the game, BlueMountain paints Christian (note the name) as "a shopping mall of evil." the same could be said of America itself. great piece from @iantothemax.bsky.social, who knows that Suda and company don't miss

Mothership@mothership.blog · 4mo ago

Craving catharsis? Romeo is a Dead Man has one scene in particular that just might hit. New from @iantothemax.bsky.social:

BUB, ITHACA, and PROVE YOU'RE HUMAN looked incredible in this evening's @dayofthedevs.org showcase. also loved Mike Boxleiter's ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT reference during the LAZY RIVER preview. all wishlisted

Day Of The Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition 2026

YouTube video by Day of the Devs

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check out the sidewalk-chalked alligator on Rutledge St between Rogers and S Thornton 🐊

this game's escalating pitfall design is kind of ingenious. one of the funniest I've ever seen tykenn.itch.io/trees-hate-you

What did I even do to them bro | Trees Hate You (demo)

YouTube video by LilAggy VODs

youtube.com

recently finalized this Mills Folly Microcinema program at @artlitlab.bsky.social on Wed, June 10. v excited to have Canadian animator, filmmaker, installation artist, sound designer, professor (et al.) Emily Pelstring here in person! pls join us for a psychedelically profound evening. ✨

you should've been here to watch the regional premiere of CHRONOVISOR with Silas and me last night (thanks, JMK and Tone Glow: toneglow.substack.com/p/tone-glow-...)

50s-weather hiking with the fam last Thursday at Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve in Hallam, PA (today it's 86 and tomorrow it'll be 93)

Phillip Golub was kind to ship out an early copy of his record, PARTISAN SHIP, which isn't out until next Friday. the continuous 3/4-hour composition is intense microtonal bliss—restlessly innovative avant-nu-jazz with a rotating cast of peerless NYC players. riyl Anna Webber's Shimmer Wince

also, this week for @isthmusmadison.bsky.social, I previewed @giantjonesbrewing.bsky.social's special screening of Eisenstein's STRIKE with live score by Wonderporium tonight (April 30) at 8:00p. an event that anticipates International Workers Day activities tomorrow ✊

Experimental ensemble Wonderporium will play an original score for ‘Strike’ at Giant Jones as a lead-in to May Day

Giant Jones Brewing aims to inspire community connection with its pro-worker 'Strike' screening.

isthmus.com

talked / talking about the 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival again this week, so I thought I'd share my initial written post-assessment. also my first contribution to @isthmusmadison.bsky.social arts beat. thanks so much to everyone over there, especially Linda, for letting me work in some niche details

The 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival captivated committed crowds

An impressive 61 of the 120 screenings sold out, reports the fest's director of operations, Ben Reiser.

isthmus.com

Sarah Clausen performing a mesmerizing, multifaceted, multiphonic set at Communication last night

instead of splurging on artificially scarce plastic this RSD, I recommend supporting the two recent Tunefork Studios & Beirut Synth Center experimental music compilations. all proceeds go towards Beit Aam's humanitarian work for those displaced by Israeli attacks

Land 03 (أرض ٠٣): A compilation for the displaced in Lebanon, by Tunefork Studios

32 track album

tuneforkstudios.bandcamp.com

title is true, but this new Eva Lawitts record deserves more than 20 Bandcamp supporters. :) riyl the Cardiacs extended universe, Emme Phyzema, Guerilla Toss, Every Kim Parcell

Challenging Music for Difficult People, by Stimmerman

10 track album

stimmerman.bandcamp.com

this year, more than others, "waiting for the colour of spring"

April 5th (1997 Remaster)

YouTube video by Talk Talk - Topic

youtu.be

in my last true piece for Tone, I—maybe most appropriately—connected with an artist who has significant ties to my home state of Pennsylvania. highly recommend making it to at least one of the Midwest Video Poetry Fest programs this Saturday at Art Lit Lab artlitlab.org/events/2026-...

Tone Madison@tonemadison.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"...[Anne] Ciecko determinedly forges her own path through multimedia, and packs in a staggering amount of history in not only her vivid diction but in affectionate, architectural-focused footage around the rust belt city," writes Arts Editor @nothingunfinished.bsky.social.

PERSONA (1966, dir. Ingmar Bergman) | PAVEMENTS (2024, dir. Alex Ross Perry)

💯 I've been saying this for more than half a decade, and officially since watching THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS four years ago letterboxd.com/prohibitedar...

A ★ review of The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

This film should not exist. Lilly Wachowski, half of the creative force of the original blockbuster, had nothing to do with it, and that should be all you need to know. As if taking a cue from the Ali...

letterboxd.com

Brendan Hodges@brendanhodges.bsky.social · 4mo ago

though they seem not to realize it, by endlessly regurgitating old properties, by stubbornly refusing to invest in what can feel fresh and inspiring, the big film studios are risking the very audiences they hope to keep. we need to feel the excitement of the new again.

I'm going to miss writing pieces like this for local readers and even those beyond the proximity of that community, who are seriously interested in filmmaking and process. while I know my approach limited the audience, it's also not something other publications really cared about. for the artists...

Tone Madison@tonemadison.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"...This is a challenge that really interests me as a filmmaker: of 'empty space' or the question about whether or not the camera and its mere presence in space can index a historical trace or the latency or the presence of a ghost past. Can that be transmitted purely by the presence of the camera?"

it's almost like the reigning campaign finance laws are antithetical to democracy

BREAKING: Kat Abughazaleh Lost, Mike GOES OFF After Progressives Split Votes

YouTube video by The Humanist Report

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a whole host of ppl contributed to this initial survey of the 2026 #wifilmfest. it's also important to me to capture the visual identity of the festival, and I appreciate Art Director Christina King sharing her design philosophy behind this year's infinite ribbon.

Tone Madison@tonemadison.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Arts Editor @nothingunfinished.bsky.social introduces our extended preview of the 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival (April 9 through 16): "...May your experience offer a hopeful pleasure that reminds you of the potential for better days, and the collaborative power of art through community." 🎞️

finally finished arranging my fav 2025 releases from July thru Dec for #bandcampfriday. an inspired medley of transportive discoveries and formative artists, which kept me grounded amid personal and professional (and universal) tumult... once more. grateful to engage with these sounds and textures

Dave Schoepke in the zone at Common Sage last night