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Record Store Day Black Friday releases include Soul Asylum, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, and more

by Colleen Cowie

October 11, 2018

Black Friday may be an opportune time to get a head start on holiday shopping — but it's also ideal for picking up exclusive vinyl releases. OutKast, Soul Asylum, Sting/Shaggy, Weezer, the Smashing Pumpkins, and more are releasing exclusive records on Nov. 23 for Record Store Day's annual Black Friday event.

Soul Asylum is releasing The Twin Tone Years, a five-LP box set featuring four of the band's earliest albums. This is the first time that these albums will be reissued on vinyl since their original release. The set also includes Twin/Tone Extras, a compilation of bonus tracks from various Soul Asylum albums. The box set is co-produced by Peter Jesperson, former Replacements manager and co-founder of Twin/Tone Records, the Minneapolis label active from the 1970s through 1990s that signed artists like Soul Asylum, the Replacements, Babes in Toyland, and the Suburbs. The box set comes with a 20-page book containing liner notes and previously unseen photos.

Looking for something a little spookier? Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein have compiled a 12" picture disc called Halloween Sounds of the Upside Down. The 14-track album features songs from the series' second season with eerie titles like "Shadow in the Tunnel" and "Tree Slime."

Back in March, Weezer shocked the internet by releasing a cover of Toto's "Africa." The internet meme-turned hit single will be available as an Africa-shaped picture disc this Black Friday.

The Smashing Pumpkins' tenth album, Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. will be released on vinyl as a picture disc on Black Friday. The album features their new single, "Solara," released in June 2018, and is the band's first album featuring founding members Billy Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin since 2000.

Other Record Store Day Black Friday exclusives include Hozier's long-awaited sophomore release, Nina Cried Power; Bad Reputation, the soundtrack to the new Joan Jett documentary; and Selections from Both Sides at Once, the recently resurfaced John Coltrane album.

Visit Record Store Day's website for a complete list of Black Friday releases.

Colleen Cowie runs the blog Pass The Mic.

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