Question: What's the ridiculous rock equivalent of an East vs. West rap battle? Answer: An online slapfest between a music tastemaker and a band publicly smarting on its official site.
That's the minor beef between Pitchfork and The Airborne Toxic Event in a nutshell. The nut is weirder.
When we interviewed The Airborne Toxic Event back in July, we had no idea that the comments section would be drowning in drama, with detractors and defenders going at it like it was a UFC brawl. But that micro-event turned macro after Pitchfork went out of its self-referential way to tear the band's self-titled debut to shreds on Wednesday, slapping it with a 1.6 rating as a cold chaser. The band responded in kind with an open letter to Pitchfork and reviewer Ian Cohen.
"We love indie rock," the band argued, "and we know full well that Pitchfork doesn’t so much critique bands as critique a band’s ability to match a certain indie rock aesthetic. We don’t match it."
But both fighters are wrong about one thing.
this audio or video is no longer available"I probably couldn't get anyone here in Los Angeles to admit it, but the city lacks a flasgship upstart indie band and wants one in the worst way," ranted Cohen in his review. The Airborne Toxic Event shot back that the city does indeed have a flagship band, and that band is The Silversun Pickups.
A good choice, but a wrong one. That band is Autolux.
Photo: The Airborne Toxic Event
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