When I was an undergrad, I did some writing for a percussion ensemble. They'd scour junkyards for things with unique timbres, like brake drums and stuff. They were a fun and open-minded group.It's amazing what can be accomplished with digital editing these days. Entire compositions arise from loops, effects, and modifications of natural sounds to produce ethereal and unrecognizable results. Stretch, compress, EQ, and modify sounds and they change into entirely different clips.
I remember the lengths we'd go to in the analog days to get unique sounds and timbres. With the modern software, there's really no limit to what can be done. This is something of a golden age.
...which makes it all the more embarrassing that the majority of it is dubstep WUBWUBWMMRNNthumpthumpthump.
Still, there are some electronic artists (Autechre spring to mind) who are pushing boundaries in neat ways.