The Sixers as Linkin Park Albums
Nu-metal discourse never takes an offseason.
It's been an Linkin Park takeover of late on the Ricky, as the joint causes of the nu-metal greats' current comeback (single already arrived, tour in progress, album imminent) and FOTB GOAT Jason Lipshutz's new LP book (it's really good!!) have made for more LP discussion on RTRS since Markelle Fultz sang "Heavy" at the Sixers' 2017 rookie karaoke night. (Don't double-check me on that.)
And now, of course, we also have an upcoming Linkin Park-related event to promote: the Carl Landry Record Club live pod at Underground Arts this Nov. 20. Get your tickets now to come see Jason answer questions about his book, Mutlu be a good sport smiling and nodding during discussion of multiple Chevelle albums, and Spike and I share a tearful slow dance to "Outside" (original live Aaron Lewis and Fred Durst version from the Family Values tour, not overcooked Staind studio version).
Anyway, with Sixers training camp not starting for another five months still, I figured I'd get into the swing of things the best way I know how: assigning current Sixers to their corresponding Linkin Park albums. (Not counting live albums, compilations or their pre-Hybrid Theory EPs.) Read on below, make sure to use this opportunity to listen to the whole LP catalog through at least A Thousand Suns if you haven't before, and pity poor Mike for having to learn far more about "The Emptiness Machine" over the next two months than he likely ever hoped to know.
Hybrid Theory (2000): Tyrese Maxey. Spellbinding in both its raw energy and shocking level of technical ability, always a winner. Even though it was obvious they were still going to get better, they were kinda perfect already.
Reanimation (2001): Ricky Council IV. Unpredictable, ahead of its time, occasionally exhilarating, often more satisfying in theory than in practice.
Meteora (2003): Paul George. Still with the undeniable and all-around brilliant original recipe, though maybe it's starting to lose a little bit of its luster. Ultimately not the most exciting project, but extremely dependable (and very recognizable for the casuals).
Collision Course (with Jay-Z) (2004): Jared McCain. Gets a lot of shit from the traditionalists for coloring outside the lines, and maybe misses a little more often than you'd like, but ultimately plays with such a sense of joy and fun that you can't really leave the experience with anything but a smile.
Minutes to Midnight (2006): Joel Embiid. The two-way, load-bearing pivot, ultimately the finest, most polished and most all-around agreeable work of the bunch. You do wish the hits were a little bigger, though, and you do wonder if it's ultimately going to be as fondly remembered as it deserves.
A Thousand Suns (2010): Kelly Oubre Jr. Could've been a disaster -- if you weren't paying attention maybe you'd assume it was a disaster -- but actually a much more thrilling, bigger-swinging later addition to the catalog than you would've guessed, and totally unlike anything else that had come previously.
Living Things (2012): Kyle Lowry. The outlines for greatness are still there, and for moments at a time you can still feel it, but the age starts to show once their playing time gets into the 20s and 30s.
Recharged (2013): Judah Mintz. Can't say I'm that familiar tbh, and seems pretty unlikely I'll ever have to be.
The Hunting Party (2014): Andre Drummond. Goes pretty hard and does a couple things really well, the longer you leave it on the more you remember about all the other stuff it doesn't do at all.
One More Light (2017): Eric Gordon. Simultaneously both better and worse than you remember; may depend from one go-around to the next. Aged better than you probably expected, but you'll always sorta be a little disappointed that it wasn't greater at its peak.
From Zero (2024): Adem Bona. Who knows for sure, but gonna be good fun for the fans regardless.
Andrew Unterberger writes for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez, as part of the 'If Not, Pick Will Convey as Two Second-Rounders' section of the site. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AUGetoffmygold and can also read him at Billboard.
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The only fatal flaw of the Ricky universe is that they present terrible bands as if they were good.