Originally Posted by Dead-Air

Well, I don't think even any of us are big enough geeks to do an extensive search of the first use of the term. The first I ever heard it used was in reviews of Tortoise and the explanations of what it meant were all built around what Tortoise do. That was some time ago, and now I see it used to describe all sorts of bands, many who seem much more grounded in straight ahead rock or post-punk or ambient. My understanding of why Tortoise were considered post-rock was that they couldn't exactly be considered a rock band though they were grounded in that world in terms of background and fanbase.