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A simple image collage that is split in a vertical orientation. The left image shows a poster light box for Luc Besson's "Dracula" that features the AMC logo in white text on a red-bar background at the top. The surrounding wall is painted a golden-brown color. The right image shows the poster for Brett Ratner's "Melania" in a similar light box. The wall surrounding the poster is painted black.

Stop spotlighting new films by known abusers

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Microtones
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February 6, 2026
Madison boasts a dynamic movie culture, yet still needs programmers and community voices to facilitate change.
About Tone Madison

Madison’s fiercely independent voice on culture and politics.

Our journalist-owned, reader-supported publication highlights the neglected corners of Madison’s cultural landscape, elevates vital viewpoints from the left, and pulls off ambitious reporting projects. We champion things we love, but we also ask annoying questions and throw the occasional brick.

Latest in Music
The members of Crush Scene and two-thirds of Holly And The Nice Lions all stand on a vineyard path at The Vines in Sauk City, WI. From left to right: Holly Trasti, Travis Pashek, Rachael Guertin, Janet Kolterman, Tasha Spencer, and Madalyn Rowell. Guertin and Pashek have their backs turned to the camera, admiring the sweeping view. The remaining subjects are all pointing directly at the camera and smiling.
Achieving a broader focus through music photojournalism in 2025
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Microtones
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January 30, 2026
The fourth installment of our live music photo essay series centers a more personal vantage point.
A composite banner of the cover art from each of the 20 selected releases is displayed on a pale violet background.
Tone Madison’s favorite records of 2025
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Music
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January 20, 2026
A celebration of 20 local releases that defined the year.
The Spine Stealers' Kate Ruland (left) and Emma O'Shea (right) are shown in their Madison studio, standing next to a carefully-curated postcard collection that's housed in a wood stand.
Madison’s musical odds and ends of 2025
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Microtones
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January 16, 2026
A meditation on the past year’s musical margins.
Latest in Film
A simple image collage that is split in a vertical orientation. The left image shows a poster light box for Luc Besson's "Dracula" that features the AMC logo in white text on a red-bar background at the top. The surrounding wall is painted a golden-brown color. The right image shows the poster for Brett Ratner's "Melania" in a similar light box. The wall surrounding the poster is painted black.
Stop spotlighting new films by known abusers
By
●
Microtones
●
February 6, 2026
Madison boasts a dynamic movie culture, yet still needs programmers and community voices to facilitate change.
A still frame from the film "Resurrection" (2025) shows a corner stage area bathed in a French navy blue-grey light. The stage is littered with oversized props (some covered by white sheets) that recall the films of Georges Méliès from the late 19th and early 20th century—including a crescent moon with a face and a fireplace with a black curtain that is partly pulled back to reveal a starry and cloudy sky. A female actor wears a traditional Chinese dress and looks off to the left in the foreground.
“Resurrection” explores human perceptions through the historical labyrinth of cinema
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Film
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February 2, 2026
Bi Gan’s latest art-house epic premieres locally at UW Cinematheque on February 5.
Simple rectangular image collage of four film stills. At the top left, teenager Willa (Chase Infiniti) practices shooting an assault rifle in an open field in "One Battle After Another." At the top right, thirtysomething parent J.B. Mooney (Josh O'Connor) scopes out the Framingham Art Museum before he plans a robbery in "The Mastermind." At the bottom left, teenager Kyle (Jackson Sluiter) skates through the suburbs of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. At the bottom right, frazzled mother Linda (Rose Byrne) stops for a moment at her motel after visiting the convenience store in "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You."
One movie meditation after another: toiling through 2025
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Film
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January 21, 2026
Nine writers processed these trying times through cinema, at the theaters and at home.