On this side of the table, Ian Cohen, occasional LA Weekly scribe whose philosophy on truth in criticism is spot on and at a welcome remove from the tongue-wagging that often counts as a record review (and we consider ourselves to be among the guilty, overly-wagging, hyperbolic variety). Cohen, who's based in L.A., hated TATE's self-titled debut.

And on the other side is the Airborne Toxic Event, who Wednesday countered with an open letter to Pitchfork, one that's smart, eloquent and less vitriolic than it could have been.

It's a great little conversation on aesthetics.

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