iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

reiterating that HOTEL USONA is one of the few artistic statements of this miserable decade to convey exactly how it feels to be constantly flailing in this fascistic cesspool called America. a startlingly moving and inspiring record

youtube.com

Protomartyr - Feed the Sewer (Official Video)

YouTube video by protomartyr

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

cleaned out a number of boxes from my teens and twenties at my mom's house last week... but the coolest thing I found, by far, is a half-binder filled with FF VIII's Triple Triad cards (and other game scenes) that Electronics Boutique sold back in 1999 / 2000

Photo of an arrangement trading card binder sleeves on a hardwood floor. The faces of the cards display FMV stills, character models, and concept art from the 1999 video game, FINAL FANTASY VIII. Several cards in the lower half of the photo are also exact replicas of playing cards from the Triple Triad card game within FF VIII itself.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

congrats to the best-dressed married couple, Eyre & Martha

Photo of a newly married couple smiling and holding hands in front of a miniature house at the Stroudsmoor in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. Eyre wears a formal all-black, non-gendered outfit with a boutonnière pinned near the heart and platform shoes. Martha wears a black-and-white floral pattern dress and white veil while holding a colorful flower bouquet in her left hand.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

maybe it's me, but gaming as we broadly knew it seems dead. artistic vision and soul... 404 not found in the triple-A space. impossible to srsly consider any "discourse," because remakes for FF VII and ZELDA: OOT shouldn't exist. Square Enix and Nintendo are corporations exploiting your nostalgia

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

watched droney cinema last night from Mark Jenkin, so I'm impelled to recommend the most transfixing drone record of 2026 for #bandcampfriday: @sarahdavachi.bsky.social's 140-minute meditation, THE WILL OF TONGUES. sonorous and steadying in a time of havoc... deeply moving "songs and dialogues" 🔊

sarahdavachi.bandcamp.com

The Will of Tongues, by Sarah Davachi

13 track album

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

for @isthmusmadison.bsky.social, I framed select screenings among Ctek's fall 2026 calendar, which starts this evening. will always hail the inclusion of more '90s cinema, and so I'm personally thrilled about the Zeitgeist Sunday series at @chazenartuw.bsky.social (esp. the very last, BLUE 💙)

isthmus.com

Unreeling fall pleasures at UW Cinematheque

Cinematheque's packed fall schedule features all manner of boundary-pushing cinema and distinctive repertory series.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (dir. Jane Schoenbrun)

PARKS AND RECREATION screenshot from the season two episode "The Stakeout," where Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) attempts to explain contents found in her van at the Pawnee police station. "I brought the candy and I brought a lot of it, because I love candy."

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

compulsively played the expansive @mortalshellgame.bsky.social open beta over the past two nights. reductively, an s-tier DEMON'S SOULS clone from a team of H.R. Giger buffs. incredible vibes from Cold Symmetry, Lustmord, and Mizmor... instant purchase

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

for #bandcampfriday, 25 fav releases of 2026 thus far (January thru June). a surfeit of psychedelic prog from usual suspects; Tim Smith's spirit brightly lives on. outsider artists synthesizing new sonic spaces in sprawling suites of tender / tortured melodicism & magnetic electroacoustic palettes.

A 5 x 5 album art grid of favorite releases between the months of January and June 2026. From the upper-left corner to bottom-right corners, all 25 artists / projects: Stimmerman, Phillip Golub, Antropoceno, Furii, Karoline Wallace, Cheer-Accident, Portrayal of Guilt, Le Grand Sbam, By Storm, Nirosta Steel, Chafouin Orchestra, Christina Vantzou, Ana Roxanne, Chromatose, Kaatayra, Jordy/Williams/Cohen/Haug, Liam Aldous, Spratleys, Antonio Gallucci, Helllhound, Otay:Onii, Phuyu y la Fantasma, Lucy Liyou, Eivind Opsvik (The Setting), and Janel Leppin (Ensemble Volcanic Ash).

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

wrote a couple articles for @isthmusmadison.bsky.social about film-related happenings this month at MMoCA. the first is a summative series preview of Rooftop Cinema, which continues tonight w/ short documentaries by Tony Ganz and Rhody Streeter (and then the next two Thursdays):

isthmus.com

A renewed Rooftop Cinema returns to MMoCA

Consider the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) your experimental film destination this August, especially with the unfortunate shuttering of UW Cinematheque this summer after a burst water su...

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

current "electability" arguments are fueled by corruption and racism, and that's all you need to know

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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 🪞

Cover art for Julia Gfrörer's graphic novel, VISION, released in 2020 with Fantagraphics Book. The illustration, on a puce-colored background, renders a bedroom scene; a dresser with an ovular mirror sits against the wall beside a wooden chair and behind the corner of a bed frame. A few garments lay on the floor.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

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.)

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Reposted by Grant

Stewart Smith @drstewartsmith.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

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...

daily.bandcamp.com

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.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

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:

Angled photo of a collection of 13 sealed Blu-rays displayed on a royal blue armchair. From the top left to bottom right, the alphabetically arranged titles include BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO, COMPENSATION (1999), THE DELTA, FRESH KILL, HIGH ART, A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966), NIGHT OWL, PLEASE BABY PLEASE, RESURRECTION (2025), The Films of Hisayasu Satō Volume Four, SPEAKING PARTS, WHEN TOMORROW DIES, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR?

