Assorted Jelly Beans - s/t

Before I begin, I must make clear that by sharing this album is not an attempt to convert you to an Assorted Jelly Beans fan, but simply a fan of this album. This is because everything else these guys ever recorded is terrible.
Here's a brief interaction with Mitch Clem on his now deceased forum:
Mitch: Assorted Jelly Beans first album is great; hornless ska-punk that sounds like the Beastie Boys playing Operation Ivy.
Me: Is anything else they did any good? I really love that album
Mitch: NO. Everything else they did sounds like an experiment to see how shitty a band could become before imploding
Me: oh.
I later tossed away this sagely advice in favor of forming my own opinion on the band's remaining catalog, and honestly, I'm probably worse for it. Y'know the age old phrase "ska-punk bands shouldn't attempt to hybridize with hip-hop"? Alright.
So anyway, Assorted Jelly Beans were an awesome ska-punk/ska-core/third wave 3-piece from California who did indeed sound similar to "the Beastie Boys play[ing] Operation Ivy". Their self-titled album was the first release from a few members of The Vandals' label - Kung Fu Records - in '96. Apparently, this actually sold 25K copies upon release, which seems fucking bizarre to me considering how little commercial potential these guys had. I guess it was the golden age of ska-punk, though... not that this would've appealed to a lot of Christian teens what with the cussin' and drug references.
That was my hilarious sweeping generalization of all Christian teens.
...but let me elaborate on the fact that I followed up a declaration of disdain for their later, more hip-hop-influenced material with a reiteration that they sound like a hip-hop group playing ska: it's the snotty, dual white kid vocalists that draw the parallel, not the music, exactly. I've never been a big Beastie Boys fan, but Assorted Jelly Beans' approximation of their sarcastic, self-parodying smart-assery elevates this disc way above what it would be with a more standard punk dude on the mic, and I definitely don't mean to belittle the riffage present. It's just that the vocals just sound so secure and confident in their ridiculousness that I can't help but love them. The songs are tight as hell, catchy, non-generic, and completely non-cheesy, making this one of the very few ska-punk albums I can listen to when I'm not in a skankin' mood aka close to accepting Skankin' Pickle as anything less than "dorky bullshit". I'm not sure I could pick stand outs, since every track is excellent, but "Braindead", "In Our Eyes", "Punk Rock Jock", and "Doobage" are likely my favorites of the bunch.
CHECK OUT THE PROFUNDITY:

"MY LIFE REVOLVES A-ROUND
BUYING AN OUNCE OR P-P-P-P-P-P-POUND"

This stuff truly heals the battered soul.

http://www.mediafire.com/?3ggkbmuyxy2