If you’re in the middle of Snowtober 2011 like us, you’re probably taking it easy this Saturday night.

And if you’re looking for something to occupy yourself — even if for just a few minutes, I’ve got just the thing for you.

Presenting The History of Rap, Part 3, starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake!

And just in case you missed the first two…

Enjoy!

I love typewriters.

I have studied music since the age of 5.

So how can I not fall in love with this Keaton Music Typewriter, which allows the user to type musical notes on blank sheet music?

According to musicprintinghistory.org:

The Keaton Music Typewriter was first patented in 1936 (14 keys) by Robert H. Keaton from San Francisco, California. Another patent was taken out in 1953 (33 keys) which included improvements to the machine. The machine types on a sheet of paper lying flat under the typing mechanism. There are several Keaton music typewriters thought to be in existence in museums and private collections. It was marketed in the 1950s and sold for around $225. The typewriter made it easier for publishers, educators, and other musicians to produce music copies in quantity. Composers, however, preferred to write the music out by hand.

Too bad there are currently less than a dozen known to exist.

The good news is, if you have the money to spare, you can pick one up on Etsy for the low price of $6,000!

Via Neatorama.

SeoulBeats writes:

There was a great story about Kpop and how it is becoming a legitimate global force in the music industry on Monocle, an hour long show about international news, culture, and design run by the same team that runs the magazine of the same name for Bloomberg.  Based in London, the show’s hosts talked to entertainment industry leaders about the impact that Kpop is making around the world utilizing the power of social media.  It’s definitely worth watching, check it out below.

I encourage anyone with an interest in KPop and/or Korean culture and its heavy foray into social media and the web (eg, it’s only via an online vote that Rain would win an MTV Movie Award) to watch this ~15 minute clip.

I only wish that the KPop implosion had occurred a decade or so earlier (mid 90s to the early 2000s) because I consider that period in time to be the golden age of KPop. While recent hits such as the Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” are catchy, they don’t hold a candle to the songs of earlier artists. And I know that I am not only reminiscing, because I have found plenty of teenagers who discover these earlier hits and openly admit that they are superior to the majority of today’s KPop tunes.

I know that Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” is one of the most overplayed songs of the year, but I love it all the same for the catchy tune and oh-so-sweet lyrics.

When I see your face there’s not a thing I wouldn’t change
‘Cause you’re amazing, just the way you are
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stare for a while
‘Cause you’re amazing, just the way you are

So when College Humor released the parody song and video, “Cosplay With My Heart,” I immediately pressed ‘play’ and allowed my geeky side to mingle with my inner pop music enthusiast. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Via Fashionably Geek.

Reading this post at Gizmodo made me LOL. But at the same time, I was a bit confused, because I thought that most teens were not into Twitter. I guess it only goes to show the immense popularity of the Biebs.

P.S. — I still don’t really *get* Justin Bieber. Are any of my readers a fan? Do you have any songs you recommend I listen to in order to understand his appeal?