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

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

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

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

Screenshot of a cutscene in HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG, when Hornet gazes upon Haunted Bellhart for the first time.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

kind of obsessed with this scene in Mike Figgis' LIEBESTRAUM

A shot from the 1991 slow-burn erotic mystery LIEBESTRAUM shows the characters of Nick Kaminsky (Kevin Anderson) and Jane Kessler (Pamela Gidley) standing among the scaffolding outside the cast-iron Ralston Building in Elderstown, Illinois. He looks up to the right, while she holds an SLR camera to her right eye and points it towards the screen.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

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:

tonemadison.com

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. ️

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

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

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

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

youtube.com

Day Of The Devs: Summer Game Fest Edition 2026

YouTube video by Day of the Devs

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

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

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

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

youtube.com

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

YouTube video by LilAggy VODs

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

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. ✨

artlitlab.org

Our Psychedelic Nature: Short Films by Emily Pelstring

Mills Folly Microcinema welcomes filmmaker Emily Pelstring for an in-person presentation of Our Psychedelic Nature, a program of her short films, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 7:00pm. Suggested donat...

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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-...)

Photo of the entryway at Chicago Filmmakers on West Hollywood Avenue in Chicago. Daylight streams in through the windows at the back wall. A medium-size display table with promotional materials sits in front.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

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)

Springtime photo at a long shot of a rocky steam cutting through a woodland in Central Pennsylvania. Two figures in the middle ground stop after crossing the water; one smiles and waves back towards the camera and the other looks down and away towards the ground.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

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

Close-up photo of a CD copy of Phillip Golub's 2026 composition / album PARTISAN SHIP sitting upright on a violet-blue chair. The CD cover art features an abstract painting by Mario Layne Fabrizio.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

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 ✊

isthmus.com

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.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

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

isthmus.com

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.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

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

Photo at a medium shot shows a lone musician in a red shirt and black pants sitting on a stage playing an alto saxophone. She loops and manipulates melody and timbre using a pedalboard on the stage floor.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

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

tuneforkstudios.bandcamp.com

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

32 track album

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

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

stimmerman.bandcamp.com

Challenging Music for Difficult People, by Stimmerman

10 track album

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

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-...

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

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

A famous still from the psychological art-house drama PERSONA shows a shirtless boy reaching out to touch a woman's face projected on a large screen in front of him.

In his postmodernist documentary on the band Pavement, director Alex Ross Perry seemingly pays tribute to one of the opening scenes in Bergman's PERSONA. Actor Joe Keery reaches out to touch musician Stephen Malkmus' face projected on a large screen in front of him.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

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...

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

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.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

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

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Dave Schoepke in the zone at Common Sage last night

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

one week remaining to catch these compelling experimental shorts / video installations by Chele Isaac, Toby Kaufmann-Buhler, and Aaron Granat at Madison Public Library - Central. I wrote extensively about their work for @tonemadison.bsky.social.

tonemadison.com

Three video artists tap into personal histories in the 150 Artists x 150 Years exhibition

Chele Isaac, Toby Kaufmann-Buhler, and Aaron Granat reveal the creative depths of their works, which are on display through February 28 at Central Library.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

quite a belated post, but I detailed my 2025 viewing year with eight other @tonemadison.bsky.social writers the other week. thanks to each of them for helping shape my experiences and curiosities.

tonemadison.com

One movie meditation after another: toiling through 2025

Nine writers processed these trying times through cinema, at the theaters and at home.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

it's almost unbearable dealing with reality right now. this year I've been trying to buoy my spirits by getting back into my favorite music ever from the Canterbury Scene. the a-b-c trio of "Muddy Mouse" tunes from Robert Wyatt's third solo record (with Fred Frith on piano) are so, so, so brilliant

youtube.com

Robert Wyatt - Muddy Mouse (a), (b), and (c) Which In Turn Leads To Muddy Mouth

YouTube video by Virgil pinK

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

this regime will literally say and do anything to justify its tyranny. do not comply

youtube.com

A Strategy to End the Trump Regime

YouTube video by Cy Canterel

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

this week, @tonemadison.bsky.social published our fav 20 records of 2025, with writing exclusively by @stevenmps.bsky.social (edited exclusively by me). particularly appreciate Steven's coverage and inclusion of more left-field, outré work by Alex Kalfayan and M.otherthing

tonemadison.com

Tone Madison's favorite records of 2025

A celebration of 20 local releases that defined the year.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

ngl... I'd wear a "Make America Go Away" hat, as long as it's not in red

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

for @tonemadison.bsky.social this week, I wrote about a handful of my fav 2025 tunes from Avoidancepolicy + Carl Johnson, Jonathon Millionaire, Mr. Chair, @rockstarelise.com, and @sirsigra.bsky.social. thx to our music editor @stevenmps.bsky.social for all his essential editorial planning.

tonemadison.com

Tone Madison's favorite songs of 2025

A sampling of the local music that helped us get through the year.

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Grant @nothingunfinished.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

one of the best things Kim's ever made (with visuals by Kelly Reichardt's longtime DP) www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8_2...

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