Logo for Post-Rock Paper ScissorsThis week’s Music To Write To does not concern a band or musician, but rather a podcast. Post-Rock Paper Scissors was a show dedicated to “post-rock and all things tangentially related,” and I listened to a bunch of archived episodes during my recent 80 day trip around the country, often while writing.

After deciding I was going to write a post about the podcast, I realized I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of how I found out about the show, especially since I don’t have any friends, at least that I know of, who listened to it. It had to have been around 2009 when I was seeking to expand my knowledge of the post-rock genre. At that time I loved Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, along with a number of others along a similar ilk, for many years but didn’t know that was just the tip of the iceberg.

So I subscribed on iTunes and ended up discovering a bunch of bands I now love, including Years of Rice and Salt, the Tumbled Sea, World’s End Girlfriend, and the list goes on and on. So thank you Armand for all the years of great shows and music. He stopped doing the show a year or two ago now, but all the old episodes are available on his site, and he occasionally puts up new mixes. One of which, Episode 196: When I Lived by the Garden and the Sea, is perfect to write to – put it on a loop and I’m good for several hours.