Slope Day, gates open at 1 p.m., music starts at 1:30 p.m., on Libe Slope: The “no duh” event of the week, if not the whole year: Slope Day is almost here. This Friday, British R&B and hip-hop singer Taio Cruz will perform before a bustling Libe Slope to end the year on a high note — no pun intended. American pop rock outfit Neon Trees will precede Cruz and Bob Marley’s band, The Wailers, will kick off the day of festivities at 1 p.m.. The rather balanced trio of artists should please even the most stubborn of cynics — even if the last two acts are too pop-FM for your taste, the musicians who played alongside Bob Marley for almost 20 years will be here to jam and have a good time, among other things.

Slope Day’s attendance last year hit over 17,000 concertgoers, and the number this year is only expected to rise. Have fun, let loose and go crazy — but not too crazy. Finals will start next Wednesday night, no matter how good (or bad) your Friday goes. —  Zachary Zahos

Leon Trotsky and the Defense Of Historical Truth, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, at Goldwin Smith Hall 142: Co-leader of the Russian Revolution and founder of the Red Army, Leon Trotsky was and still is a controversial political figure. Even now, 70 years after his death, Trotsky is a prominent source of contention among academics and historians. David North, national chairman of the Socialist Equality party, has recently reignited the debate with his book In Defense of Trotsky. The book has caused international controversy and called Prof. Robert Service’s, history, Oxford University, Trotsky biography into question. On Tuesday, North will make an appearance in Ithaca to debunk what he believes are  the historical lies surrounding Trotsky’s life and influence. North’s ideas may not be for everyone, but his talk on Tuesday is sure to provide an interesting and original perspective. — Gina Cargas

Bear in Heaven, 8 p.m. on Sunday, at The Haunt: The new album by Bear in Heaven — the Brooklyn-based psych rockers. — I Love You, It’s Cool is more vivid and confident than ever. Despite the recent changes, the band still likes writing songs collaboratively and organically. As founding multi-instrumentalist Jon Philpot said in a recent interview, “[the songs] grow like these strange bacteria.” Since December, the band has been streaming its latest album to a 400,000-percent boon in activity on its website. If you’re not heading to the Hulstred Festival or Lollapalooza this summer, catch the band playing its most recent offerings (at the right speed) at The Haunt. — Daveen Koh

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno, 7 p.m. on Monday and 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, at Cornell Cinema in Willard Straight Hall: The story of a director driven mad by his own manic perfectionism, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno is film preservationist Serge Bromberg’s attempt to trace the failure of a film that never was. — Gina Cargas

Student Films I and II at Cornell Cinema in Willard Straight Hall, 7:30 p.m. this Sunday and next Sunday, May 13, also at 7:30 p.m.: Students from Prof. Marilyn Rivchin’s, film, Documentary Workshop and Advanced Film & Video Projects courses will present their final videos at Cornell Cinema this week. — Gina Cargas