Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [Enhanced]

Amazon.com
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is possibly one of the most self-referential turntablist releases of all time; one kaleidoscopic track segues into another, punctuated with sampled spoken phrases such as "those crazy sound-effects records you like to show off," "stacks of wax," and "they don't even have any instruments, just two record players." But Kid Koala doesn't just drop in a spoken tidbit like "we're nothing but the nerds they say we are" for a quick laugh. Rather, he lingers lovingly over it, back-spinning with such minute precision that he isolates and reorders every phoneme in a technical tour de force that transcends its own virtuosity when it transmutes seamlessly into an equally chopped-up bebop drum solo. This short (38 minutes) but dense release pulls together an astonishing variety of source material and is consistently engaging and technically impressive, although many tracks revolve around comedic elements (like slightly surreal extracts from an interview with a broadcast sound-effects expert and dating how-tos) that may not stand up to repeated listening. In the same way that Eddie Van Halen is not a better guitarist than Jeff Beck simply because he plays faster, Kid Koala and his contemporaries might not strike everyone as an improvement on the innovations of Grandmaster Flash. --Bob Bannister

Product Description
Debut release from Montreal turntable sensation who's played with Money Mark, Handsome Boy Modelling School, Mixmaster Mike, Cut Chemist and others. A dynamite new interpretation of hip-hop made from the finest the Salvation Army has to offer. Includes a 36 page comic book by the Kid himself plus the CD includes the video game 'Vidnoids'. Digipak.

Tracks:

Strut Hear
Nerdball
Fender Bender
Drunk Trumpet
Roboshuffle
Barhopper 1
Music For Morning People
Naptime
A Night At The Nufonia
Temple Of Gloom
Scurvy
Like Irregular Chickens
Barhopper 2
Roll Credits

Amazon.com

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is possibly one of the most self-referential turntablist releases of all time; one kaleidoscopic track segues into another, punctuated with sampled spoken phrases such as "those crazy sound-effects records you like to show off," "stacks of wax," and "they don't even have any instruments, just two record players." But Kid Koala doesn't just drop in a spoken tidbit like "we're nothing but the nerds they say we are" for a quick laugh. Rather, he lingers lovingly over it, back-spinning with such minute precision that he isolates and reorders every phoneme in a technical tour de force that transcends its own virtuosity when it transmutes seamlessly into an equally chopped-up bebop drum solo. This short (38 minutes) but dense release pulls together an astonishing variety of source material and is consistently engaging and technically impressive, although many tracks revolve around comedic elements (like slightly surreal extracts from an interview with a broadcast sound-effects expert and dating how-tos) that may not stand up to repeated listening. In the same way that Eddie Van Halen is not a better guitarist than Jeff Beck simply because he plays faster, Kid Koala and his contemporaries might not strike everyone as an improvement on the innovations of Grandmaster Flash. --Bob Bannister

Album Description

Debut release from Montreal turntable sensation who's played with Money Mark, Handsome Boy Modelling School, Mixmaster Mike, Cut Chemist and others. A dynamite new interpretation of hip-hop made from the finest the Salvation Army has to offer. Includes a 36 page comic book by the Kid himself plus the CD includes the video game 'Vidnoids'. Digipak.

Customer Reviews:

Worth every cent, penny, or other currency!.......2006-12-23

DJ Kid Koala is probably one of the better DJs today, in standards of both technique and creativity.
His skill allows him to take basically every quote he would like and to mix it into the flow. Texts and sounds as one, he manages to make it appear like a new, whole piece - which is exactly what a true DJ supposed to do.

By Redefining the art of turntables, he has in this specific album all that's needed - a bit of dark tracks, a bit of laughable samples; and all in all, if you like the genre, this album is a must.

Plodding and tricky.......2006-03-27

It's hard to believe that Kid Koala accomplishes a lot of what he does on this record using only a set of record players. Tracks like "Drunk Trumpet" seem to employ a plethora of production tricks but are so simple and organic that they really work. From a DJ's standpoint that is.

From the average Joe's standpoint, this album can often come across as plodding and tricky to listen to. The genius of "Drunk Trumpet" comes across more like the sound of someone strangling a bee half the time.

What annoys me personally about this CD though is the multitude of vocal samples. I don't need Pac-Man instructions and other such obscure vocal samples as much as I hoped to hear a nice big fat beat with lots of bass every once in a while. And maybe a melody or two. Possibly a treat for DJs to listen to, but most other listeners might be hoping for a bit musicality instead of just fancy turntable tricks.

Redefining Turntablism.......2006-03-01

I find it somewhat confusing that so many people pass this record off as an inaccessible mess. To some extent, yes, Kid Koala is a DJ's DJ. On the other hand, this was THE record that got me interested in turntable music. I'm not a DJ (and don't care to be), but this is one of the most compelling records I've ever heard. Koala boasts more personality through his turntables than most emcees can through a microphone. This record is just full of originality. Is this a record you can dance to? No. If you're looking for a traditional hip-hop party record, you've come to the wrong page. If you are looking for something non-traditional and original pick this up. Maybe it's just because I've listened to this record about 50-60 times, but I wouldn't call this record a cluttered mess. It may possess a slight learning curve, but once you "get it", it's a very rewarding listen. Some choice tracks would include "Fender Bender", "Drunk Trumpet", "Barhopper 1" (my personal favorite), "Music For Morning People", and "Like Irregular Chickens".

Kid Koala takes his originality straight into the packaging of the product. The package is made up of a high quality card stock digi-pack with a 36-page comic book designed by Kid Koala himself. This is not just a record that DJ's and fans of DJ's will enjoy. Whether you're a fan of turntable music or just hip-hop, this isn't a record you should ignore.

Is Ninja Tune Dist. run by smoking monkeys?.......2006-02-23

The CD says Kid Koala/Carpal Tunnel on it. The booklet is right also. But I play this disc, and it's not Koala. It's some chick rapping over breaks with lots of big band samples. Wtf.

I mean, it's not bad. Maybe I'll keep it. But, you know, I'd like the album I chose too....

Thought you might want to know, ye prospective buyer.

Important yet not-that-great turntablist album - 3.5 stars.......2005-12-30

Kid Koala essentially brought turntablism to the mainstream with "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome", but the album is VERY uneven and not all that great. It only has about 5 or 6 good songs, with the rest not being that interesting or fun (though a couple do have some interesting moments). The ones that ARE good, however, are very good (and occasionally pretty funny). You can tell Kid's not very interested in dropping the "phat beats" for the club scene; he's more experimental than anything else (though "Fender Bender" does indeed have a great beat). You can tell the man has incredible turntable skills (he IS one of the best there is), but he more or less teases the listener (you'll probably be thinking "come on, guy, we know you can do better so do it!"). On a sidenote, most of the album features some hilarious clips, and since that's not very common in the world of music I suppose you could say that's a decent reason to get this album. Anyways - I recommend this for those interested in the history of turntablism and hip-hop and only slightly for everyone else.

Highlights include:
"Fender Bender"
"Barhopper 1"
"Music For Morning People"
"A Night At The Nufonia"
"Barhopper 2"
"Nerdball" (parts of)
"Naptime" (parts of)
"Temple Of Gloom" (really just the beginning, it's pretty funny).

Album Review:

Album Review

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Album Review

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