You remember a couple of weeks ago when I talked about music and my obsession with jazz? I wasn't surprised when I was deluged with e-mail from dozens of you telling me about Last.FM, a nifty service I missed. And a PR flak suggested I try La La. And folks, I'm ga ga about it. Here are the details.

Last.FM: Confusing, Yet Cool

I'm not crazy about the site design, but if you can muddle your way through Last.FM, the end product is terrific: a day of listening to your favorite music as well as musicians with similar styles--commercial free.

I listen to my picks all on a small Last.FM player I downloaded. The player's neat and simple. There are three buttons I use often. The heart icon tells Last.FM specific cuts I like so that it can supply more of my favorites. The middle button skips to the next selection. The third icon--the circle with the slash--bans the track so I won't ever hear it again. About the only thing I don't like is that I can't minimize it to the system tray.

I'm sure there are tons of fascinating things I can do on the Last.FM site. And one day when I have the time, and the patience, I'll plow through everything. In the meantime, all I want to do is listen to music, so I created a quick step-by-step.

Start by clicking on the "Create your own music profile" icon. On the next page, create a profile and then download the player.

Back at the main page, click the "Your own personal radio" icon. In the "Enter the name of a band or artist you like" field, type in a handful of your favorite artists (separate each with a comma). Before you click the Search button, highlight all the entries (Control-A) and copy them to the clipboard. (That's because I once misplaced a comma and I was asked to start over. Right--the contents of the field were gone.)

When Last.FM completes the search, click the red "Play Music Like These Artists" button to launch the player.

The next time you want to play that radio station, launch the Last.FM player and click the options icon on the right--it's a little wrench. Choose Change Station and on the History tab, under Custom Stations, you'll find the list you created.

What's annoying is I can't find a way to alter the list.

I'm sure I'll hear from you with all the things I missed about Last.FM. While you're composing that e-mail, I'll be listening to tunes on the Last.FM player.

Dig This: Take a minute and watch David and Dania's quick change act; calling it impressive doesn't do it justice.

The best one is the "Good Morning America" video, the one on the bottom shelf, outjogged to the right. Drag and drop the video onto the TV to view it. [Thanks to Chuck H.]

Dig This, Too: It wouldn't surprise you if I said people often suggest I get a life. People would say the same to you, too, if you spent as much time as I do digging up spots for "Dig This." But I think this guy's Chia Pet site takes the cake in getting a life. Click an image, sprinkle a little seed, and watch the Chia Pet grow.

Trade Music Legally With La La

I'm enjoying the dickens out of La La because it lets me get rid of boring old CDs and pick up new-to-me music. Since the middle of April, I've sent six CDs to La La subscribers and received seven CDs in return. My cost? $7.45, about as much as I'd pay for one used CD on Amazon.

La La is simple--you can "trade" music CDs with others. Well, you're not actually trading CDs directly with individuals. It's more like a music clearinghouse with La La acting as the intermediary.

The only difficult task is getting your CDs listed on La La. The easiest way is to download La La's plug-in (there are versions for iTunes, Windows Media Player, and WinAmp) and let it grab the CD titles while you play the discs. When you play a CD, the plug-in lets you click a button labeled "I have it" and the deed's done. Just as cool is that plug-in shows you other CDs by the same group or musician, as well as similar artists. Click the "I want it" button and that deed's done, too.

Just because a CD is on your "Have" list doesn't mean you have to part with it. If someone requests a CD from your list, you can ignore the request--or mark the CD as one you'd prefer keeping.

You pay La La $1.50 (a buck for the trade, the rest for postage) for each CD you request, and the CDs are shipped directly to you by the previous owner. La La sends you as many prepaid mailing envelopes and sturdy CD cases as you need to ship your old CDs off to new owners.

BTW, PC Worlders Harry McCracken and Eric Dahl have blogged about La La.

La La is still in beta, but there's no risk. Here's an invitation to the site. You'll need to give them credit card info to register. Now stop kvetching--it's their policy, not mine. BTW, La La is for U.S. residents only.

Dig This: Ever get the urge to drive your Ferrari through the streets of Paris? At 140 MPH? It happened in 1978 and someone shot a video. (Turn down your volume, it's a little loud.) [Thanks to Alex for this little adventure.]

Steve Bass writes PC World's monthly "Hassle-Free PC" column and is the author of PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer, available from O'Reilly. He also writes PC World's daily Tips & Tweaks blog. Sign up to have Steve's newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.