Celebrating the seventh anniversary of Dave Mustaine’s oblivious Tweet about the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Original photo of Hans Christian Heg statue and Wisconsin State Capitol by Phil Roeder on Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
Today, November 24, might seem like any other day leading up to Thanksgiving. COVID-19 aside, this particular November 24 seems decidedly normal; quiet, rainy, moderately cold. The cars drift by, and the clouds shift with the ignorance of modern schedules they’ve always known and we’ve only just become acquainted with. All appearances point to an uneventful day and a sleepy night.
But some of us Know Different. And for those of us who are aware, November 24 is to be celebrated and cherished. For November 24, in at least some sections, houses, or apartments of Madison, is Cool Building Day.
Cool Building Day, for those who are uninformed, is an anniversary (to call it a holiday protests too much) where Madisonians of a certain stripe commemorate Megadeth head honcho Dave Mustaine’s strikingly witless November 24, 2013 Tweet about looking at a “cool building” from his hotel room—e.g. the Wisconsin State Capitol, noted for its big dome and other generally capitol-like features. Some things that have resulted from this simple, tossed-off missive include an enjoyable if unrecorded local band named after the thoughtful phrase, and a bunch of Tone Madison posts reminding you that this did indeed happen.
Cool building in Madison, #Wisconsin out my hotel window. This is a fun college town! Can't wait for tonight! pic.twitter.com/08fcIpUJCc
— Dave Mustaine (@DaveMustaine) November 24, 2013
And indeed, it does remain notable that while Mustaine’s powers of observation are famously keen when it comes to constructing and performing remarkably technically intricate yet memorable thrash metal riffs, he is apparently not too up on common architecture in American cities. Other things Mustaine has not devoted overmuch attention to in the past include singing especially well, accurate readings of the Islamic religion, the American political process and sexual orientation, positive relationships with other musicians, and moving on from being thrown out of Metallica in 1983. His accomplishments this year include publishing a book, growing a beard, and defying type by somehow not becoming a COVID truther.
Celebrations of Cool Building Day have varied in the past, but we here at Tone Madison can recommend a few pointers to get your personal party started:
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Listen to Megadeth’s legitimately brilliant 1990 masterwork Rust In Peace and marvel that human beings could actually write that material;
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Watch Dave Mustaine shed actual human tears made out of water, lipids, glucose, sodium and other naturally occurring human chemicals in the presence of Metallica and cameramen over their unceremonious ejection of him 20 years ago in the 2004 docu-comedy Some Kind Of Monster;
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Walk to the Wisconsin Capitol afterwards and take a picture of it, preferably with something interesting, Megadeth-related, and/or both in the foreground of your photograph, so that everyone knows it is indeed an edifice worthy of respect;
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Eat something you enjoy eating that does not include turkey, because after all no celebration near Thanksgiving should be without a meal included.
Send us your photos, and enjoy Cool Building Day.
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