Microtones

Our newsletter-first column brings you the notes between the notes.

An illustration shows two colorful owls perched on branches, against a blue background.

Owl city, isthmus eyes

By Grant Phipps ● Microtones ● August 12, 2022 August 12, 2022

Recording and reflecting on a few cherished encounters with Eastern Screech Owls in the Atwood area.

Latest in Microtones

An illustration shows a small handheld radio device with its antenna extended toward the night sky. The sky is framed in a line of trees, and criss-crossed with abstract blue and yellow patterns that suggest sound waves.

Listen to the sky

By Phoebe Schlough ● Microtones ● August 5, 2022 August 3, 2022

Exploring the strange wonders of very low frequency radio.

Scot Ross' gray-green Olympia typewriter is shown sitting on a desk. A sheet of paper with Ross' letterhead sticks halfway out of the top of the typewriter, with illegible typing on it.

Scot Ross wants to send you a letter

By Andy Moore ● Microtones ● July 29, 2022 July 27, 2022

Slowing it down with the Wisconsin political analyst.

Montana Levy is shown in a leopard-print dress. Her hand is wrapped around a microphone. She is in mid-performance, eyes closed, head tilted down, smiling. Photo by Steven Spoerl.

What we gain through live music photography

By Steven Spoerl ● Microtones ● July 22, 2022 July 21, 2022

Navigating loss, image, and ongoing controversies about who owns the live experience.

Cover or promotional art for five different releases are set against a blue background: Or Does It Explode's album "Chrysalis," Free Dirt's album "Spaghetti & Mothballs," Godly The Ruler's single "Midwest," Histo's album "JGDC," and Pretty From A Distance's EP "This Unlimited Feeling.”

A small collection of Madison’s June 2022 releases

By Steven Spoerl ● Microtones ● July 8, 2022 July 8, 2022

New music from Godly The Ruler, Free Dirt, and others enlivened a hectic month.

A photo of a June 24, 2022 protest at the Wisconsin Capitol shows a demonstrator holding up a handmade sign depicting Baby Yoda, and underneath it the word "FUCK." Photo by Emily Mills.

Adapting and caring in post-Roe Wisconsin

By Oona Mackesey-Green ● Politics ● July 1, 2022 June 30, 2022

More resources and information for those looking to access or protect abortion.

The author's 3-D printed slug is shown sitting amid an assortment of potted succulents.

A slug of one’s own

By Andrew Hanson ● Microtones ● June 24, 2022 June 24, 2022

Finding a new 3-D printed pal at the local bookstore.

A laptop computer sits on a table at Mom's Bar. To its left, four microphones also rest on the table, next to a transmitter for wireless microphones. In the background, the neon sign for Mom's Bar is visible in the window from the reverse side.

Mom’s Bar is good

By Hayley Sperling ● Microtones ● June 10, 2022 June 10, 2022

From the ashes of Karaoke Kid rises a welcoming new space.

A partial map of Madison streets, rendered in blue and purple, is shown against an orange background, with the Twitter avatars of five different accounts superimposed on it.

Meet Madison Transportation Twitter

By Scott Gordon ● Microtones ● June 3, 2022 June 3, 2022

Safe-street greetings from a fertile corner of the local internet.

Two images of an iMac in the education room on the third floor of Arts + Literature Laboratory where the Found Footage And Collage Cinema class has been held this spring. This simple collage plays with Maya Deren's philosophy of narrative, and the differences between horizontal "attack of drama" (on the right, a blank screen, in black and white) and the vertical "investigation of a situation" that poetically probes the ramifications of the moment (at more of a close-up on the left, working with Adobe Premiere, in color).

Moving vertically in a horizontal reality

By Grant Phipps ● Microtones ● May 27, 2022 May 27, 2022

A personal essay on moving beyond mere movie criticism with an adult education class in film production.

Owl city, isthmus eyes

Latest in Microtones

Listen to the sky

Scot Ross wants to send you a letter

What we gain through live music photography

A small collection of Madison’s June 2022 releases

Adapting and caring in post-Roe Wisconsin

A slug of one’s own

Mom’s Bar is good

Meet Madison Transportation Twitter

Moving vertically in a horizontal reality

Upcoming Events

The Pursuit of Happiness Sessions at McPike Park

Mantis at Café Coda (7 and 9 p.m. showtimes)

Able Baker, Null Device at Memorial Union Terrace

Creature From The Black Lagoon at Memorial Union Terrace

Johannes Wallmann And Precarious Towers at Jazz at Five