HearSay’s gone on and on about how big a racket South by Southwest is, and while nothing has happened since last year’s festival to change that view, your columnist understands that — for struggling, local bands — playing the gig looks good on a resumé. (Just another case of the world not “getting” me, I guess.) That’s chiefly because with so many national acts on the bill, your little local band looks successful by proxy. Now even though HearSay would rather that you struggling local musicians donated your SXSW application fee to charity or invested in some new strings, your columnist will tell you that it’s that time of year again, time to go through the painstaking process of applying to play the showcase only to be rejected because SXSW doesn’t give a shit about you unless you’re already selling beaucoup c.d.’s. But if you’re the type of person who gets a kick outta burning money and/or wasting time, then go to www.sxsw.com and get your rocks off. As one of the many print media co-sponsors, the Weekly every year gets to send a local band of our choosing, and not only is the Weekly band regularly one of the only true independent artists on the bill, it’s one of the only Fort Worth bands. You may have to go back to the early 1990s to find a Fort Worth outfit not affiliated with the Weekly that has played the event. So you got geography working against you, too. ... The Big Time is beckoning the boys in Green River Ordinance. They just signed with a high-powered management company and are playing a showcase next Thursday, Sept 30, at The Aardvark for a bunch of suits, to which you are invited, of course. Get there early, stay late. For more info, cruise to www.greenriverordinance.com. ... Speaking of Austin, HearSay and its squeeze went there this past weekend for the Austin City Limits festival, three days of music by the likes of Wilco, The Wailers, The Roots, Elvis Costello, The Old 97’s, Modest Mouse, The Pixies, and a bunch more. Sounds great, eh? Well, HearSay (for various reasons) didn’t make it to a single performance, but your columnist wasn’t exactly upset. In fact, chilling in the hotel room, ordering room service, and watching lots of college football was highly rewarding in its own right. It may have actually been during a bite of “gooey” chocolate cake when your columnist made the stunning realization: “Hey,” HearSay thought to itself, “I see great live music every weekend in Fort Worth. What the hell do I care if I don’t see Dashboard Confessional or Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown?” The epiphany may have been born of Cowtown pride — or of the idea of standing in 100-degree heat in a sea of sweaty, stinky, hippiefied Austinites, drinking warm $8 beer, and dreading the long walk back to the cool apartment. More chocolate cake, please. ... Fort Worth’s answer to U2-slash-Coldplay, Titan Moon has just released a DVD of seven new songs, live footage, and eight-page picture booklet. For more information, surf to www.titanmoon.com.

Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.