Sufjan Stevens unveils new Christmas box set, symbolically choosing materialism over Jesus

Sufjan Stevens unveils new Christmas box set, symbolically choosing materialism over Jesus

Ah, Christmastime. Nothing makes hip, modern, post-religion, avant-rockin’ Logical positivists and the devout, spiritual, indie-folkin’ faithful feel mutually awkward like Jesus Christ The Redeemer’s annual goofy-as-fuck Madison Avenue birthday orgy. And no indie rock musician working today is short-circuiting under the terrible strain of being both of those kinds of people at the same time (and then documenting the smoldering, gooey aftermath on albums) than our man Sufjan. Fortunately for us, though, we get to clap and laugh and boo and cheer from the safety of the sidelines with a cup of rum-spiked hot chocolate while Stevens does enough weirding-out for all of us. And hey, isn’t that what saviors are for, anyway? Pass the Kahlua, hot cousin!

So yeah, just in time for the sadgasm of 2012’s holiday season, here come volumes 6-10 of Stevens’ Songs for Christmas series, entitled Silver and Gold: Songs for Christmas. In accordance with Pitchfork, this new yuletide offering consists of five EPs and will feature guest appearances from The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed “Not Win Butler” Perry, Raymond Raposa of Castanets, and several others. It’ll be available both physically (as a CD box set) and digitally on November 13 via Asthmatic Kitty and will also see release as a vinyl box set “some time later this year or early 2013.” Being that its release approaches an annual stuff-getting holiday, the physical versions of the box will come with all sorts of whacky incentives, such as “stickers, temporary tattoos, a holiday ornament, an ‘apocalyptic’ poster, lyric sheets and chord charts, and music for playing along, ‘hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design’ by Sufjan himself, and liner notes.” The vinyl also comes with its own crazy-balls coloring book (a page from which you can check out here) because who hasn’t imagined what Santa Claus looks like with fewer clothes on?

The whole tracklist and whatnot is viewable over on Stevens’ Bandcamp page, and you can also snag the set’s closing track there, “Christmas Unicorn,” for free. You know, it goes down pretty good with all this Kahlua!

• Sufjan Stevens: http://sufjan.com
• Asthmatic Kitty: http://asthmatickitty.com

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