This year, Record Store Day will continue its tradition of Black Friday events celebrating independent record stores. On November 28, the day afer Thanksgiving, artists like OutKast, Wu-Tang Clan, Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, Mastodon, the Flaming Lips, and more will put out releases available exclusively in indie stores.

Lewis will release the "Pax-Am Sessions" 7", which includes alternate versions, produced by Ryan Adams and Mike Viola, of "Just One of the Guys" and "You Can't Outrun 'Em" from her latest album, The Voyager

Mastodon will release a 12" picture disc of "The Motherload" that comes backed with an instrumental version of "Halloween"

Oberst will release a 7" single of the unreleased songs "Standing On The Outside Looking In" b/w "Sugar Street", both of which were recorded during the sessions for this year's Upside Down Mountain

The Flaming Lips will release Atlas Eets Christmas, a Christmas album previously released on limited CD under the pseudonym Imagene Peise, on transparent red vinyl

OutKast will release a translucent green 10" single for "Player's Ball", the first single from their debut album, 1994's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, backed by a "rare extended version"*

Wu-Tang Clan will release a die cut picture disc single for "C.R.E.A.M." that's backed by "The Mystery Of Chessboxin'" and will be cut in the shape of the group's logo



Other releases include one from David Bowie (the "Sue" 10"), Aaliyah (Age Ain't Nothing but a Number on white vinyl 2xLP), Miles Davis, Bessie Smith, and the Kinks (Muswell Hillbillies deluxe 2LP).

Why Black Friday? The organizers behind Record Store Day have shared a little primer, but here's the salient part:

In the past Black Friday was an American event created by large corporate retailers as a shopping day that promoted mass produced items at super low prices in hopes of driving customers into their stores. RSD’s Black Friday subverts the model and creates pieces of art in the form of limited special editions, often numbered, from a diverse list of beloved artists. RSD’s version of Black Friday is an excuse to celebrate both the pieces themselves and the special indie record stores who carry them. Cheap, mass-produced frenzy is not the goal.

Translation: Please don't trample anyone in the rush to grab that sweet, sweet Conor Oberst merch.