Top 5 Politicans (in Wisconsin)

1. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
2. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison
3. Madison Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2
4. State Rep. Mark Pocan, District 78
5. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz

The end result of this list should have been fairly predictable considering it was opened up statewide. Russ Feingold was overwhelmingly voted by Dane101 readers the favorite politican in Wisconsin. Madison’s very own Beltway Baldwin would have taken the top spot if we kept it totally local, but she settles in at a respectable second. One of the first local politicians to grasp the power of the word on the internet proves that saturation gets you somewhere, as Dane101’s guest blogger (and future pro-bowler) Brenda Konkel steps up to represent the City Council at number three. Mark Pocan, the newest addition to the political blogosphere and Madison’s representative in the halls under the dome of power, takes a healthy number four. Finally, in a year that ended with a failed recall attempt, pepper spray, and a proposal to repeal his inclusionary zoning plan, Mayor Dave pulls in a strong support base to land himself at number five on the list.

Other politicians making the lists:

Ald. Austin King (Madison, District-8), Ed Garvey (former state attorney general, ran for both Senate and Governor), State Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison), Sen. Herb Kohl, Jay Allen (ran for Mayor of Fitchburg), Ald. Jed Sanborn (Madison, District-1), Gov. Jim Doyle, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, Rep. Mark Green (R-WI), State Senator Mike Ellis (R-Neenah), Paul Soglin (former Madison Mayor), State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, Ald. Robbie Webber (Madison, District-5), State Rep. Spencer Black (D-District 77), State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), Tommy Thompson (former Governor), Ald. Mike Verveer (Madison, District 4) and Dane County Board of Supervisors Kyle Richmond (District 27).

Top 5 Local Releases

1. Charlemagne :: Detour, Allure
2. German Art Students :: Name Droppers
3. (tie) New Recruits :: Attila Sex Shock
Screamin’ Cyn Cyn and the Pons :: Babysit
4. Selfish Gene :: Self-Defeating Human Beings
5. el guante :: Vanishing Point

Not only does Madison have an absurd amount of local music based in the area, the city also boats a large number of recording studio run by individuals supportive to the scene. That combination creates a vibrant atmosphere for small independent local bands to release some quality albums. Check the listings on a weekly basis in 2005 and it often seemed that there was at least one CD release party going on in town. Charlemagne, currently Madison’s musical liaison to the world, gets high rates from local music consuming readers of Dane101 and easily takes number one (read reviews from Splendid, Harmonium, and the Isthmus). The German Art Students are easily one of the most popular bands in Madison (and we will back that statement with the next list post) with their sophomore release "Name Droppers" taking number two (read reviews from The Cap Times, Pop Matters, and Beat the Indie Drum). It seems appropriate that the New Recruits and Screamin’ Cyn Cyn and the Pons would share a spot on the top five. Both of Madison’s most endearingly absurd bands received enough votes to take number three (Read Rick’s Cafe reviews for Cyn Cyn and the Recruits). Richard Dawkin’s favorite band, the Selfish Gene (if you haven’t read the book, you should), evolves to number four (reviews in [url=http://thedailypage.com/going-out/music/cdreviews/managedit.php?intcdrevid=599 ]the Isthmus[/url], Rick’s Cafe and to an extent, [url=http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2005/04/07/yearning_for_fresh_.php ]the Badger Herald[/url]). El Guante, one of Madison’s most prolific minds (writing for at least four local publications as well as spitting rhymes), represents the burdgeoning hip-hop scene and closes out the list (reviews in Emmie, [url=http://www.rickscafe.org/archives/cdreviews/cdreviewprofile.aspx?ReviewID=33 ]Rick’s Cafe[/url] and the [url=http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2005/01/19/vanishing_point.php ]Badger Herald[/url]).

The following artists also received nods for their 2005 releases:
Appliances SFB, Awesome Car Funmaker, Blake Thomas, Bracelets, Buffali, Burr Settles, Country City, Dietrich Gosser, 8889, Freddy Faggot (not sure if he actually released anything this year), Garbage, Hat Party, Heller Mason, Mark Croft, Michael Massey, Motor Primitives, Samarah, Sara Pace, the Consequences, the Motorz and Zach Parker.

Favorite Comedians

1. Chris Woldt
2. Mark Kump
3. Aaron Quinn
4. KaeLynn Kees
5. Ed Herro

Watching the votes come in for Dane County’s favorite comedian was probably one of the most entertaining categories. Nick Mortensen took an early lead utilizing his website to bring in a solid stream of votes. The problem, they were only voting for one category and one person. This is no fault of the voters as the rules weren’t very clear in the beginning. To insure that individuals taking part in our best of lists had actually been to Dane County (or at the least, did some google research) we implemented the “must vote in at least three categories and two for each” rule. If that rule wasn’t put into place Nick would have tied with KaeLynn Kees at fourth. The interesting thing about the end result the top five comedians actually reside in Dane County. Many comedians perform in Dane County on a regular basis, but don’t actually live here. Here is a list of the other comedians who received votes (a couple who may not consider themselves comedians):

Ben Kissel, Chuck Shick, Dan Krieg, Emerick Polger, Kendra Frank, Kitt Burroughs, Mr. Blues, and Nick Mortensen.

Favorite Blogs

1. Paul Soglin :: Waxing America
2. Eating in Madison A to Z
3. Sandhill Trek
4. Badger Blues
5. Marginal Utility

This category was an interesting experience for Dane101.com. Between the end of October and the start of January we began averaging between 20,000 and 30,000 page views per month. A page view means that visitors are going deeper than just our front page and reading multiple articles. It was a positive sign because between April and September we were riding the 15,000 mark and couldn’t seem to get the extra push we needed. The jump we had in October convinced some of us (o-kay, me) that blogs might be starting to catch on. The decision was made to include a best blog category. The original rule was that no corporate run blogs (like the Daily Page) or group blogs (like Dane101) would be included and we would only count individual blogs.

We thank everyone who made Dane101 their number one choice, thanks to you if we didn’t have these rules we would have easily taken number one. The Daily Page would have been tied with Paul Soglin for number two.

What we learned by having this category was that blogs aren’t as commonly read in Madison as suspected. With the exception of Best Athlete (which received ONE vote) it had the least amount of repeat entries. Noting that, I have changed the structure slightly. While in all of the other categories the winner is determined by a point system (number ones = five points, number two = four points, number three = three points, number four = two points, number five = one point) in this category blogs have also been awarded an extra point for every list they appear on.

Madison readers love the former Mayor Paul Soglin easily placing him at the top of our list. Following that up is Eating from A to Z, an inspired blog about eating at every restaurant in the city in alphabetical order. Stepping up to snatch number three is Frank Paynter’s blog about everything under the sun (but mostly politics in a light hearted manner), Sandhill Trek. Badger Blues, a blog with a subtitle that sounds a little redundant (progressive politics from Madison, Wisconsin) highlights the political bent of our readership. Economist Tom Bozzo takes the final bow at number five with Marginal Utility.