Response To Pitchfork Review Spreads Across California

Yesterday, Pitchfork reviewed the debut cd from The Airborne Toxic Event - an LA band that has generated major buzz across the country. The album received a 1.6 from critic Ian Cohen who writes:

In a way, The Airborne Toxic Event is something of a landmark record: This represents a tipping point where you almost wish Funeral or Turn on the Bright Lights or Is This It? never happened as long as it spared you from horrible imitations like this one, often sounding more inspired by market research than actual inspiration. Congrats, Pitchfork reader-- the Airborne Toxic Event thinks you're a demographic.

Shortly thereafter, the band decided to respond with an open letter:

Dear Ian,

Thanks for your review of our record. It's clear that you are a good writer and it's clear that you took a lot of time giving us a thorough slagging on the site. We are fans of Pitchfork. And it's fun to slag off bands. It's like a sport -- kind of part of the deal when you decide to be in a rock band. (That review of Jet where the monkey pees in his own mouth was about the funniest piece of band-slagging we've ever seen.)

This response has become a sort of event in and of itself spreading through both the LA and San Francisco blogs, including Web In Front, Radio Free Silverlake, Anyone's Guess, and My Crazy Music Blog - all of whom have posted the complete letter.