Episode 32 – In the Morphine Fields: The Works of Thought Industry

In less than 10 years’ time, Michigan’s maddest scientists, Thought Industry, built a five-album discography that drew upon every available atom and protein in the rock and metal corpora. From the mutated post-thrash of its debut, Songs for Insects, to the melancholy, cosmic vistas of its watershed swan song, Short Wave on a Cold Day, Thought Industry never abandoned their quest for invention and, like the noblest and most knowing bands, drew the curtain on their career at precisely the right moment. Please join us as we pay tribute to these great, mercurial, marginal Michiganians. Note I: All music for this episode was curated by our good friend, Jason Walton, brilliant bassist of Agalloch and Khorada, and host of the excellent podcast, I Hate Music. Hailz! Note II: Thought Industry stylized logo and song titles on their first two albums. Everything was lower case except the Os, which were capitalized. We don’t play that game, but if we did, it would look like this: thOught industry were sO tOtally bad-ass. Note III: If you’re reading this upon episode’s release and are in the Birmingham, England area, say hi to our sponsor, Jim Raggi/Lamentations of the Flame Princess, at the UK Games Expo! https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/ Music cited, in order of appearance: “Songs for Insects” (Songs for Insects, 1992) “Ballerina” (Songs for Insects, 1992) “Alexander vs. the Puzzle” (Songs for Insects, 1992) “Horsepowered” (Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God’s Flesh, 1993) “Republicans in Love” ” (Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God’s Flesh, 1993) “Boil” ” (Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God’s Flesh, 1993) “Watercolor Grey” (Outer Space is Just a Martini Away, 1996) “Jack Frost Junior” (Outer Space is Just a Martini Away, 1996) “The Squid” (Outer Space is Just a Martini Away, 1996) “Pink Dumbo” (Black Umbrella, 1997) “December 10th” (Black Umbrella, 1997) “Earwig” (Black Umbrella, 1997) “Satan in the Gift Shop” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) “The Measure of Our Miles” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) “Lovers in Flames” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) Episode 33 preview: Dark Angel, “Older Than Time Itself” (Leave Scars, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 32