On Nov. 13, Asthmatic Kitty will release Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10, a 5-EP Sufjan Stevens Christmas boxset.  This will come as no surprise to those that know me, but I am absolutely ecstatic for this new boxset.  I LOVE Christmas music and Stevens’ 2006 boxset, Songs for Christmas, Vols. 1-5, has been in heavy rotation around the holidays every year since.

The nearly 60-track collection feature collaborations with Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire and several other friends of Stevens.  It will be available in CD and vinyl formats, as well as as a digital download.  The vinyl edition, however, will not be available in stores until later this year or early in 2013.  You can order a special mail order edition of the vinyl set, but Asthmatic Kitty cannot guarantee it will be delivered by Christmas due to the boxset’s elaborate packaging.  The mail order edition will, however, included “special goodies.”

Below, you can enjoy the 12-minute song “Christmas Unicorn,” and the smorgasbord of goodies to be included with the physical forms of the Silver & Gold.

CD Contents:
1. Five CD EPs (Gloria, I Am Santa’s Helper, Christmas Infinity Voyage, Let It Snow, Christmas Unicorn)
2. Christmas stickers
3. Temporary tattoos (non-toxic & safe for children)
4. A paper ornament (self-assembly with directions)
5. An apocalyptic pull-out poster
6. Song lyrics and chord charts (sing along with your friends and enemies)
7. Hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design (by Sufjan Stevens, drug-free since 1975)
8. Extensive liner notes (essays by Sufjan Stevens and Pastor Vito Aiuto)

Vinyl Boxset Contents:
1. Five EPs on 6 vinyl discs
2. Christmas stickers
3. Temporary tattoos
4. A paper ornament
5. An apocalyptic pull-out poster
6. A 40-page Christmas songbook with vocal and piano reductions
7. A Christmas coloring book
8. Hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design
9. Extensive liner notes

Mail Order Vinyl Boxset Edition Contents:
It’s a surprise!

UPDATE: New track “Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling”

sufjan.com//facebook//twitter//bandcamp//iTunes

(via Paste Magazine)