Summary: As soon as they got their hands on it, critics started noticing the more "industrial" aspects of the new Kanye West record. Industrial music is that loud, sometimes abrasive genre that came out of the postpunk moment of the mid 1970s -- and brought about cult bands like Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and more mainstream acts like Nine Inch Nails -- who just released a new single called "Came Back Haunted." The author and composer S. Alexander Reed has recently published a history of the genre, Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. Reed joins Soundcheck to look at how the genre of industrial music came about -- and all the places where it continues to pop up today, from Kanye West to sub-genres like "witch house" to the theatrical production Stomp. Reed also explains the work of three essential and pioneering industrial bands: Einstürzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy and Front 242. Hear more of what he's talking about in a playlist he made, to go along with the new book:
