Cool Stuff: 'Stranger Things' Soundtrack Is Getting Released On Cassette

You may not have realized it, but the music format of cassette tapes is making a comeback in a big way, much in the same way that vinyl records have become popular again. Nielsen reported that last year, cassette sales rose 74 percent, to 129,000 units, which isn't anywhere near the 13.1 million units that vinyl is selling, or the 105 million units that CDs are still inexplicably selling. But cassettes are back in a surprising way, and one of the most nostalgic shows in recent memory is going to take advantage of that.

Stranger Things has an amazing, pulsating, 1980s synth soundtrack. The opening theme itself makes people not want to fast forward through the opening credits of the show, something that is rare in this day an age. The soundtrack has been available to download, on CD and on vinyl, but it's never been on cassette...until now.

Find out more about the Stranger Things soundtrack cassette release after the jump.

Here's the Stranger Things soundtrack cassette with some pretty damn cool VHS-inspired artwork (via Uproxx):

One of the large reasons cassettes have become popular again is because of Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord character carrying around a Sony Walkman with Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (and eventually Vol. 2) to bring him his music. The soundtrack to the first movie was released on tape (and the second one is getting the same treatment), and that was a cool little collectible because it contained some significance within the movie. But this Stranger Things soundtrack cassette just feels odd to me.

While Stranger Things has a certain amount of nostalgia that makes a cassette release make more sense than releasing any other soundtrack on tape, it still feels like a cash grab. But I guess that's what all merchandise is in the end, so maybe I'm just being dumb. Now if Stranger Things did something like release the first episode on VHS with that same artwork above, then I might be more inclined to pick it up, though I will admit the design almost makes me want to pick up this special release.

Urban Outfitters will have the exclusive release of the Stranger Things soundtrack composed by S U R V I V E on cassette starting on July 14, the one-year anniversary of the show's premiere.