Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Devo Does It Again

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OK, since everyone on the planet is talking about Apple, I'll talk about something totally different: Devo.

I know there are some non-fans of Devo here, but that's OK. This is still amazing for the rest of you. Their latest video, What We Do, finally came out last night, and it's a complete breakthrough. You can watch it here on the Mashable site, and don't just play it – – move it around. They shot it in 360, and while the video is playing, you can push your mouse around the video to see what's going on. There is a constant circus of activity, and I've watched it seven times already (the first of many viewings, I imagine).

Even if you're not into this kind of music, you should check it out. It's totally Slope. (Note: don't bother clicking the image below; if I could embed the video, I would have).

0420-devo

Bummer

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I happened across this song today, which took me back to my childhood and the oh-so-bummer 1970s (maybe that's why my personality is so bearish……) It's amazing that a song like this was actually a hit. I guess it speaks to the social mood of the times.

Incredibly, the artist lightened up the lyrics to make them less suicide-inducing. ("Jacks' revisions tended to add a bit of ambiguity as to the nature of the storyteller's demise, allowing listeners the option to choose whether the death is from suicide over a failed life – quite possibly to escape drug addiction – or someone accepting death from natural causes, or cancer. References to a cheating wife were also removed.")

 

Cool and Appropriate 80s Song

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My musical knowledge stopped building around 1991, and my favorite music is, of course, from the 1980s (I’m dating myself, I know; but it’s not like anyone else would date me).

I don’t have the actual music video – – embedding of it doesn’t seem to be allowed – – although I have fond memories of the bad-ass bald drummer wailing away in it. Here’s the music, though…..

UPDATE! A kind Sloper sent him the embed code for the actual music video – check it out!!