Episode 182: A Retrospective Pt. 1
Folks, I regret to inform you all that today’s episode of PRPS is going to be the second-to-last episode I will ever release. After next week, PRPS will no longer be releasing any new episodes. There may be mixes released sporadically in the future, but they will be few and far between.
I know this may come as a surprise, but it is something I have thought about doing for a long time. I tried to explain this in the episode, but it was pretty difficult so I’m not sure I did a great job at it. I’ll try to explain it again here.
So PRPS started in 2006. I was brand new to post-rock at the time and wanted everyone to know about it. I started the show at UCLAradio.com my sophomore year and kept doing it quarter after quarter despite the lack of any discernible listernship. When it came to my senior year, every quarter I did the show was “the last quarter I’m going to do the show.” For some reason I kept on going.
In 2009 I graduated and after a little bit of convincing I decided to turn PRPS into a podcast. For about the first 30 episodes, I would only get around 40 listeners each week. At that rate, I felt that there was no reason to continue and even made a post saying that I was going to end the show at episode 30.
However, at around episode 30 I found an Arvo Pärt mix put out by Fluid Radio on a site I had never heard of at the time called Mixcloud. It looked great so I decided to start uploading my show there. Suddenly, PRPS began to pick up some steam and with every episode came more and more listeners.
And so I kept chugging along. I reached a point where it felt like “whoa, we have something here.” But more listeners meant more pressure to keep doing the show. When you have over a thousand people listening to each episode, how do you just stop?
And I’ve realized that you just do.
I am a dude in his mid 20s with many hopes and aspirations. There is a lot I want to accomplish with my life. At this point, I feel like I have maximized what I personally can get out of PRPS. I’ve created something that I am very happy with and proud of. It is time for me to let it go and start something anew.
I’m sorry to let all of you down. I just want you all to know that I am super appreciative of every one of you who has ever listened to a PRPS episode and I just want to take the time to say Thank You. Without you guys the show would have gone nowhere.
I’d also like to thank every artist and guest that has ever curated an episode for us, Mixcloud, Jordan Volz and The Silent Ballet, UCLAradio.com, and every artist I have ever played on the show for not suing me for sharing their music illegally.
Thanks everyone. Hope you enjoy the last two episodes.
To listen to or download the podcast, you can subscribe to our itunes podcast feed or listen to and download the podcast below:
If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to download the mix-only version
Footnotes:
- Explosions in the Sky
- This Will Destroy You
- September Malevolence
- Yndi Halda
- The Samuel Jackson Five
- Gregor Samsa
- Ef
- Caspian
- Ours to Alibi
- Johnnytwentythree
good luck 🙂 i enjoyed it though since i found you on FB, which has not been quite a long time ago; only some months ^_^
great podcast armand. looked forward to it always. only a listener since 2010 but you put me on to some great stuff. best of luck in your journeys in the future.
That’s too sad 😦 I understand that you want to move forward though… Good luck and thank you for your podcast!
Sorry to see you go. Glad I got to be on your show a few times. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around
What to say …. a great source for listening post rock and discovering new fields of music. We are all deeply grateful for your effort. You will be missed. We understand that it is time to turn the page. The book you have written will be always be there. Bon voyage !!!
Absolutely agree with PatrickGobin. Thanks for all this, dude! You’ve made a great deal. Hail from the distant Russia
I came to your podcast in 2010, I have really enjoyed the thought and work you put tying together themes. good luck in the future.
Thank you for your podcast, I enjoyed every bit of it. Good luck in the future!
I am sad to know the podcast is going to an end. You did a great job man, something to be proud of. Godspeed!
Oh man, I’m sorry to hear this news. Armand, it was clear to me how passionate you are about this genre of music, and I truly appreciated the effort you put into making each show’s “theme” make sense. Your shows were creative, highly personal, well-produced and a lot of fun to listen to. I learned about so much great music through PRPS. Best wishes on your future endeavors — and I will keep following you on Twitter, so try to pass along music suggestions there, please!
Dude, sorry to hear that – having only just started listening to you (the Paris, Texas episode was my entry point) I feel slightly cheated that there will be no new PRPS stuff in the future. However, there is the massive back catalogue of episodes to trawl through! Wish you all the well for the future mate, and if there’s any shadow of a doubt about quitting in your mind I’d suggest listening to it right now!! 🙂