Sponsor

Author

Scott Gordon

Scott Gordon co-founded Tone Madison in 2014 has covered culture and politics in Madison since 2006 for publications including The A.V. Club, Dane101, and Isthmus, and has also covered policy, environmental issues, and public health for WisContext.

Profile pic by Rachal Duggan.

Sponsor

Scott's Latest Articles

A graphic shows a yellow T-shirt depicting lighting hitting a domed capitol building, in a parody of Bad Brains' 1982 album cover. The square image is framed in red and green borders, and accompanied by text reading "Cool Building, Madison, Wisconsin."
Cool Building Day will never die, but you can wear it out
By
●
Music
●
November 24, 2024

Mark this wondrous day, and maybe win a shirt.

A photo shows the exterior of Madison's Overture Center building, as seen from the intersection of State, Fairchild, and Dayton Streets. Above a broad, historic facade, a more recently built, bubble-like skylight can be seen rising above the roof.
Finally, more details on Madison’s largest arts subsidy
By
●
Microtones
●
November 22, 2024

How the Overture Center uses its annual chunk of City money.

A close-up image of a completely band-stickered bar that Gamma Ray Bar restored from The Frequency, with the number "10" appearing in large text in the center in white. Below it are logos for Tone Madison and NewsMatch.
 10 (more?) years of Tone Madison
By , , &
●
Misc
●
November 1, 2024

Our crucial year-end fundraising campaign begins.

Someone's left hand holds a cutout piece of paper in the shape of a penis and testicles over a table with a small tray and conical vessel. The name "Phil Hands" is written on the shaft of the paper.
From the archives: A witch cursed Phil Hands’ dick
By
●
From The Archives
●
October 24, 2024

As Tone Madison's 10th anniversary approaches, we look back at some highlights from the past decade.

An illustration shows classical columns on the exterior of a courthouse building. A giant chisel is shown shaping one of the columns into a figure of a police officer in riot gear, with a heavy vest, baton, and helmet.
Breaking down a Wisconsin police group’s absurd interpretation of Act 253
By
●
Politics
●
October 23, 2024

An open-records attorney's closer analysis of this "hasty and confusing attempt to restrict access to public records."

A photo shows two informational postcards pinned to a bulletin board, each one inviting the recipient to a "lunch and learn" session about funeral planning options.
Death forever, sandwich now
By
●
Microtones
●
October 18, 2024

The joys of stupid postcards inviting people to informational cremation luncheons.

A photo shows a stack of books dealing with various art-related subjects, stacked vertically on a surface with their spines facing the camera. Titles include “The Hand Decoration of Fabrics,” “Drawing with Pastels,” “Authentic Indian Designs,” and “Dynamic Airbrush.”
Wisconsin prison officials furtively changed a library book donation policy while dodging questions
By
●
Politics
●
October 14, 2024

The state's Department of Corrections scrambles to get its story straight, and book donors don't know how to proceed.

An illustration by Rodney Lambright II shows the face of the column's author, Dr. Sami Schalk, smiling against a rainbow background. In the foreground are a sandwich, a cup holding a steaming hot beverage, and a stack of books on which the text "Pleasure Practices with Sami Schalk" appears. Two candles sit on top of the books.
From the archives: It’s been a pleasure
By , , &
●
From The Archives
●
October 10, 2024

A tribute Dr. Sami Schalk’s exploration of pleasure as activism.

A bronze-gold bar hook is shown underneath the wooden bar at The Malt House, a bar on East Washington. The hook is in focus, in the upper right quadrant of the photograph. The bar's yellow wall and the top of a bar stool in soft focus on the left-most strip of the image.
The hooks under the bar
By
●
Microtones
●
October 4, 2024

And why they should be everywhere.

A photo shows a large city bus pulling up to a station in the middle of a wide road. The bus is blue and white, and a grey accordion section in the middle joins its two halves. A figure is visible walking down the concrete platform of the station. Sky, tree, and a local coffee shop are visible in the background.
We set out in search of rapid on Metro Transit
By , , , , , , , &
●
Politics
●
September 30, 2024

Ground-level views from the long-awaited arrival of BRT.