Sound off

James Iha (left), Taylor Hanson, Adam Schlesinger, and Bun E. Carlos make up the nutty supergroup Tinted Windows.

Austin is the epicenter of cool this week as the music portion of the annual South By Southwest extravaganza takes over the Texas city. Nearly 2,000 bands have descended on the clubs in and around the fabled 6th Street strip, hoping to catch the eye of movers and shakers. Even if you weren't able to attend this year, you can check out the scene without actually leaving the comfort of your living room. The first place to look is Boston.com, of course, where my colleague James Reed will be documenting the sights and sounds of the festival (www.boston.com/ae/music/blog). Another great resource is NPR (www.npr.org), which is offering a Twitter feed, blogs, interviews, and live webcasts. (Today's menu includes PJ Harvey and M. Ward.) Several shows from the BlogTalkRadio (www.blogtalkradio.com) universe are headed to Texas to record podcasts, including The Worst Show on the Web and the Chicks Who Chat. The IFC network and its companion website (www.ifc.com) are covering the film and music fest and will be airing portions of a special concert featuring Gomez and the Decemberists. And finally, DirecTV viewers can check out the haps tonight and tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., including performances from Airborne Toxic Event, the Oak Ridge Boys, and the nutty new supergroup Tinted Windows (www.myspace.com/tintedwindows) whose members are Taylor Hanson, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. Seriously. That's one we're sad to be missing in person.